Help! Potentially egg bound hen bald and leaking vent area

[Nellytheduck]

Yesterday I noticed Chakira, my 9 month old bantam, acting a bit off. Her feathers were fluffed, she hasn’t laid in a few days, and she would just stop and close her eyes randomly. Today these symptoms were much more extreme, and her butt was very messy.
I took her inside for an epsome salt bath and then noticed she’s missing A LOT of feathers (see photos). Also, her vent is leaking a clearish whitish fluid.
The area around her vent is kind of hard. She’s eating and drinking a bit, but otherwise not moving much.
She’s on layer feed, and I mixed in some chick food and grain to encourage her to eat more.

 

[Nellytheduck]

Oh maybe I should add, I’m dealing with what is most likely mareks in my flock with now. 2 2 month old chicks (from Chakira) started with the extended leg, loss of mobility, green poop… the vet tested feathers and came back negative but I know you need more than feathers to rule out mareks. Seems unrelated but WHY are all of my birds getting sick???

 

[Nellytheduck]

Update- She laid an egg!! She still seems unwell though

 

[Jenbirdee]

i’m sorry no one replied yet i wish i could help i’m happy she laid an egg for you i can tag some people who can help
@Eggcessive @azygous @Wyorp Rock
@TheDawg
@JacinLarkwell

​

 

[Nellytheduck]

i’m sorry no one replied yet i wish i could help i’m happy she laid an egg for you i can tag some people who can help
@Eggcessive @azygous @Wyorp Rock

That’s so nice of you! Thank you!

 

[azygous]

In many cases of egg binding, two eggs are involved. Odd as it seems, sometimes two egg yolks make their separate way down the oviduct in quick succession, far enough apart that the two yolks aren't incorporated into one egg. The problem this presents for the hen is there most often is only enough calcium in her shell gland for one of the eggs. The one without a shell gets stuck, and both eggs are then hard to expel.

So we help the situation with a boost of calcium from a calcium tablet. Whatever you have on hand. It must total at least 600mg though. Calcium citrate with D3 is what to buy if you need to send a family member to the store for it. It's found in the vitamin section of the store. Give one tablet whole directly into the beak immediately. Do not wait for morning or it could be too late. Consider this a grave medical emergency.

Dry the hen off and place her in a quiet place on absorbent toweling to absorb her discharge. Does it have a sharp, unpleasant acrid odor? That is usually associated with egg binding.

Be sure she has access to plenty of water as dehydration is the enemy in these cases.

 

[Nellytheduck]

In many cases of egg binding, two eggs are involved. Odd as it seems, sometimes two egg yolks make their separate way down the oviduct in quick succession, far enough apart that the two yolks aren't incorporated into one egg. The problem this presents for the hen is there most often is only enough calcium in her shell gland for one of the eggs. The one without a shell gets stuck, and both eggs are then hard to expel.

So we help the situation with a boost of calcium from a calcium tablet. Whatever you have on hand. It must total at least 600mg though. Calcium citrate with D3 is what to buy if you need to send a family member to the store for it. It's found in the vitamin section of the store. Give one tablet whole directly into the beak immediately. Do not wait for morning or it could be too late. Consider this a grave medical emergency.

Dry the hen off and place her in a quiet place on absorbent toweling to absorb her discharge. Does it have a sharp, unpleasant acrid odor? That is usually associated with egg binding.

Be sure she has access to plenty of water as dehydration is the enemy in these cases.

Thanks for the tip! I just went and got some calcium citrate and got her to eat most of a pill, which was unexpectedly easy once I crushed it. Then she ate some food and drank a bunch of clean water.
Do you have any input on the loss of feathers? We lost our rooster 3 months ago and it’s very bald behind her wings.
Could that just be normal?? I never noticed it until I bathed her

 

[azygous]

Of course molt can be responsible, but you almost always see uniform pin feathers emerging in the bald field. A chicken that is not feeling well can invite pecking and mean chickens gleefully yank feathers. This is also true of chickens that aren't sick but are overly meek in temperament. Observation of flock dynamics is necessary to get at the bottom of why a chicken may be bald if it's a social issue.

Feather anomalies can also be caused by avian viruses as they upset the immune system and other organic functions.

No easy answers. Prolonged baldness that resists explanation can sometimes be mitigated with feeding the individual extra protein, but I caution against doing this longer than a few weeks as it's hard on the kidneys and can cause other health problems.