HELP! Possible prolapsed vent/egg binding??

[motherofducks]

Yesterday evening I noticed my buff orphington Betty (about 9-10 months old) had a small red protrusion sticking out of her vent and her bum feathers were caked in poo. She was acting totally normal, wasnt even hunching her butt over just pecking around eating some vegetation.
I brought her inside last night, soaked her in a warm bath with epsom salt, and gently pushed the prolapse back in as it advised in a previous post I saw on here. She started producing quite a lot of brown poos so I was happy to see that but the prolapse came out again. When pushing it back in, I felt the tip of an egg so I wondered if she was egg bound. I rotated her through another bath and let her rest inside covered overnight.
This morning her prolapse is back and no egg. She is sortve hunching ove today. We did another warm bath and i tried to give her liquid calcium which was suggested in a post, but she has no interest. She is nibbling her oyster shells and definitely eating her food fine, producing plenty of poop and seems almost normal. Now shes eating and cleaning off her damp bath feathers in the hospital enclosure I made her.

What do I do at this point? Does it sound like she might have a bound egg? Should I keep giving baths and monitoring her? Should I keep pushing her prolapse back in? Any advice would be much appreciated! She is my first chicken and I'm so nervous Ive been by her side all day worrying.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

*If* she is egg bound, E and Calcium might help her pass the egg. FYI, a hen can be egg bound for many months and still be alive. This "they'd be dead in 48 hours" thing I keep reading IS_NOT_TRUE, but if she has been egg bound for longer than a few days you need to see a vet, ASAP!


Here is some info on egg binding and treatments:

Source:
How is egg binding treated?

Treatment varies with how sick the bird is when presented to your veterinarian, as well as the location of the egg and the length of time the bird has been egg bound. Critically ill birds are first treated for shock and then attempts are made to treat the egg binding. Mildly affected birds may respond to supplemental heat, re-hydration with injectable fluids, calcium, vitamin E, selenium, and vitamin D-3. Other injectable drugs may help cause the oviduct to contract and expel the egg. If the egg is near the cloacal opening, it might be gently extracted. Eggs that do not pass with drug therapy require treatment that is more aggressive. A needle may need to be placed through the abdomen into the eggshell to aspirate the contents of the egg, causing the shell to collapse. Following this treatment, the empty shell will usually pass out of the bird within a few days. Failing this, surgery may be performed to remove the egg or shell fragments.

"Critically ill birds are first treated for shock and then attempts are made to treat the egg binding."


Source: http://www.birdvet.com.au/exotics care/birdcare/EGG BINDING.htm

6. How is egg binding treated?

• Treatment varies with how sick the bird is when presented to the veterinarian as well as the location of the egg and the length of time the bird has been egg bound.

• Critically ill birds are first treated for shock and then attempts are made to treat the egg binding.

• Mildly affected birds may respond to supplemental heat, calcium, vitamin E, selenium, and vitamin D-3.

• Other injectable drugs may help cause the oviduct to contract and expel the egg.

• If the egg is near the cloacal opening, the veterinarian may be able to gently extract it.
• Eggs that do not pass with drug therapy require more aggressive treatment. The veterinarian may need to place a needle through the abdomen into the egg shell and aspirate the contents of the egg, causing the shell to collapse. The shell will usually pass out of the bird within a few days. Failing this, surgery may be performed to remove the egg or shell fragments.

Source: http://www.avianweb.com/eggbinding.html
Egg Binding

Breeding Challenges


Egg binding refers to a common and potentially serious condition where a female bird is unable to pass an egg that may be stuck near the cloaca, or further inside the reproductive tract. Even though egg binding can occur in any female bird, it is most common in smaller birds such as lovebirds, cockatiels, budgies and finches.
The potential of an egg breaking inside the tract is high, which then can result in an infection or damage to internal tissue; and - if left untreated - death.
The bound egg may be gently massaged out; failing this it may become necessary for a vet to break the egg inside and remove it in parts. If broken, the oviduct should be cleaned of shell fragments and egg residue to avoid damage or infection.

Suspected causes for egg binding include:

• Low Calcium Levels or Hypocalcaemia Syndrome associated with low calcium levels in the blood. Supplementing the breeding hen with a diet rich in calcium and Vitamin D is an important factor in preventing this problem
  • You could provide a dish filled with crushed egg shell (from boiled eggs to kill any bacteria) and/or attach a calcium / mineral block to the cage.
  • In areas where access to natural sunlight is limited (such as in the northern hemisphere during the winter months), full-spectrum lamps can be used to provide UVA and UVB rays.Natural food sources rich in Vitamin DPotentially discuss supplementation with your vet. Supplementation needs to be carefully screen ed and supervised by a vet since an excess of vitamin D (in the form of a supplement) causes kidney damage and retards growth.
  • Relevant Article: Natural Calcium for Birds - Sources and Absorbability
• Malnutrition caused by seed-only or low-protein diets. Recommendations for bird diet / bird nutrition.
• Sedentary lifestyle: Often the case when birds are kept in enclosures / cages that are too small for them. The lack of exercise causes poorly developed muscles and obesity.
• At particular risk are sick and old birds.
• Pet birds can also develop this problem, as birds don't need a mate to lay eggs. (Obviously, solitary egg-laying females won't produce fertile eggs.)

Also refer to Chronic Egg Laying and Thin-shelled, soft-shelled, no-shell, porous, misshaped / deformed eggs

Clinical Signs:
Loss of appetite, depression, abdominal straining, and sitting fluffed on the bottom of the cage. Some hens may pass large wet droppings while others may not pass any droppings due to the egg's interfering with normal defecation.

