Internal laying? Binding? Peritonitis? Ascites?

[MrBoZiffer]

I'm a newbie and one of our hens is not laying. I've been doing research but have yet to figure out exactly what her problem may be. Any help is appreciated.

Here's the scenario:

August 1 - I found the remnants of an shell-less egg by the nesting box that evening. The membrane of the shell was hanging out the vent of our Ameraucana. I removed the membrane sleeve from her vent and try to clean the mess out of her fluff. We figured she just needed more calcium. But she then goes several days without laying. I start to think she is just binding and that it will take a few days for the calcium to kick in.

August 5 - She finally lays an egg, but it is a soft shell egg and she lays it from the roost bar just after dark.

August 7 - After reading more about binding and peritonitis I give her a hot bath, hoping it'll loosen her up. No egg, but she immediately has diarrhea after the bath. The bath did seem to really relax her though.

August 9 - Still no egg. I'm considering taking her to the vet.

She is 1.5 years old. The hens free range around our backyard all day and she seems to be eating fine. I also leave out some organic pellets that come from an Amish farm, so it seems like decent quality feed. Furthermore, I give them vegetable scraps and frozen melons. I think her diet is fine. She seems to be her same energetic self and her tail is not droopy. Her stomach doesn't feel swollen or watery; but I'm new to hens, so maybe I'm misreading her. Her poop is sometimes normal, sometimes small and white, and sometimes dark diarrhea. Her breathing is a bit more labored than our other hens, but she still hasn't shown signs of lethargy.

Of course, I am concerned that she may have one of these conditions, but I haven't been able to figure out which one for sure. If anyone can give me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it.

Also, I have a chance to get her to a vet this afternoon, so I may do so. However, I'm worried the trip may stress her out. She's certainly the most skittish of our flock.

 

[speckledhen]

She could be developing egg yolk peritonitis. She isn't egg bound. That would mean an egg is actually stuck and she would be straining to push it out unsuccessfully. A vet may not really have any knowledge of chickens-we find most are rather clueless but perfectly willing to charge the big bucks and tell you that you cannot treat your chicken yourself, even if you know more than the vet does (yes, many BYC folks actually do know more about chickens than their vet)

If I saw this happening, I would start her on a round of penicillin. The shell you pulled out may mean egg yolk was left inside and she may have the start of an infection. Penicillin is injected using a 22 gauge needle, 1/2-3/4 cc/ml daily for 3 days in the breast muscle. All supplies should be available at the local feed store.

Just know that this type of stuff usually is chronic and you may not be able to fix whatever the problem is with her. All you can do is try.

 

[MrBoZiffer]

Thanks. Yes, I am normally skeptical of vets as we raw feed our dogs and have often experienced crazy advice; but our current vet has been very receptive and informed. They are also one of the few avian vets around willing to accept chickens. So, we'll see how it goes.

Is there a web site for ordering penicillin?

Any chance this could be pre-molting behavior? I doubt it, but it seems to be approaching that time of year.

 

[speckledhen]

Chickens molt due to age, not time of year, and yes, egg issues can take that time to come to the surface, but still, the cause is pretty much irrelevant to how to treat or not. 18-20 months of age is the usual age for the first big molt.

I buy penicillin at the local feed store-most every one of them carries it. You can order it from places like Jeffers Livestock Supply and Revival Animal Health online as well. It would be the 30,000 IU penicillin injectible.

 

[MrBoZiffer]

Update:

I took her to the vet last Thursday, and the vet thought she is probably experiencing dietary problems, most likely a calcium deficiency. She did not think that Blanche (our hen) had peritonites or ascites. She told me to keep an eye on her for a few days and see how she's eating. On Saturday evening, Blanche finally laid an egg, but it was another soft-shell egg. Afterward, she was visibly exhausted. I got her to eat some cooked oatmeal with some oyster shell mixed in and she perked up about an hour or so later. No eggs since then.

To make matters more confusing, our Barred Rock (Dot) is not laying either. It's been about 4 days. But she never laid any soft-shell eggs or shell-less eggs. Her shells were rather thin lately. Both hens have improved poops: less diarrhea, mostly solid but mostly white stools. Also, both of these hens have lost a few feathers lately, and both are the same age (almost 2). So I'm still thinking molting might be a possibly.

Here's the confusing part: None of our hens (3) are interested in eating their layer feed that I leave out. They've been enthusiastic about it until recently. I noticed several weeks ago that they were eating it at a much slower rate than usual, but now I've noticed that they are barely touching it. I usually mix grit and oyster shell into the feed, but since they aren't touching the feed, they aren't getting enough oyster shell. It seems that they are sustaining on grass and bugs and the wild bird feed that falls from our bird feeders. I've been blending up the layer feed into crumbles and mixing it with oatmeal so that they at least get some of the layer feed; but I still need them to get interested in their feed again.

So, I don't know what to think. It seems like there is certainly a bit of a dietary deficiency, certainly with their calcium, but maybe this has coincided with molting. They're trying to lay, and their energy is good overall. I've removed the wild bird feeders so they don't overeat on it. By the way, I feed them the McGreary Organic Layer feed they sell at MyPetChicken.com. I may be switching to Country Side Organics--it actually looks better and cheaper. I'm also going to start dedicating a feeder to oyster shell only.

 

[speckledhen]

Don't fill your bird feeders for awhile, then. I myself quit feeding wild birds when I got chickens to try to prevent disease coming in from them, for the most part.

I never mix oyster shell in their food. They go eat it from a hopper on the wall as they need it just fine. Put a rabbit feeder on the wall with oyster shell in it and I bet they'll go to it as needed. Chickens usually will eat less feed in hot weather, especially if they free range. That is natural.

Sometimes, it's not that they aren't getting enough calcium, but that the hen may not be processing it well. A vitamin supplement for birds containing vitamin D would be in order in that case.

 

[MrBoZiffer]

Thanks for the tips. I went ahead and ordered a little hopper for the oyster shell. I'll source some vit D supplements as well. I'll just keep watching them. Thanks!

 

[MrBoZiffer]

An egg! Blanche just laid her first one this month that wasn't shell-less or soft-shell. So maybe she's doing better. I know she's eaten more of the layer feed and oyster shell over the past few days. I'll keep watching her. Her energy looks good though.

Our Barred Rock who hasn't laid in a few days is nesting a bunch and eating a little better too; so hopefully she'll show some signs of improvement soon.

Also, I found a good source of penicillin (Noricillin) nearby. Even if I don't need it now, at least I know where to get it easily.