hen having trouble passing broken egg- Day 3 now

[miniwarrior]

Hi there,

We are having a rough chicken week- we had 5 last Saturday, and now only 1 is left due to a major predator attack. I am planning to find a new home for the one remaining chicken so she has company- it's so sad to be the only one left and she just seems confused and doesn't quite know what to do- but now she seems to be having some problems with passing a broken egg??

I found her on the roost this morning way after she normally gets up and she looked like she was trying to poop or pass an egg. She was being pretty lethargic too. I started periodically massaging her and letting her rest, and I could feel a large lump inside, but it didn't feel completely hard like an egg- maybe an egg with no shell? At one point, while massaging, I heard a kind of squishy noise and it sounded like she was passing gas then some stuff that looked like egg whites came out, but just a little. I have continued massaging her and letting her rest periodically and she the same thing happened a couple more times, but it doesn't seem like enough to have been everything inside her. According to advise I found on this forum, I soaked her in warm water and continued massaging, and I also flushed her with a vinegar water solution (1tbsp white vinegar in 1 quart water). When I flushed her out, the water came out again looking clear, and she seemed to perk up after this. I have been letting her rest and keeping an eye on her, and she seems mostly normal but her vent keeps contracting over and over as though she's still trying to pass something. And she's not eating or drinking, but just standing or laying around.

If anyone can give any words of encouragement I would greatly appreciate it. I really don't want anything to happen to her but I am very worried because she's been through a lot this last week- she herself had half her comb bitten off by whatever it was attacked the girls in the night, and has been recovering from that. Then having all her friends die, then this. I'm sure this is related to the stress of the whole week- and I really don't want it to get the best of her!

 

[miniwarrior]

It seems the egg is coming out little by little today. Petrie mostly just lays there and when she stands up a little squirt of it comes out. Does anyone know if there's anything I can do for her to help it come out? Or should I just let it take it's course. Now when I massage her, I can't really feel a lump any more. She's not interested in food or water.

 

[azygous]

I would be tempted to squirt a little olive oil into her. Perhaps if you can lubricate what's inside, including any bits of egg shell, it might be easier for her to expel whatever remains.

Please, anyone with experience in these matters, correct me if this would make matters worse. But it's something I would try if it was my hen.

 

[miniwarrior]

Thanks for the tip, azygous- I will definitely try. She's still doing the same thing this morning- I will massage her a little, and then sometimes a squirt of egg will come out- yolk and egg mixed up together I hope she'll get it all out soon!!!

 

[miniwarrior]

If anyone out there has any other advice on this, please write! Petrie is still acting the same- not interested in food or water. I give her water with a dropper on the side of her beak 2-3 times a day, and also Poly visol drops. She mostly stands hunched over- seems to be extruding less broken egg stuff. I think I can feel an egg inside her- but it has been in the same place over a day now. Does this mean she's passing a new egg now and having trouble with that one??

I tried the olive oil yesterday- about an hour later after I massaged her, she squirted it out with a little bit of egg. Not sure if it was helping or just sitting in there...

 

[mabel7115]

I have a young chicken that lays eggs without a shell. I took her to the vet and he put her on calcium supplements and electrolytes in her water. He says it takes more work for them to pass a shell-less egg and that is why they are so tired and lethargic afterwards. You can buy the calcium and electrolytes at a pet store or wherever you buy your chicken supplies. The vet said if there are pieces of shell still inside it can cause a lot of damage to the chick. Fortunately for my chick that was not the case. You might want to take your hen to the vet just to be sure.

 

[soler]

read this:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search/label/chicken egg binding

and further info here:
A fluid-filled abdomen could be a sign of peritonitis - egg related or otherwise. Whether caused by egg material never passed or not, a good course of action is to immediately put the hen on a good broad-spectrum antibiotic, such as Baytril. (Good SUPPORTIVE THERAPY should be included in any treatment program - May issue.) If the condition does not improve through the course of treatment, then a local Veterinarian should be consulted for possible fluid removal and to determine the next course of action
it was in here:
http://www.countryfayre.co.uk/index.php?module=Pages&func=display&pageid=17