If you suspect that your bird is egg-bound, she should be seen by a vet immediately. The veterinarian may be able to feel the egg in the bird's abdomen. An x-ray may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Sometimes medical treatment will enable the hen to pass her egg. Occasionally surgery is necessary.
Complications from being egg bound can be swelling, bleeding or prolapse of the oviduct.

Treatment:
If in doubt as to if the hen is egg bound or not, a few vet sites recommend separation, warmth, warm bath and calcium to all hens in lay that seem distressed.
This is a life-threatening condition and should be addressed by a qualified avian vet. Your vet may discuss:

• Calcium shots - immediate solution to help the egg shell harden allowing the hen to hopefully pass it
• Lupron shots to stop hens from going into breeding condition
• Spaying your hen as a permanent solution

The following are samples of actions that have resolved this problem for some birds (please note: not all hens can be saved, especially if it's critical by the time the problem was discovered and no vet is available or can be reached in time). Egg-bound hens go into profound cardiovascular collapse and may not be able to put in the effort to push the egg out without intervention.

• Suspected egg binding: Keep her in a warm area. Provide supportive care.

• Place the bird into a steamy room, such as bathroom with shower on until the bathroom mirrors and windows steam up. Desired temperature: 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit / Humidity: 60%. Place bird on wet towel. The warmth relaxes the hen so that the vent can dilate more allowing the egg to pass.
• A warm water bath can also be of great help (shallow water, of course, you don't want to drown the hen). This relaxes her muscles and often the hen will pass the egg into the water. Make the water as warm as you would like to take a long soak in.
• Massage the muscles in that area with olive oil. In many cases, this lead to a successful passing of the egg. Note: there is a risk associated with messaging this area. It could cause the egg inside to break - which is life-threatening. Be very careful! If in doubt, it's always best to have the vet take care of it ...
• Even if the cause is not hypocalcaemia in this hen’s case it will not hurt her to have more calcium.
• Applying a personal lubricant, such as KY jelly to her vent may also be helpful.
• To reduce swelling on her vent, some breeders reported success in applying Preparation H to her vent.
• Successful Passing of the Egg: Following passing of the egg keep the hen in a warm and quiet area separate from the others, until she is out of shock and back to eating and drinking well.
• Prevention: Provide bird with high-calorie, high-calcium food to help strengthen future eggs and prevent egg binding. Recommendations for pet bird diet / nutrition.

• Also refer to Chronic Egg Laying

- See more at: http://www.avianweb.com/eggbinding.html#sthash.sUiyeQ7I.dpuf
​

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Oh!! AND


WELCOME TO BYC!!!!!

 

[chickcrack]

Is she still prolapsed? If so try some preparation H to reduce swelling and gently reinsert the prolapse. While you are in there have another feel for that egg. Keep her separated and on a clean old towel or paper towels. If you do feel an egg try crushed tums or the liquid calcium again, some scrambled eggs if she will eat them and give her another warm bath. Keep her in it 20 minutes if you can do long as she remains calm. Let us know how she's doing.

 

[Amiga]

Yesterday evening I noticed my buff orphington Betty (about 9-10 months old) had a small red protrusion sticking out of her vent and her bum feathers were caked in poo. She was acting totally normal, wasnt even hunching her butt over just pecking around eating some vegetation.
I brought her inside last night, soaked her in a warm bath with epsom salt, and gently pushed the prolapse back in as it advised in a previous post I saw on here. She started producing quite a lot of brown poos so I was happy to see that but the prolapse came out again. When pushing it back in, I felt the tip of an egg so I wondered if she was egg bound. I rotated her through another bath and let her rest inside covered overnight.
This morning her prolapse is back and no egg. She is sortve hunching ove today. We did another warm bath and i tried to give her liquid calcium which was suggested in a post, but she has no interest. She is nibbling her oyster shells and definitely eating her food fine, producing plenty of poop and seems almost normal. Now shes eating and cleaning off her damp bath feathers in the hospital enclosure I made her.

What do I do at this point? Does it sound like she might have a bound egg? Should I keep giving baths and monitoring her? Should I keep pushing her prolapse back in? Any advice would be much appreciated! She is my first chicken and I'm so nervous

Ive been by her side all day worrying.

A couple of months ago my duck Sechs was eggbound. We gave her extra calcium, hormones to keep her from laying, and an anti-inflammatory as well as antibiotic, since her vent discharge looked iffy. In about 5 or 6 days, she passed the membrane and thin shell. She has been fine since. I kept her on the anti-inflammatory for about ten days.

 

[motherofducks]

Thank you for the welcome!

Update on Betty: I took her out of the "hospital" cage to clean it since she has been pooping a lot. I left her in the bathroom/mudroom breifly while I took it outside to wash it. Since her tail was up and she looked totally normal, other than the prolapse. Then we did the warm bath and pushed the prolapse back in, while I was in there, no egg to be felt. What does this mean? I dont think she laid it, I did not see one anywhere (slight possibility she hid it somewhere in the bathroom when she was out but not likely). Could it have moved and still be inside her? Is this a good sign?

 

[chickcrack]

Hmmm...are you sure you felt an egg the first time? I don't believe it could move back up but I may be wrong about that. I would focus on the prolapse and getting that to stay in. Keep her in a dark area to try to stop her egg laying temporarily. Did you get the prep H on her? It will really help with swelling. Let us know.

 

[motherofducks]

I was so sure at the time it was an egg! Now I feel like I'm going crazy! Lol
Anyways I got the prep H and applied it once after her bath, the following morning her vent was slightly prolapsed but not as bad. Did the bath and prep H again and now over 24 hours later we are good! No vent prolapse, we will keep her in the dark bathroom/hospital for a few more days to let her heal before she rejoins the flock!

 

[chickcrack]

Nicely done! Glad she's doing better and btw chickens make me think I'm crazy in a daily basis so all good

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Great news!! hope she keeps improving