My hen Beaker passed part of a broken egg and is sick...help

[blythspirit]

My beautiful hen Beaker stayed in the coop this morning when I let them out. I looked in the nest box and she was in there looking just fine. By noon she still had not come out so I went to check on her. I had not seen her out and about but she could have been, anyway she was still sitting in the box so I picked her up. She has dried and wet egg yolk on her legs and vent along with sticky and somewhat dried egg white..no shell no shell in the box or anywhere around her. So I brought her in the house and washed her bum with warm water, you can see she was trying to expel something out of her vent. there was a little dried poo on her too so I cleaned everything up. Checked her all over and found no injuries or signs of mites/lice or any other problem. She just sits down or stands in one spot. No broken leg/wing or other issues that I can tell. Now I have her in my bedroom in a dog crate with some water..she is just sitting there. She does seem to have a slightly full crop but not huge or anything. My hens have free access to water, crumbles, scratch, oyster shell and fresh greens everyday. baby spinach leaves/lettuces...

What can I do to help my girl..I love her so and I don't want to loose her but I don't want to do something that could cause further harm.

Please help...

 

[blythspirit]

okay now she is standing in the water dish I put in with her...very clumsy and tail down..this is my strong lead hen...not herself at all. She just passed a really nasty dark green to black poo. she is pumping her vent area like she cannot 'go' I know chicken poo smells but this is a whole new level of smell. Hubby is bringing home some electrolytes to put in her water, we do not have a 'chicken' vet around here and I am really hoping someone can give me some advise.

 

[blythspirit]

PLEASE READ even if you don't respond!
I found a vet that treats chickens, she has egg yolk periodontitis and he says there is pretty much no hope. I am giving her electrolytes and will be adding some antibiotics. He says it just sometimes happens even if they are given the best care. He says he likes all that I do for my hens but that no matter what sometimes this just happens.

By the way there is a recall for they type of laying pellets I use. Purina Layena crumbles and pellets also chick starter you all might want to check to see if you are on the list if you are using this feed. The recall came out 4 days ago.

He says that they have a recall due to poor levels of calcium and minerals necessary for healthy laying hens. I also feed oyster shell and fresh veggies etc but it might not have been enough.

I am replacing my feed..I am now going to be going to a local feed mill that makes their own..I am so sad. I don't know if this has caused my Beaker's trouble but I feel like I let her down.

 

[ten chicks]

First this is not your fault,it is something that unfortunately does happen. Have you checked her internally for broken pieces of shell left inside?

The outcome is not usually good with internal laying due to infection,but don't give up. Try using a vinegar/water solution to flush out vent internally,this might help with removing any remaining egg contents. You can also try giving her a tums or calcium tablet orally(break into pieces or mix with a small amount of water and let her drink)as calcium helps muscles contract and may help expel any shells/egg content.

 

[blythspirit]

thank you for responding Tenchicks. I am waiting for my husband to get home to help hold her while I check her vent. I wrapped her in a towel to clean her up when I first brought her in and it was a battle to clean her up the first time without hurting her. She is a tough girl and I am hoping that helps her beat this. She is sweet as can be but still not going to put up with me washing and probing her again.

She is holding her own right now. She has been drinking her water and is eating some treats. Hubby is picking up some yogurt and cottage cheese on the way home too. (we don't have any dairy in the house) but she does get oyster shell. We do have some tums but I could not get her to take any treats I tried putting some smashed up ones in..I hope the yogurt or cottage cheese will tempt her.

thank you again for responding, even the vet who says it pretty much won't work understands why I want to try to save her. He has 45 of his own and has lost 2 of them this year due to the same problem.

I am just rambling on here..and watching my little Beaker in her crate...

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Positive thoughts and hopes for you as you're going through this. Her toughness is something in your favour and your keen observation and compassionate care is in your favour too. Fingers crossed.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Milky bread bits and cut up grapes make good treats for recuperating chickens too.

 

[ten chicks]

Her eating/drinking is a good sign,how does her poop look? Has she laid any other eggs? It may be that she expelled the egg contents,this is why there is always hope b/c she just might have been lucky.

 

[blythspirit]

thank you all for your replies.


She is sleeping right now...She has had two poops today since I brought her in...both very dark green and super smelly and gross. No sign of shell coming out of her. She keeps 'pumping' her bottom and vent area like she wants to expel something but nothing is coming out. I did put her in the kitchen sink with warm water to help her when I first brought her in..(my mother would have fits if she knew that) I did bleach the sink afterward.

I have grapes here..should I let them warm up to room temperature to give them to her? I don't need her to get sour crop on top of this issue too. Sorry to be so full of questions.

Hubby is home now..I don't know whether we should wake her up or just let her rest awhile before trying all this new stuff on her.

 

[blythspirit]

she took a small bite of the scrambled egg didn't eat any of the grapes but I left the dish in with her for awhile. She did get up and stretch and made a little chirping sound..followed by a buck buck sound and laid back down. Hubby is finishing outside chores and then we are going to clean her up again. she has wet matter and such on her vent and feather area again. poor little girl. It will be easier with two of us doing this. I am going to wash the towels she has in with her now and just put newspapers and shredded newspapers in with her. Her bum is a wet sticky mess so I don't want stuff sticking to it.

I will keep posting. If anyone has any other ideas please let me know.