Mortality rate in treatment of egg bound chicken

[chicki291]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping to get some advice from you guys on what to do with my hen

She is 5 year old bantam, and today I took her to the vet, due to her having a lump in her abdomen
Turns out that she has an egg stuck inside of her, which has turned rotten on the inside
She is still her happy self (taking dust baths, eating, drinking, able to poop etc. ) and shows no signs of this bothering her

The treatment option is the vet inserting a needle to suck out the contents of the egg, and then waiting for the empty shell to pass.

They said that this could cause a lot of stress for her, and that there is no certainty on whether this will work or ultimately cause her death

Has anyone here had this procedure done to their hen? Or maybe have an idea of the mortality rate for this procedure?

I know that she is a bit old, and am wondering if this much stress would even be worth it, as she is showing no signs of discomfort
(shes scratching around the garden as i’m typing this haha)

She is on antibiotics and pain medication for the time being

Some advice would be greatly appreciated!

I attached a few pictures for you guys
Thank you in advance!

 

[LaFleche]

I am sorry your cute little hen is unwell.

As you already have her on antibiotics and pain meds, I would just let her be and monitor closely to notice when her quality of life will worsen to the point she needs to be put down.

I have no own experience with the mentioned procedure or the mortality rates.

 

[Eggcessive]

Did the vet do an X-ray? Have you or the vet given her calcium? If not I would give 600 mg of human calcium citrate with vitamin d orally straight into her beak to swallow. That can help muscle contraction to pass an egg. Give it daily for several days. Get it at Walmart or other vitamin shop.

 

[Shadrach]

First thing is I would be looking to change vet! If the egg is shelled it's far enough down to feel with a lubricated finger. The next thing is why is she on antibiotics? I assume the shell isn't broken? She should be given calcium citrate as a starting point which may get the egg moving without further intervention. If not, then the application of coconut oil inside her vent and around the egg and a little manipulation of her abdomen can rock the egg free. Worst case it breaks the egg and scrape out the shell with a finger and then using a large capacity syringe, flood her insides with water and wash any remaining shell and egg out. I've done all of the above. Mostly with some carefully applied oil with a soft art paint around the egg shell in the vent and a bit of rocking the abdomen the egg frees. No hen should die from being eggbound once discovered in this day and age and no hen I've treated ever has.

 

[chicki291]

Did the vet do an X-ray? Have you or the vet given her calcium? If not I would give 600 mg of human calcium citrate with vitamin d orally straight into her beak to swallow. That can help muscle contraction to pass an egg. Give it daily for several days. Get it at Walmart or other vitamin shop.

Yes they did an x-ray! Sorry i failed to mention, the vet did give her calcium medication

 

[chicki291]

First thing is I would be looking to change vet! If the egg is shelled it's far enough down to feel with a lubricated finger. The next thing is why is she on antibiotics? I assume the shell isn't broken? She should be given calcium citrate as a starting point which may get the egg moving without further intervention. If not, then the application of coconut oil inside her vent and around the egg and a little manipulation of her abdomen can rock the egg free. Worst case it breaks the egg and scrape out the shell with a finger and then using a large capacity syringe, flood her insides with water and wash any remaining shell and egg out. I've done all of the above. Mostly with some carefully applied oil with a soft art paint around the egg shell in the vent and a bit of rocking the abdomen the egg frees. No hen should die from being eggbound once discovered in this day and age and no hen I've treated ever has.

Unfortunately this is the only avian vet we have here
The thing with this egg - we think it might have been stuck there for quite a while, upwards of a month.
The vet said that on the x-ray, it seems like the egg got a crack, and then a “new” thicker shell formed over that part. And the inside of that egg is rotten

I have applied coconut oil inside her vent and tried to manipulate the abdomen to get the egg free. Just does not seem to budge. And she gets extremely uncomfortable and stressed. Sometimes even looked ill after I tried it
I’m also afraid that if the egg breaks, of all the bacteria that’s going to go into her system, especially since the inside is so rotten..

I’m not experienced for this type of thing at all, and would rather that my vet do it. That’s why I was looking for advice on whether to get the procedure done or not, since she is such an old lady

But how did the healing process look for your hens? Did they take a few days to bounce back or were they almost immediately more comfortable?

 

[Shadrach]

The last hen I freed an egg for looked a bit uncomfortable until she expelled the two other eggs that had backed up behind the stuck egg. The last hen I had to break the egg and then flush out the bits laid again the next day, but I was on the case the day the egg got stuck.

 

[TillyPeeps]

I would let the vet to drain the egg. If you leave it there, she may need to be on antibiotics for a long time and still has risks of infection. Since she is healthy, I think she should handle it well. I only had one hen with egg bound, and she passed the egg after I gave her calcium on the same day she was egg bound.

 

[chicki291]

I would let the vet to drain the egg. If you leave it there, she may need to be on antibiotics for a long time and still has risks of infection. Since she is healthy, I think she should handle it well. I only had one hen with egg bound, and she passed the egg after I gave her calcium on the same day she was egg bound.

Thank you all so much
Shes going to be on this treatment for about a week
I will try to keep you guys updated and whether she goes to get the procedure done

 

[chicki291]

Hi everyone
The little hen is still doing well and going to bed every night with a full crop
But I do have a question for you guys

this egg has been stuck inside of this hen for a month or two, and I was wondering… Is it possible that this egg could have “melted” or adhered to her oviduct wall?
for example that a membrane or something has formed over the egg, making it impossible to move? Or is that just not something that can happen? Sorry if it’s a dumb question or if it doesn’t make sense what i’m asking haha

We are hoping to get the procedure done asap, but I was thinking of whether it will even be possible for this egg to move from where it is now

I’m first going to do the warm epsom salt baths again and try to manipulate the egg out of her body, to see if its possible for me to move the egg further down more towards her vent