Hen with Egg in Abdomen Area- But still acting normal

[mrskenmore]

Hi All,

I need the help of the experts- I have a hen that is recovering from double bumblefoot and was at the vet on Monday of this week. He mentioned that she had a rather large egg in her ready to lay... it is Thursday and she still has that egg and has not laid it. I thought she was egg bound but she doesn't have the symptoms- are there other egg related issues this could be?

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) a GLW Hen 1 year old 5 lbs. She is thinner than others as she is the lowest in the pecking order and often gets chased from food

2) What is the behavior, exactly. Went to the vet on Monday to treat double bumblefoot and he noticed an egg- three days later I am still feeling the egg and she is recovering from bumblefoot
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? since Monday
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? No
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. No
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. It was only noticed after the bumblefoot was discovered
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. she is eating normal (her normal layer pellet) not drinking as much
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. Here is the weird thing... her poop looks beautiful almost textbook in color, texture and cecal cap
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? I gave her a few epsom salt baths yesterday and separated her in a crate indoors today to really monitor. Gave her two epsom salt baths and crushed up 1000MG in calcium into her pellet food which she ate all of. she is in a cool, dark, comfortable part of the house
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? I would like to see if I can get her to lay the egg
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. she doesn't look any different than normal- a photo wouldn't show any thing- she is walking, roosting, perching and standing as normal
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use sand

 

[TheOddOneOut]

@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock
@azygous

 

[azygous]

Was the egg diagnosis made with the help of an X-ray? If not, any chance you and the vet are feeling fat or a tumor?

If you're certain there's an egg ready to come out, give calcium each day along with plenty of fluids and be patient. The calcium will promote strong contractions and the fluids will assist by keeping the hen's system hydrated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

He mentioned that she had a rather large egg in her ready to lay... it is Thursday and she still has that egg and has not laid it. I thought she was egg bound but she doesn't have the symptoms- are there other egg related issues this could be?

Went to the vet on Monday to treat double bumblefoot and he noticed an egg- three days later I am still feeling the egg and she is recovering from bumblefoot

she is eating normal (her normal layer pellet) not drinking as much

Was the egg diagnosis made with the help of an X-ray? If not, any chance you and the vet are feeling fat or a tumor?

^^^My thoughts too @azygous ^^^

@mrskenmore where on the body are you feeling an egg? Are you feeling inside the vent, the abdomen (below the vent between the legs), etc.?

To me, if you are feeling an egg while palpating the abdomen, then the "egg" may be internal laying, a mass from Peritonitis, caseous exude from Salpingitis, cancer, tumor or even possibly the gizzard.
Is her crop emptying completely overnight?
What's her poop like?
Do you have any photos you wish to share?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would insert a clean or gloved finger into her vent to feel for an egg. The vet could have felt something else, such as lash egg material or the gizzard in her abdomen. When did she last lay an egg and were they normal? Is she eating and drinking any better? You can add some water to a small amount of feed to try and fet more water into her.

 

[mrskenmore]

Was the egg diagnosis made with the help of an X-ray? If not, any chance you and the vet are feeling fat or a tumor?

If you're certain there's an egg ready to come out, give calcium each day along with plenty of fluids and be patient. The calcium will promote strong contractions and the fluids will assist by keeping the hen's system hydrated.

The diagnosis was made by the vet by doing an external exam. I am giving her crushed calcium pills (1,000 mg) on her food in the morning mixed with a little water. She eats it up. Today she spent the morning in the nesting box but no egg came. She then spent the day roosting, walking, running, sunbathing, dust bathing eating and drinking... as far as I can tell her poop is still picture perfect.

 

[mrskenmore]

^^^My thoughts too @azygous ^^^

@mrskenmore where on the body are you feeling an egg? Are you feeling inside the vent, the abdomen (below the vent between the legs), etc.?

To me, if you are feeling an egg while palpating the abdomen, then the "egg" may be internal laying, a mass from Peritonitis, caseous exude from Salpingitis, cancer, tumor or even possibly the gizzard.
Is her crop emptying completely overnight?
What's her poop like?
Do you have any photos you wish to share?

I will definitely share photos tomorrow, when I examined her yesterday I am feeling the egg under her vent I guess and between the leg bones. When I did an internal exam I put my rubber gloved hand with some lube into her vent and did not feel anything in the first inch or two. Again she is still pooping perfectly. So I figured maybe she is just slow to lay with all the excitement this week of going to the vet for bumblefoot... It feels like an egg to me, it is very hard like there is a shell and it is the shape of an egg when I feel both sides. I too wondered if it could be cancer or a tumor but she has zero other symptoms other than recovering from bumblefoot.

 

[mrskenmore]

I would insert a clean or gloved finger into her vent to feel for an egg. The vet could have felt something else, such as lash egg material or the gizzard in her abdomen. When did she last lay an egg and were they normal? Is she eating and drinking any better? You can add some water to a small amount of feed to try and fet more water into her.

Other then the egg mass she was completely normal today with eating and drinking... her last egg was probably a week or so ago and was normal... she had been known right around the one year mark to be laying a few soft eggs (took me awhile to figure that one out as I also had someone eating those soft eggs) we upped the calcium game by filling the dish with more oyster shells and that solved it.

Thank you all for your responses, will keep you posted on progress and updates tomorrow along with photos and a video of where I am feeling the egg.

 

[mrskenmore]

As promised I took some videos this morning to further help identify what I am feeling. Thanks again for all of your help and feedback, I really appreciate it!

Please let me know if you have any questions. I also did another internal poke this morning with a lubed latex glove and my finger was two inches in and there was no egg that I could feel.

 

[Araucana Nest]

Hi, she is very beautiful and I hope she recovers fully to a healthy and productive life. I wonder if she has laid a soft egg before or if you have noticed any soft eggs in your flock lately?