Eggbound Pullet or Mareks or something else?

[ufflepish]

Hi all,

We were just starting to get our first eggs from some Australorp chicks last week. The eggs had soft shells and the girls were eating them . Then on the weekend (14.5.23) I noticed one of the pullets laying down a lot - she is probably the smallest of the 3 chicks and is the only one still chirping like a chick, but she has developed the reddest comb. Next day things looked worse and she has a limp, so I start thinking she is eggbound.

That night I gave her a long epsom salt bath and she tried squeezing, with strong contractions from her vent, but I could not feel the egg. The next morning we do the exact same thing - half hour bath, dried off, contractions, nothing. That evening we do the same, but she has quite a lot of energy by this stage.

Now this morning and today she is full of energy, but still walking around with this gammy leg and shaking every now and then. I still can't feel an egg, but shes going into contractions every now and then.

Since symptoms first shown, in small doses have given her calcium, magnesium, dusted her feathers for mites and drunken dewormer.

Does she have Marek's disease or is she eggbound or is there something else I should investigate?

Video: https://www.loom.com/share/75cb37e4e89a45d2a659ed326d42efed

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

What is their diet including treats? It's not unusual for some soft-shelled eggs in the beginning when hens are just starting to lay, but if that's all you are getting there might be something more going on.

As for the limping pullet, it looks to me more like injury or weakness in the leg rather than discomfort from egg-binding. My egg-bound girls tend not to want to move much and often lean to one side even when standing. (It's also normal for a chicken's vent to pulse when in a bath--doesn't mean she needs to lay.) I would thoroughly look over her leg from foot pad to hip for any signs of injury, heat, or swelling. If you think she may have injured it you could put her in a crate to restrict her movement and try to make her rest it for a few days, but since she is looking better today I don't think you need to worry too much yet.

 

[nuthatched]

What dewormer and mite treatment? What's their diet? She could have a soft egg.