New & need help

[barefootpaula]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and I'm looking for help with a hen that seems to be filling up..drooping tail and very heavy. What do I do?

 

[arlee453]

First, welcome! I"m sure you can get some ideas here...

Secondly, read the post 'sticky' at the top of the Emergency/Illness category and then repost with the information asked for. That will help a lot with specfics on the hen's symptoms.

It MIGHT be egg bound, but without more info, it's hard to say anything really...

Hope your girl gets to feeling better soon!

 

[barefootpaula]

Sorry, I'm new to this...should I be posting a new topic now? Otherwise, here are the specifics... the hen is a brown egg layer (not completely Rhode Island Red) and is less than 1 year old. I have 3 of them. I noticed yesterday, after being away for the weekend, that this hen's tail is drooping and she's walking funny. Her gut seems very bloated and heavy but it's not hard; it feels full of liquid. I gloved and lubed up and inserted a finger to feel for a stuck or broken egg but found nothing at all. I have not isolated her yet to determine if she's pooping or laying but I highly doubt she is. I've never taken a chicken to the vet before and don't know that my husband will allow us to spend vet money on a chicken. Is there anything I can do to figure out what is wrong and what I can do if we are dealing with a broken egg inside or blockage.

 

[dlhunicorn]

There is a search button here and if you search for "eggbound" you will get lots of threads discussing symptoms you are describing.
I do not feel it has any value to lube and feel as quite often there may be a stuck egg higher up or you may push a soft egg further back (or worse break it) complicating matters further.
If it were me I would put her in a warm bath and follow the procedure for eggbound... keep her separated and monitor her symptoms and keep posting here.

 

[barefootpaula]

Thanks for the search button advice.

I read some great stuff. Last night I let her soak in a warm bath until she wanted out (about 5 or so minutes). I put her in a separate cage so I could monitor her output. This morning I see a broken empty & crumpled egg membrane and a poop in her cage. She's still very swollen and the swollen area is harder now. She's still acting fairly normal. She wants out of the cage since she's used to free range. I will soak her again and keep you posted.

 

[thechickenchick]

It sounds like you are doing everything as you should. I will be thinking of you today and sending happy thoughts your way! Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[barefootpaula]

Well, my poor hen is now crying out and panting hard. I don't think I can sit back and let her suffer. I just don't know what else to do(((

 

[dlhunicorn]

I am afraid that broken egg might have gone septic/peritonitis or salpingitis (in which she would need serious antibiotics like baytril) or else wshe had another egg backed up and is in difficulty laying that one. Anything we say here after all at the end of the day is just a guess...
What you could and should do since she is panting is put electrolytes in her waater and keep dribbling that along her beak to ensure she does not become dehydrated and once again do the warm bath. You can also give her a crushed tums (perhaps in a wee bit of cooked oatmeal) > this is an emergency substitute for the calcium gluconate she would get at the vet in a suspected case of eggbound.

 

[barefootpaula]

I was going to put her down yesterday but instead decided to release her from her isloation cage and let nature takes it's course. At least she'd be where she wanted to be to pass on. She wouldn't coop last night again so I allowed her to stay out and she bedded down in the goat house. I expected her to be dead this morning but she's still alive. I think her panting and crying distress yesterday was due to her isolation.

After reading the old posts about eggbound I noted mixed reviews about manually feeling around for internal eggs. I decided that since she'd passed a broken membrane (no hard pieces of shell) I'd give another feel. The first time I could feel an empty passage as far as my finger would go. Last night it seems there is a blockage with no way around it or even an indication that there would be any way around it. If she's eggbound, I don't feel it to be an egg unless the entire passage is twisted shut and sealed itself. Massaging her bottom gently I don't feel any defined eggs. I'll give the tums and electrolyts a try since she's still kickin. She's such a kind and patient hen.

 

[HorseFeathers]

You are being a wonderful chicken momma/nurse. Keep it up.

My advice is to talk and maybe sing to her. Just make her feel calm. That's what I would do for a person.

Good luck!