Graphic Egg Bound/Lash Egg Recovery Questions/Help

[Lady Goats]

Warning: Graphic Image below.

My 1-year old Americauna hasn't been laying since the weather started to warm up in the Sonoran Desert. Other hens are laying regularly. I figured it was heat-stress, and haven't been too concerned until this morning where she had the tell-tale egg-bound stance, and I could feel a large egg near her vent. Oh great.

So my daughter and I brought her in to begin soaking her in warm water/massage/relax regime, but she quickly progressed, and I was able to see a lumpy "egg" trying to get out. At first I felt relief, rubbed some mineral oil all over the place, and let her be.

Went back to check on her, and there was a good amount of blood inside the bath tub. Inspected her vent, and saw that the egg I'd noticed earlier was... well, huge.

I started rubbing it more with mineral oil, and tried to manually extract it. It felt like a lumpy, cooked egg (rubbery). At this point she was dripping blood, her vent was nearly fully prolapsed, and I knew there was no way that egg was coming out whole. I started to dig around at the egg, and sure enough, it came out like a soft-shelled egg, but THERE'S MORE!!

There was a fully formed egg inside of it.

Knowing, still, that this was not going to come out on it's own, I cut a small hole in the inner egg's shell to drain it (want to mention that this egg's shell was extremely thick and hard), and it squirted egg all over the place (collective sound of dread). VERY long story short, I drained the egg, crushed it (which isn't as scary as it sounds, as it was still inside the thick rubbery egg), and pulled it out.

GAG

I rinsed out the area as best I could, tried to gently push the vent back into place (but it isn't staying), and have her back in a warm bath.

I don't have much hope after reading about the egg getting into her vent, but is there anything I can do to raise her chances of survival?

Thanks!

Note: They are free range during the summer months, and have access to layer feed, clean water with electrolytes, shade, and calcium supplements at all times.

 

[Eggcessive]

My goodness, her vent looks sore after all that. Get some honey, sugar, or Preparation H to apply to the swollen vent to help shrink the tissue. Keep it moist at all times with lubricant or oil until the prolapse tissue can be pushed back inside and stays. Otherwise, if the red tissue dries out, it can die. Whenever you can get the the prolapse to go in, hold it for some time while holding her, and hopefully it will stay. If not continue to put it back in whenever you check on her.
The large awful lash egg could be a sign of salpingitis, an inflammation of the oviduct. Or it might be a blip in the egg laying procedure, but that looks like a lash egg. Some get antibiotics to treat salpingitis in the early stages, but later, they may not help much. Vets have the best antibiotics available, but if you look online, you can get enrofloxacin (Baytril) although it is banned in egg layers and meat birds. Just don't use the eggs anymore if you use that.

 

[Lady Goats]

My goodness, her vent looks sore after all that.

Lash egg! Duh! I couldn't figure out what it was called.

Your responae really helped get me through the night, thank you!

Last night she stood in the penguin stance before and after "The Extraction", and didn't walk, eat, or drink on her own. This morning she's standing normal, and is finally making her normal noises.

After cleaning everything I could, as well as I could, I applied antibiotic spray, antibiotic ointment, preparation H, and then used mineral oil to lubricare the area and gently push everything back in.
It wasn't staying put, so I applied gauze soaked in mineral oil to hold it in place and wrapped her in a towel, and held her like a baby while watching an episode of Call the Midwife.

That helped a little bit. it still comes back out, but it takes longer to, and only a little bit of tissue (comparatively) comes out.

Is salpingitis the reason it's bad to get broken egg in her vent? Sounds like I should be trying to treat for that, anyway?

 

[casportpony]

If she were mine I would start her on Baytril ASAP. Good job getting getting that out of her!

 

[rebrascora]

Yes, I agree you have done really well to get that out. I did laugh at you swaddling her whilst watching Call the Midwife! The only thing I would add to the advice you have already been given is to keep her in the dark for a few days to try to discourage ovulation as more eggs coming through the system will probably push that prolapse out again. A cardboard box works well with ventilation holes of course and letting her out twice a day for food and water and to clean up the box and treat her prolapse. She will go into night time "roost mode" in the dark, so don't worry too much about it stressing her.

Good luck. I think you have done the hardest part and just need a bit of luck now for her recovery.

Regards

Barbara

 

[Lady Goats]

If she were mine I would start her on Baytril ASAP. Good job getting getting that out of her!

My vet opens in 20 minutes. I was planning to call and hopefully get a script. Is that going overboard, and I just start on Baytril?

Yes, I agree you have done really well to get that out. I did laugh at you swaddling her whilst watching Call the Midwife! The only thing I would add to the advice you have already been given is to keep her in the dark for a few days to try to discourage ovulation as more eggs coming through the system will probably push that prolapse out again. A cardboard box works well with ventilation holes of course and letting her out twice a day for food and water and to clean up the box and treat her prolapse. She will go into night time "roost mode" in the dark, so don't worry too much about it stressing her.

Good luck. I think you have done the hardest part and just need a bit of luck now for her recovery.

Regards

Barbara

Thank you, Barbara. A swaddle and Call the Midwife seemed appropriate (I was sure wishing for forceps when I realized the size of the beast!) . Thanks for your input. I would've probably just put the food/water in with her. Now I realize how ridiculous that could be - ha!

Question! Do the red bulbs affect egg-laying? I put one in the bathroom before sitting down to respond so that I could see what I'm doing when trying to tend to her vent.

 

[casportpony]

My vet opens in 20 minutes. I was planning to call and hopefully get a script. Is that going overboard, and I just start on Baytril?

If you have a vet that is willing to sell you Baytril, that's great! Google salpingitis and see what the most common bacteria are, hen pick an antibiotic that has the best chance of treating those bacteria. Also ask about getting her started on some Meloxicam for the pain and swelling.

 

[Lady Goats]

If you have a vet that is willing to sell you Baytril, that's great! Google salpingitis and see what the most common bacteria are, hen pick an antibiotic that has the best chance of treating those bacteria. Also ask about getting her started on some Meloxicam for the pain and swelling.

My vet has been awesome about putting up with my antics, so I'm at least not afraid to ask. I do so appreciate your help, I wouldn't have know there was anything available for pain/swelling for her.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Lady Goats, Welcome to BYC ! Thanks for sharing your pictures. I have never seen this and sounds like you got some great information here.
Interesting read !

 

[Lady Goats]

Lady Goats, Welcome to BYC ! Thanks for sharing your pictures. I have never seen this and sounds like you got some great information here.
Interesting read !

Thanks! I'd read about lash eggs, but didn't realize that this was one until @Eggcessive mentioned it (head slap!). Definitely got some good info from everyone that's taken the time to chime in. Love this place!