My Black Star is Sick!

[Tamigirl37]

Oh dear...

Is she pooping at all? When you soaked her, did you happen to insert a finger about 1" into the vent to feel for an egg?

You mention that you do feel egg/mass in the abdomen? She does look quite thin, when was the last time she laid an egg? How long has she been in this "position" with her stance?

It's so very hard to know what to do in a situation like this. Give her a thorough going over - if she is pooping, then she is not "egg bound" (doesn't have an egg stuck). Feeling masses or an egg in the abdomen, to me, would indicate internal laying/reproductive issues - it could be cancer, tumors, Salpingitis or Egg Yolk Peritonitis (sometimes a combination). Without taking a look after she's gone, there's no way to know for sure.

It does sound like you have tried what you can, you can continue to offer supportive care over the course of a couple of days to see if she gets better, but she may decline further. If you feel like she is in pain/suffering, then it's best to put her out of her misery. If you do end her suffering, and aren't squeamish, you can do an informal necropsy yourself, looking for the masses/egg you felt in the abdomen and at her internal organs.

I'm very sorry, I wish I had better answers for you.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hey, all I'm sorry I'm just responding. I didn't realize I had replies and thank you for them. An update on Beauty. She is doing well. It has been so cold down here that I only soaked her a couple of times and then decided to let Mother Nature take its course and she has recovered. During this whole time her mood, eating and mobility didn't change so I figured that as long as she's eating, getting around good and her mood was good then I'll let her let me know when it's time to let her go. So far so good. She is no longer walking like a Penguin. I haven't checked for mass yet though. I don't think she's laying, but not many of my girls are right now. I decided to incorporate some booster pellets into their food. They get to graze daily, but not as much as I'd like. We have Hawks like crazy and if I let them out all day every day I wouldn't have any chickens left. Is there anything that any of you can recommend to help them with their shell development? They have access to the crushed oyster shells and I give them crushed up egg shells as well. Thanks for all your advice.

I'm glad to hear that Beauty is still going
I hope she continues to improve.

Are you having trouble with egg shell quality? If the shell quality is hard then usually what you have been giving is sufficient.

For any girls that are having problems with soft shells, then you can give the Tums as suggested or 1/2tablet daily of Caltrate (or store brand), until you get solid, hard shell eggs. You don't want to overdo the Calcium since too much can be damaging to the kidneys, cause brittle bones, etc.

 

[RodNTN]

Great to hear!! One of my hens had Egg Yolk Peritonitis once, and she miraculously recovered without meds

 

[Tamigirl37]

I'm glad to hear that Beauty is still going
I hope she continues to improve.

Are you having trouble with egg shell quality? If the shell quality is hard then usually what you have been giving is sufficient.

For any girls that are having problems with soft shells, then you can give the Tums as suggested or 1/2tablet daily of Caltrate (or store brand), until you get solid, hard shell eggs. You don't want to overdo the Calcium since too much can be damaging to the kidneys, cause brittle bones, etc.

Well, some are hard and some are soft. I think the softer eggs are laid by the older girls.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If you can figure out which girls are laying the soft eggs, then it won't hurt to give them a direct dose of calcium (1/2pill) daily for a couple of weeks.

Older hens can also develop shell gland problems or may get to the point where they don't absorb nutrients quite as well as they did when younger. Seeing that their diet consists of layer feed 95% of the time may help as well, since treats/goodies can dilute nutritional content.