Help! Egg bound serama (broken egg)

[Ylva]

My serama got egg bound today. The yolk was running down her feathers/feet, and a deformed egg stuck out of her vent. After a warm bath, this thing came out (I didn’t drag it out, she managed to push it out herself with just a little bit of help):

She ate and drank afterwards, but she still seems very lethargic. Is this egg binding? And do you think she will be fine?

She is the tiniest little hen, and she just started laying eggs.

 

[alinas2010]

My serama got egg bound today. The yolk was running down her feathers/feet, and a deformed egg stuck out of her vent. After a warm bath, this thing came out (I didn’t drag it out, she managed to push it out herself with just a little bit of help):
View attachment 3862920

She ate and drank afterwards, but she still seems very lethargic. Is this egg binding? And do you think she will be fine?

She is the tiniest little hen, and she just started laying eggs.

View attachment 3862921

Oh I’m very sorry about your hen. She could have another egg backed up in there still, perhaps? Or an infection could be starting. I hope that is not the case. Do you have access to a vet or antibiotics incase? Place her somewhere nice and warm, dim and quiet. Get her some human calcium citrate plus d3 vitamins - I’m not sure on dosage for a serama, though, standard hens it’s 600 mg per day. I’ll call some help in.

@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive
@azygous

 

[azygous]

The little girl is off to a bad start, I'd say. But the good news is she's very young and strong, so maybe we can get things straightened out.

First thing is to give the calcium as @alinas2010 suggested. That will help her push out anything left inside. Then she should have an antibiotic to treat what is probably already a reproductive infection. What do you have on hand? People prescriptions can work. If needed, you will need to ask a vet for a prescription.

 

[Ylva]

The little girl is off to a bad start, I'd say. But the good news is she's very young and strong, so maybe we can get things straightened out.

First thing is to give the calcium as @alinas2010 suggested. That will help her push out anything left inside. Then she should have an antibiotic to treat what is probably already a reproductive infection. What do you have on hand? People prescriptions can work. If needed, you will need to ask a vet for a prescription.

Thank you!
I’ll buy calcium.
What kind of antibiotics? I live in Norway, and vets/md’s are quite restrictive about antibiotics here.

 

[azygous]

Amoxicillin if you can get a vet to give it to you. The dose is usually 250mg twice a day for a standard chicken, but you would probably cut the dose in half or let the vet calculate the dose according to the Serama's weight. The course is for ten days.

From the looks of that thing in the above photo, I fear that some lining may have sloughed off from her oviduct setting up an inflammation, and the broken yolk may already be growing bacteria. The combination of those two adds up to a very serious condition that could kill the hen or render her sterile. While you're convincing the vet to provide an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory would also be helpful.

 

[Ylva]

I actually found some amoxicillin and meloxicam from when my cat had an infection, so I gave her that with some water.

 

[alinas2010]

I actually found some amoxicillin and meloxicam from when my cat had an infection, so I gave her that with some water.

I’m glad you had that on hand to administer so quickly! What a blessing. I hope she turns around.

And thanks @azygous for the quick help and the wonderful guidance, as always. You help so many, you’re a saint.

 

[Ylva]

Thank you so much for your help! She’ll stay in the bathroom for the next couple of days. I don’t care if she gets sterile, I just hope she’ll be okay. Unfortunately she’s quite fragile - she is less than 2/3 the size of a regular serama, and she needed special care as a chick as well. She just started laying eggs, and they were between 3 and 5 grams. I almost wish she’ll stop laying - I would never hatch chicks from such a frail hen anyways.

 

[azygous]

That was a stroke of luck! Just exactly what the tiny patient needs. I do hope she does well on the meds and comes through this all right. Keep us updated.

 

[Ylva]

Update: The hen is doing well! I’ve moved her back into her flock. She eats and drinks as normal. She’s still not as energetic as she used to, but she’s not lethargic anymore.