Help Penguin stance in my 6 month old chicken

[MamasNuggets]

Hi all! I’m new to chickens and my 6 month old australorp chicken has begun to stand like a penguin. I have too many chickens to really know if she is laying yet but one of my others that is also 6 months just started laying (she’s the only olive egger) so I assume she will be or should be. I don’t really feel an egg stuck. She was chirping and pushing hard and it looked like an egg still inside her vent when she was pushing but she only managed some white diarrhea. After that passed her vent seemed like it had thick soggy feed stuck like it wasn’t digested and that was the egg shape I saw while she was pushing. I was able to clean that out and soaked her in a warm epsom salt bath. She walks with her legs up high now and still seems lethargic. She’s separated from the flock and seems to be eating and drinking. Disclosing that she was the smallest of her flock and grew at a much slower rate. She is still smaller than the others but has acted normal up until now. Any ideas on what this could be and treatment? I don’t have any avian vets nearby.

 

[GracePoultry]

I think she is egg bound, what you are describing is what happened to a chicken of mine. I'm not very knowledgeable in this though so I will tag some others
@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

 

[AGeese]

If the shell broke inside then maybe that's the reason for the stance. I've heard of people removing broke eggs, but I haven't had this issue myself.

 

[AGeese]

Second thought I might have, but ultimately it worked out. Separating her was a good idea. Let's see what others say.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi all! I’m new to chickens and my 6 month old australorp chicken has begun to stand like a penguin. I have too many chickens to really know if she is laying yet but one of my others that is also 6 months just started laying (she’s the only olive egger) so I assume she will be or should be. I don’t really feel an egg stuck. She was chirping and pushing hard and it looked like an egg still inside her vent when she was pushing but she only managed some white diarrhea. After that passed her vent seemed like it had thick soggy feed stuck like it wasn’t digested and that was the egg shape I saw while she was pushing. I was able to clean that out and soaked her in a warm epsom salt bath. She walks with her legs up high now and still seems lethargic. She’s separated from the flock and seems to be eating and drinking. Disclosing that she was the smallest of her flock and grew at a much slower rate. She is still smaller than the others but has acted normal up until now. Any ideas on what this could be and treatment? I don’t have any avian vets nearby.

Welcome To BYC

Can you post photos of her and her poop?

I'm not understanding, you cleared thick soggy feed from the vent? (Do you have a photo of that? Was it a crusty shell membrane?)
So she's possibly constipated and perhaps is having a hard time expelling an egg(?).

Walking with the legs up high? Explain that or get a video (Upload video to youtube and provide a link).

I would not soak anymore if she's lethargic, this can send her over the edge.
I would get Extra Calcium into her ASAP. Calcium Citrate+D3, now, then once daily for 5days. If you don't have this, you can give 1TUMS now, then once daily for 5 days.

What do you feed, including treats?
I'd make sure she's drinking well and staying hydrated. Offer her her normal feed.

 

[MamasNuggets]

Welcome To BYC

Can you post photos of her and her poop?

I'm not understanding, you cleared thick soggy feed from the vent? (Do you have a photo of that? Was it a crusty shell membrane?)
So she's possibly constipated and perhaps is having a hard time expelling an egg(?).

Walking with the legs up high? Explain that or get a video (Upload video to youtube and provide a link).

I would not soak anymore if she's lethargic, this can send her over the edge.
I would get Extra Calcium into her ASAP. Calcium Citrate+D3, now, then once daily for 5days. If you don't have this, you can give 1TUMS now, then once daily for 5 days.

What do you feed, including treats?
I'd make sure she's drinking well and staying hydrated. Offer her her normal feed.

 

[MamasNuggets]

She eats mini pellets. There was no sign of egg or shell in her poop from last night. I didn’t get a picture of the poop we were able to clear but it looked like mushed feed that just wasn’t digested. She’s begun plucking feathers around her vent as you can see in the photos.

 

[AGeese]

The closed eyes makes me wonder if there is something still stuck or if there's another issue like a baterial infection. Follow Wyrop Rocks advice, it could be some kind of laying issue. Shells need calcium so that's an easy bet.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She eats mini pellets. There was no sign of egg or shell in her poop from last night. I didn’t get a picture of the poop we were able to clear but it looked like mushed feed that just wasn’t digested. She’s begun plucking feathers around her vent as you can see in the photos.

I agree, it looks like she has material still inside the vent. It may be lash material or something else, hard to tell.

The vent also looks like it may be damaged or picked and partially prolapsing, again, hard to tell without seeing the vent full on.

Work on hydration. If she's constipated, give her 1tsp coconut oil chunks twice a day and of course the Calcium.

If there's injury/scabbing and/or prolapse, keep the tissue coated with ointment, honey or oil.

 

[AGeese]

What do you think about using a syringe to inject oil? I saw this done in a video for what was assumed an egg bound hen.