Emergency!!! Egg bound hen with Huge egg visible inside vent please help!!!

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I think she was pushing in both photos I just posted. Lemme go see if I can take and post a current photo where she is relaxed.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Here is current photo. (Very frustrating that photo took nearly 15 minutes to load). Vent is draining, but it looks different than leakage earlier today. It's late and I don't expect you to stay up for this. I'm pretty exhausted myself, and so is my poor girl. I am going to apply the 1% hydrocortisone creme on outside and just inside her vent, & see if that reduces swelling.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Just FYI - it is a lot faster for me to load photos if I use the attach file option (below the text box).

The prep H will work, too.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is she doing?
In the photo, the "egg" looks like Lash Egg.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

How is she doing?
In the photo, the "egg" looks like Lash Egg.

She is the same. A sweet wonderful hen that hasn't complained even once and this morn is very trusting.

A lash egg?! That never crossed my mind until you mentioned it. (Very frustrating I couldn't post pictures.) It feels hard like an egg shell, but a lash egg might explain why we (me and her) can't get it out. Last nights drainage looked like "infection", but when I pulled her out of nestbox yesterday, she definitely leaked a yellow runny yolk.

Is there any hope for her? I looked briefly for amount yesterday, used it a month ago on another hen and obviously didn't put it back on shelf.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Meant meant looked for amoxicillin. Didn't notice before I posted good ol autocorrerect "fixed" it for me.

 

[NatJ]

It feels hard like an egg shell, but a lash egg might explain why we (me and her) can't get it out.

If it has a normal shell on the entire outside, I would expect it to come out the same as any other egg of the same size & shape.

If it is softer or differently shaped than normal, or a different size than normal, those things could make it more difficult to get out.

 

[azygous]

To be honest, this hen has a steadily decreasing chance of this resolving in her favor the longer this goes on. Sadly, the only other treatment option is a vet to surgically remove the obstruction.

Also, not resolving within a few hours of onset makes it much more likely that this is going to happen again and again if she survives this episode.

You have probably already thought about euthanasia. I'm afraid this is where this is heading.

One thing more I would try, along with using cortisone or Prep H to try to reduce the vent swelling. Tubeing liquids into her to hydrate her. She's likely dehydrated by now, and this aggravates the situation.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

If it has a normal shell on the entire outside, I would expect it to come out the same as any other egg of the same size & shape.

If it is softer or differently shaped than normal, or a different size than normal, those things could make it more difficult to get out.

That makes sense even though the possibility it's not a normal "egg" never crossed my mind until this morn. I've only dealt with an egg-bound hen once before, & i helped that hen push the (normal) egg out within a few minutes. I tried to help this hen get the "egg" out for several hours before I conceded defeat and posted this thread. The "egg" feels very hard and firm, but of course I can't see anything but the front of "egg" to know if it is shaped normally. Yes a lash egg makes perfect sense.

 

[RoyalChick]

I am going to caveat this by saying that I am a novice at chickens and have never experienced a stuck egg in my flock (I was following your thread because I am terrified and want to learn). I can also say that I have some real experience in emergency medical situations in people.
So with that caveat I will share some thoughts for your consideration:
- You have already seen egg yolk coming out so you must be ready for infection. I would start her on antibiotics now
- You are at the stage where shock is as likely to kill her as anything else. I think @azygous has already mentioned sugar water and electrolytes. I would make sure she is taking in some Nutridrench or Gatorade
- Given that you already have a broken egg the overwhelming concern about not breaking the egg (if it is a real egg) diminish. They are not zero because broken shards of shell can cut her up, but the basic infection risk is already there (see my first point), so, I would prioritize getting it out over keeping it unbroken.
This suggests one more trial of high dose calcium citrate and wait an hour to see if she can pass it - during the hour focus on the other end and give her lots of short term energy in form of sugar water.
Then see if you can pull it out. If it is a lash egg you might be able to grab the tip of it with tweezers and pull while applying some pressure behind it.
If it is a real egg I would be tempted to go ahead and break it if it. I hate to say it but you may not have much to lose at this point.
One last point - to reduce the swelling you can use sugar - it is faster acting than steroids. If you cover her vent in granulated sugar the fluid will come out and massively reduce the swelling.
Good luck!