Help! I think this is a laying problem: broken egg, internal layer?

[Angela902]

Hi,

I've been looking on here for days but still don't know how to solve this, or even properly diagnose.

My barred rock bantam is sick. She just stands there. She hasn't laid an egg in the past 4 days at least, probably longer. I now think that she is the chicken that has been laying a misshapen egg nearly every day since she started laying (she's about 1 1/2 years now). The egg she laid was oval, but not perfectly so, it had ridges around it that were kind of flat, so that it wasn't a smooth taper to the end. It was always the largest egg laid, almost to a store-bought small-medium (by memory-- when is the last time anyone saw one of these). Since I haven't collected one of these in nearly a week, I think it must have been her laying them.

When I offer her food, she always shows lots of interest, but only takes like two bites. Her poop is mostly yellow without much solids (since she barely eats). She feels really skinny in her breast, so I'm wondering how long she may have been suffering before I noticed. (All these little chickens feel really skinny to me though.)
I've only seen her sit once or twice since I separated her, so I'm guessing it might be painful to sit?

I am now thinking that she may have broken an egg in there, or laid an internal egg. How can I tell if the egg broke? Seems like I can't tell if she's an internal layer until she dies.

Her breathing also seems somewhat labored, by looking at her body working, since she doesn't seem to have any kind of congestion or anything in the head.

I guess I don't understand the difference between a vent and a bottom either? Are these two different places? I had posted before that her vent is constantly pulsating but maybe I should have said her bottom? Sorry, I still don't get that much about chicken anatomy. I don't know what I'm feeling for in what places.

I'm wondering if she is suffering and if it will be incurable. If so, maybe I should be thinking about putting her down. I don't want her to starve to death, or suffer through horrible pain if an egg broke in there.

Help!!!

 

[faykokoWV]

vent and bottom are the same thing. chickens only have one opening down there.. poop eggs all come out the same hole in the end. Have you done a search for eggbound? There are several thread on it. If the egg is whole you should be able to feel it from the outside under her belly.

Have you ever treated for parasites? worms, lice, mite etc

 

[Angela902]

Hi, Thanks so much. i have felt for an egg from the outside only, and I can't tell for sure. I haven't felt my chickens up that much so far, so I'm not sure what I'm feeling. There COULD be an egg. I need to do the finger in the vent thing still. I've been chickening out. And she's so skinny, mostly all i feel is bones except for between her legs, where she feel like she has some substance at least. I also think her neck feels really weird, where she seems to have this weird bone protrusion on her throat not to far down from her head. So for a few days I wondered if that was the problem, but I'm not sure I'm not just imagining that that's abnormal. I honestly have never handled her much before, so I don't know what she felt like when she was healthy. Maybe her neck was always like that. Maybe that is an egg I'm feeling between her legs. Her vent is working constantly. It's probably been a week since she's laid an egg.

I had a dream about the eggs I get that are always a little misshapen. I picked them up and the egg ran out of the bottoms. At the time I dreamed it, I didn't know that Zsa Zsa was the one who laid those eggs. Then when I realized this yesterday, I remembered the dream. So now I think her issue is egg related.

I have to find out is she is eggbound, and if so, help her get it out. I was determined to do so a few minutes ago, but then I brought her home some food from work and she really went for it and actually ate more than a couple of pecks. I had her on my lap and was going to do it, but she really started acting like she wanted to get back to the cage and the food and I decided it is late and she should rest till tomorrow. I'll check for the egg tomorrow. If there is one, I'll give her a warm bath after I check.

I haven't treated them for mites or lice, and I do expect there is some of that right now. The other hens are itching, I need to get some DE. Food grade DE is hard to find here. They were scratching around by the birdfeeder and they may have picked some up from the wild birds.

Zsa Zsa isn't scratching any itches these days though.