Hen seems to be in distress

[AmsoilJim]

I have a 2 year old hen who seems to be in some sort of distress. Yesterday evening I noticed her standing in one spot all puffed up which seemed unusual. Then at 8:30 when I went to lock up the coop, I peaked inside and she was sitting inside one of the nesting boxes, again strange. Then this morning when I let them out she slowly walked passed me all puffed up and I noticed she was trying to push something out. She had something narrow and white that looked like a stick sticking out of her with a trial of poop down her feathers. Looks like what ever it is, is some what stuck. When I picked her up to see if I could assist in removing it, it went back inside. Any suggestions?

 

[Kiki]

Poor thing...
she may be egg bound.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It sounds like she may have a partial or whole soft shell egg that she is working on (the white thing sticking out).

Offer her a direct dose of some poultry vitamins (like Poultry Nutri-Drench 1cc per 3lbs) and get some extra calcium into her - several ways - crush a Tums and sprinkle it over a favorite treat (hard boiled egg works good), liquid calcium (1cc or follow bottle directions) or give 1/2tab of calcium carbonate (like Caltrate).

Hopefully the vitamins will give her a boost and the calcium will help with some contractions so she can push the egg on out (soft shell or broken soft shells are hard to push).

She will most likely be a mess afterwards (egg yolk/whites on her bum), depending on how she is give her a quick bath in a little warm soapy water to rinse off the egg matter. If she is still struggling after a few hours, give her a soak in a warm epsom salts bath, this will sometimes relax, soothe and get things moving.

I hope this is a one time deal for her, sometimes this can be a precursor for more to come. I have one that consistently does this, so far, she has bounced back and it seems most of the egg matter has come out, but eventually I believe she will end up with an infection or Peritonitis. Time will tell, I just keep a watch on her.

Keep us posted.

Forgot to add - here's a good explanation of possibly what is going on with your girl:
LAYING GLITCH SOFT SHELL EGG
https://hencam.com/henblog/2015/08/a-laying-glitch/

 

[AmsoilJim]

She just keeps drinking water and not moving much.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

Poor thing...
she may be egg bound.

I agree, she probably has prolapsed vent. I have found hens with this condition that bled out trying push out that stuck egg. It is very sad, and a genetic abnormality that happens every so often in domesticated hens. I have tried to rescue hens in that condition, simple because I don't like an animal to suffer intentionally. But, I haven't had success. Every case has been terminal.

 

[Kiki]

Get the bath tub (bucket..what ever you think will work) ready!
Soak her.

 

[RoosterCogburn7]

Get the bath tub (bucket..what ever you think will work) ready!
Soak her.

We have tried that with a hen. (Eating Egg hen). We thought we were successful, and quarantined her to let her heal. Sadly, the results were the same. Even if there is a miracle and it works out well, she needs to be pulled out of the hatching egg/chick rotation, as the problem tends to be a genetic abnormality. For the same reason, if I knew I was going to contract my genetic disease, I would have never had children. But, it manifested years and years after they were born.

 

[Kiki]

We have tried that with a hen. We thought we were successful, and quarantined her to let her heal. Sadly, the results were the same.

Sorry it didn't work for you, and it may not work for Op but it will not hurt to try.
It has worked for many many people of this site.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@AmsoilJim How is your hen?

 

[AmsoilJim]

She is currently roosting looking like she is constipated