Hen in trouble, possibly egg bound, what are the signs?

[wefanjr]

My 9 month old araucana is acting extremely strange. She is all balled up. She keeps her head tucked tight to her body and just mopes around. She is not laying either. She had an obstruction two months ago from eating too much long grass. She resumed laying 2 weeks later. But for the last week or so she has been acting very odd. I am wondering if she is bound. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[sammi]

have you checked the crop?

describe droppings..color and consistency

does she have drainage from vent?
is the vent/belly area swollen or feel warm?
does she go to the nest box?

is she eating and drinking?

separate her and keep warm and watch for any symptoms.

 

[WriterofWords]

I don't know about chickens, but when my Pekin duck gets bound she stretches her legs out behind her and she's pretty much paralyzed until I can massage her egg loose. I usually wrap her in a warm towel, hold her in my lap and massage her lower tummy carefully so I can try and loosen it without breaking it.

 

[wefanjr]

I moved her into a cage this morning. I haven't been able to watch her droppings. She has been eating a little. her belly seemed a little swollen (i guess). I just had a baby boy of my own, so i haven't been able to spend too musc time with the girls. I didn't notice much of a crop on her. Both my Aruacanas don't seem to have one. There is no drainage on her vent either. I'll be able to see if she is pooping later this afternoon. Thanks for your help. Any more info?

 

[OkapisRule]

I know that to fix it you keep your hen in a dark place with food and water constantly so she thinks it's never daytime so doesn't lay which gives it time to fix.

 

[wefanjr]

I just checked her cage and there is no signs of poop. If she is bound and can't poop what will be the outcome? Is a vet visit worth it? Is it too late? Can it pass on its own. I read somewhere once that if it breaks inside her it is really bad. She was drinking water still. I'm at a loss.

 

[chickenranchwife]

I read somewhere to add some brown apple cider vinegar to their water and this also helps. Good luck with her.
How's that baby doing? Congratulations.

 

[wefanjr]

Baby is doing great! Thanks for asking. I was just searching around, has anyone every tried to dislodge an obstruction before by putting an oiled finger in the vent and pushing on the abdomen? I'm a little weiry. I'd rather try to save her than cull her (which i don't know that I could do)
I just went out to coop to see if I could feel an egg in her abdomen. I don't think that I did feel an egg. as i was checking her she threw up! What do I do now?

 

[chickenranchwife]

She might have had to throw up, keep an eye on her, and keep her isolated. Maybe her crop got too full of something she wasn't supposed to eat.

 

[SeaChick]

Oh, dear, that doesn't sound too good. Were you checking her abdomen or her crop at the time?

I'm no expert but we had a crop issue last fall and i did a lot of research on it. If her crop is very swollen and squishy and gassy (as opposed to being able to feel food/grain in there) then when you press on it she might vomit.

But tell us what you were doign when she vomited! Also, did you ever see droppings? What were they like? Does she have sour breath? If you offer her something REALLT yummy (like mashed cooked egg) will she eat it?