Hen egg bound for 4 days now; multiple egg situation. Please help

[topochico225]

Hey, all!

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
15 month old Red Star hen, 5 and a half lbs. Heaviest of all her sisters
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Nothing off other than the poop and red rear. Doesn't feel like ascites/water helly, her rear isn't swollen much. Vent is completely normal, no lice/mites or prolapse. No gleet visible, either. We only got 2 eggs today out of 3 hens, so I don't know if she laid or not, but neither of them looked like one of her usual eggs. 3 eggs yesterday.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
Noticed it about 20 minutes ago when I was watching Chicken TV, so just today.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
Nope, just a red booty
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
I finished their cycle of Safeguard about 5 days ago. None of her sisters are exhibiting the same symptoms
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Purina layer feed, anything she finds while free ranging, water
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Slightly greenish, brown poop with yellow urates stuck to her butt fluff
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Rinsed off her butt and stuck her back in the coop
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
Lord knows I do not need to spend any more money at the vet, so treat it myself
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Omlet Eglu mk 2 w/aspen shavings and Timothy hay in the nesting box with 13 foot run. They free range in the daytime

TIA, y'all! I've got a fully stocked vet kit as well.

 

[azygous]

Poopy butts on heavy hens are a curse and an annoyance, but absent anything alarming in the behavior, that's about all this is. I have my share of these sloppy poopers, too. The solution is to make butt "tune-ups" a regular practice.

I actually built a chicken butt washing stand near the run with an old kitchen sink, and in summer a dirty butt gets hosed off with the garden hose. I keep a bottle of baby body wash on the stand along with a pile of rags to pat dry the cleaned butt. They then air dry on these hot summer days.

I hate to admit that in winter, my kitchen sink is the butt washing station. The wet butts get blow-dried before going back outside into the cold.

 

[topochico225]

Poopy butts on heavy hens are a curse and an annoyance, but absent anything alarming in the behavior, that's about all this is. I have my share of these sloppy poopers, too. The solution is to make butt "tune-ups" a regular practice.

I actually built a chicken butt washing stand near the run with an old kitchen sink, and in summer a dirty butt gets hosed off with the garden hose. I keep a bottle of baby body wash on the stand along with a pile of rags to pat dry the cleaned butt. They then air dry on these hot summer days.

I hate to admit that in winter, my kitchen sink is the butt washing station. The wet butts get blow-dried before going back outside into the cold.

Thank you so much! I really need to hook up my utility sink outside.

The yellow urates aren't an issue?

 

[azygous]

No. It just means a slightly higher concentration of sulfur.

 

[topochico225]

She's still got the dirty butt feathers in the same place. Not laying, vent looks normal. I have noticed that she's very lethargic, all she wants to do is sit down. She looks normal and perfectly healthy otherwise. I brought feed into the run about 10 minutes ago, and her sisters were jumping at it and shoving each other out of the way, but she just looked at them and kept sitting. I poked her through the run wire and got her to stand up, but she was very unwilling.

Worried about her.

@Wyorp Rock do you know anything about what may be going on?

 

[azygous]

This is more than just poopy feathers, now that her behavior has declined into lethargy. Have you checked her crop? Did it empty overnight? Is she avoiding the feeder?

She may have a stuck egg. Or she could have a bacterial infection. Or both. Just guessing since all we have to go on is your descriptions. It can't hurt to give her a calcium tablet to encourage contractions in case she has an egg hung up. This is what I recommend since it is most easily digested and absorbed into the blood stream.

Place her in a crate with clean towels under her. This will allow her poop to be clearly visible, and also to see if egg remains come out. That may require an oral antibiotic is the egg comes out collapsed.

Provide plenty of water for her as you don't want her to get dehydrated, which aggravates the problem.

 

[topochico225]

This is more than just poopy feathers, now that her behavior has declined into lethargy. Have you checked her crop? Did it empty overnight? Is she avoiding the feeder?

She may have a stuck egg. Or she could have a bacterial infection. Or both. Just guessing since all we have to go on is your descriptions. It can't hurt to give her a calcium tablet to encourage contractions in case she has an egg hung up. This is what I recommend since it is most easily digested and absorbed into the blood stream. View attachment 2811895Place her in a crate with clean towels under her. This will allow her poop to be clearly visible, and also to see if egg remains come out. That may require an oral antibiotic is the egg comes out collapsed.

Provide plenty of water for her as you don't want her to get dehydrated, which aggravates the problem.

I'm not home right now, but I will be soon. I'll check her crop then. She seems to just not care about the feeder.

I'll run by CVS on the way home and grab some calcium citrate. Will set up the cage then, too.

 

[topochico225]

This is more than just poopy feathers, now that her behavior has declined into lethargy. Have you checked her crop? Did it empty overnight? Is she avoiding the feeder?

She may have a stuck egg. Or she could have a bacterial infection. Or both. Just guessing since all we have to go on is your descriptions. It can't hurt to give her a calcium tablet to encourage contractions in case she has an egg hung up. This is what I recommend since it is most easily digested and absorbed into the blood stream. View attachment 2811895Place her in a crate with clean towels under her. This will allow her poop to be clearly visible, and also to see if egg remains come out. That may require an oral antibiotic is the egg comes out collapsed.

Provide plenty of water for her as you don't want her to get dehydrated, which aggravates the problem.

They only had calcium carbonate, but I gave her one anyway. My poor girl. Something's definitely wrong with her egg laying. She's puffed up with her tail down. She hates coming inside, and she sat down on the floor immediately after I set her down. She's panting now. I'm about to soak her.

 

[azygous]

Don't soak her. It will only make her stressed, and that makes it all worse. It really won't accomplish anything the calcium won't do. Calcium carbonate will have to do. It takes longer and not as much is immediately absorbed, but it will eventually work.

Give one whole table per day directly into the beak. It needs to be concentrated not diluted in food or water.

 

[topochico225]

Don't soak her. It will only make her stressed, and that makes it all worse. It really won't accomplish anything the calcium won't do. Calcium carbonate will have to do. It takes longer and not as much is immediately absorbed, but it will eventually work.

Give one whole table per day directly into the beak. It needs to be concentrated not diluted in food or water.

Oop, okay. I mainly did it for all the poop stuck to her butt fluff. It's more green now.

Almost looks like she's trying not to fall asleep right now. I hope she's just taking a nap. I don't want to lose another bird.

Is there anything else to do for her other than the cage and calcium? I've got a stocked vet kit.