Lash egg?

[TMMickey]

Hi everyone! I am reaching out from Portland Oregon.

It seems as though we got a Lash egg All chickens are acting totally normal, so we have no idea which chicken it could be. We have 7 chickens. We lost a chicken to (what we think) was a mysterious bacterial infection about a month ago. Although we are not sure if these incidences are related, I thought it was worth mentioning. I am hoping to get some advice on the situation. What do you do if you get a lash egg? Could the situations be linked? How do we proceed from here? Thanks in advance!

 

[coach723]

Do you have a picture of the lash egg?
If that is what it is, then that means salpingitis. That is infection/inflammation of the oviduct.
If you want to try to treat then the help of vet is good to make sure you use the correct antibiotic. This is usually very stubborn and most often doesn't respond to treatment unless it is caught very early. They hide it well (which is why you don't know which one it is yet) so is often not found until it's advanced. Feel all of their abdomens, below the vent, between the legs. If you find one that has any bloat or swelling then that is likely the one. As it progresses, they get more bloated but may actually lose muscle mass, they may start to waddle as the matter in their abdomens pushes their legs wider apart.
I've treated several birds, I've not had one recover from this yet, though some others claim they have. Baytril (enrofloxacin) is often what they are treated with. You can get that in oral form here:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/enro/
There is more info on salpingitis here:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/
I generally leave mine with the flock until they are obviously unwell, go off food and water, isolate themselves or are attacked, then I euthanize. If I think I've caught it early, I still try to treat. If there is substantial bloat, then I just let them be happy as long as that is. I've had some pass quite quickly, I've had a couple last about 18 months.

 

[TMMickey]

Do you have a picture of the lash egg?
If that is what it is, then that means salpingitis. That is infection/inflammation of the oviduct.
If you want to try to treat then the help of vet is good to make sure you use the correct antibiotic. This is usually very stubborn and most often doesn't respond to treatment unless it is caught very early. They hide it well (which is why you don't know which one it is yet) so is often not found until it's advanced. Feel all of their abdomens, below the vent, between the legs. If you find one that has any bloat or swelling then that is likely the one. As it progresses, they get more bloated but may actually lose muscle mass, they may start to waddle as the matter in their abdomens pushes their legs wider apart.
I've treated several birds, I've not had one recover from this yet, though some others claim they have. Baytril (enrofloxacin) is often what they are treated with. You can get that in oral form here:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/enro/
There is more info on salpingitis here:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/
I generally leave mine with the flock until they are obviously unwell, go off food and water, isolate themselves or are attacked, then I euthanize. If I think I've caught it early, I still try to treat. If there is substantial bloat, then I just let them be happy as long as that is. I've had some pass quite quickly, I've had a couple last about 18 months.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE INFORMATION! Unfortunately the “egg” was discarded by my son. Considering it was the shape and consistency of a lash egg... and the stench. I believe that’s what it was. What at causes this? Should I worry about the rest of the flock?

 

[denz88]

I noticed salpingitis in one of my hens last year. This was before I was aware of the terms "lash egg" and "salpingitis." The kind folks here at BYC helped me figure out what to do. Thanks to them, she managed to survive and is probably near, if not at the top, of the pecking order today.

This is the thread I created last year. I found the replies there incredibly helpful, perhaps they might help you too: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-laid-a-hard-cooked-yolk-no-shell.1337314/

I don't believe salpingitis is contagious, but the pathogens that cause it may be. In my case, the hen that had salpingitis also had bumblefoot. It's possible that the infection moved from her foot. To provide better comfort and care and to prevent pathogen spread, I brought my hen indoors.

As coach pointed out here and in the linked thread, enrofloxacin (baytril) is most effective for this illness. I've used it to treat my first detected case of salpingitis and later used it to treat another hen that I suspected was in the early stages of EYP. Both cases had good outcomes. The dose I used per instructions from @casportpony was 0.045ml per pound of bodyweight given twice daily.

In my case, I only had amoxicillin available and had to wait for the enrofloxacin to arrive in the mail. I followed the dosage provided by @coach723 for amoxicillin (which is more readily available from pet stores as fish amox), which is 57mg per pound of bodyweight, given twice daily. I switched off of amoxicillin to enrofloxacin as soon it arrived in the mail. One course (5 days) of enrofloxacin and a lot of TLC did the job.

 

[coach723]

What at causes this? Should I worry about the rest of the flock?

It is not considered contagious in the usual sense. It's most likely bacterial in origin, the actual mechanics of how it happens are not really known. There is information about what it is, but little on prevention or how it actually happens. The lash egg is pus, and often if they are able to pass some they feel better for a time. In some birds the matter just builds up inside, they may not pass anything. In some birds it's not known until after death and is found at necropsy. It can sometimes result in birds acting egg bound, and in some cases they may become completely blocked, which will result in death. There is nothing wrong with attempting to treat it, if you want to do that. Every bird is different, every case is different, maybe she will be one of the lucky ones. I've heard of far more unsuccessful cases than successful ones however. I've had birds seem to be doing better after antibiotics, and then it comes back.

 

[TMMickey]

Thank you for all your help and information. All the ladies are acting normal and happy, therefore we haven’t been able to pinpoint the culprit. We are keeping a close eye on the flock, so hopefully we will catch something early if we see suspicious behavior.

 

[TMMickey]

I noticed salpingitis in one of my hens last year. This was before I was aware of the terms "lash egg" and "salpingitis." The kind folks here at BYC helped me figure out what to do. Thanks to them, she managed to survive and is probably near, if not at the top, of the pecking order today.

This is the thread I created last year. I found the replies there incredibly helpful, perhaps they might help you too: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-laid-a-hard-cooked-yolk-no-shell.1337314/

I don't believe salpingitis is contagious, but the pathogens that cause it may be. In my case, the hen that had salpingitis also had bumblefoot. It's possible that the infection moved from her foot. To provide better comfort and care and to prevent pathogen spread, I brought my hen indoors.

As coach pointed out here and in the linked thread, enrofloxacin (baytril) is most effective for this illness. I've used it to treat my first detected case of salpingitis and later used it to treat another hen that I suspected was in the early stages of EYP. Both cases had good outcomes. The dose I used per instructions from @casportpony was 0.045ml per pound of bodyweight given twice daily.

In my case, I only had amoxicillin available and had to wait for the enrofloxacin to arrive in the mail. I followed the dosage provided by @coach723 for amoxicillin (which is more readily available from pet stores as fish amox), which is 57mg per pound of bodyweight, given twice daily. I switched off of amoxicillin to enrofloxacin as soon it arrived in the mail. One course (5 days) of enrofloxacin and a lot of TLC did the job.

Wonderful information and resources! Thank you so much for the help. We also only had Fish Mox on hand, so I ordered the medicine you suggested to have on hand. So far everyone is acting happy and normal. We are keeping a close eye on the situation, so hopefully we will catch it early if something arises.