Impacted egg?

[jonekj]

I have a young Australorp hen, born in June, who has been laying for about a month. She laid a normal egg yesterday, and her poop this morning was fine. However, this morning, she was slow to leave the coop and is doing the walk like a penguin thing and squatting. After reviewing the forum posts, it appears she may have an impacted egg- and so my question is- since she laid yesterday can this happen merely overnight? Does the submerge her belly in warm water work in helping her pass the egg?
I cannot feel it, and her abdomen seems normal. You all are awesome on this website and I look forward to any advice. thanks

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Have you had a read of this ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/egg-binding-symptoms-treatment-and-prevention.66978/

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. She may well be eggbound or having some problem going on in her oviduct. There could be a very large egg or a shell-less egg, which is harder to pass. You can insert one finger into her vent an inch or so, to feel for an egg. I would bring her in, give her a human calcium tablet with vitamin D3, such as Caltrate, and offer some water. Tums with a little egg, or an egg cooked and ground shell and all in a food processor will give her calcium and D. Try soaking her in a warm shallow bath for about 20 minutes to try and relax her to pass the egg. If that doesn’t help, try her on a heating pad on low with a towel betwen her and the heat pad.

 

[jonekj]

I just performed an internal exam and there is no egg. The duct was not open and I went 2 inches into what I could only assume was her intestine. Her butt was pretty dirty, and I cleaned her off and she is separated with water, honey dipped bread crumbs and calcium. I'll search the forums again for any indication as to why she is behaving the way she is with egg binding perhaps not the problem.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Her butt was pretty dirty,

Maybe her dirty bottom was bothering her......hence the penguin walk. Hope everything works out okay for your sweet hen

 

[Eggcessive]

I would feel of her crop to see if it is empty and flat, full and hard or puffy. Bread can become doughy and sticky in the crop, and is not that good for them. I would wet some chicken feed with a lot of water and put a small amount of coocked egg on it. What do her poops look like? I would clean off her vent area, check her for any lice or mites under her bent, and offer her a few drops of Poultry NutriDrench. If she does not eat of drink, I would make sure that her crop is working, and think about treating her for possible coccidiosis with Corid, and consider worming with Valbazen or SafeGuard. If you have a regular vet, they may do a fecal test on some fresh droppings to look for worms, coccidia, or other parasites.

 

[Eggcessive]

Hens can suffer from internal laying and other reproductive problems. Usually they affect older hens over 2, but more rarely, a younger pullet can have them as well. Symptoms can include the penquin walk, a messy vent, poor appetite, weight loss, and some may have a swollen lower belly.

 

[Eggcessive]

Crop problems can cause the crop not to empty by early morning, so it is good to check her crop now and again in early morning before she eats or drinks.

Here is some reading about internal laying and egg yolk peritonitis:
http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/backyard-poultry/egg-yolk-peritonitis/

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/internal-layer

 

[jonekj]

She just snoozed in a warm bath....mites!

 

[jonekj]

by the by- her crop is fine- and there is no swelling along the belly. her poo was normal this morning.