Opinions wanted, weird disappearing egg from eggbound?

[Echobabe]

Hi!
Treated my second eggbound hen yesterday. She was droopy, penguin walking, not interested much in food or water, hiding, hanging back from flock. Found her at first sitting in bottom of coop. When I could get back to her a few hours later, brought her in for an exam.

Nothing abnormal turned up (no side eggs either), so I checked her vent and I DID FEEL an egg about 1.5" straight in. I loaded a syringe with 3cc of calcium gluconate and gave SQ. Then put her into the spa (steamy bathroom with unlimited food and water laced with vitamin drench). She shortly drank 1.25-1.5 cups of water, then started eating some treats. I fully expected an egg this morning, but instead I filled up the tub with hot water again and refilled her treat cups before off to work.

I get home today and STILL NO EGG. She is a lot perkier, but still not herself. No more penguin walk. Droppings are still a watery mix of greenish lumps with white urates (still consistent with dehydration/bird not eating enough). Finger exam reveals NO EGG. No broken shell in pine shavings, no tell-tale evidence of eaten egg. I am scratching my head here!

I don't know if I should leave her be and see how she fares or administer metronidizole in case part of her problem is intestinal related (feeling bad enough to not stay hydrated) or an egg floating around in there. I am due to worm anyway.

I was heartened to see her pecking some corn an hour ago, so I threw some dehydrated mealworms and she stayed in with her flock and partook. So maybe she's just Houdini'd the egg???

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[rebrascora]

Are you absolutely sure you felt an egg and not her gizzard. If she was egg bound, the egg should be there pretty much right inside the vent and slightly up not that far straight forward.

Can you explain what you mean by "side eggs"?

 

[Echobabe]

yes, I really felt an egg. By side eggs, I mean how they feel with internal layers---hard shell along the side of the abdomen.

 

[rebrascora]

With internal laying there are no hard shells. It is only egg yolks from the ovary that are deposited into the abdominal cavity and you cannot feel them individually although eventually there will be a mass of them develop between their legs over a period of months, usually accompanied by fluid (ascites). You will not feel individual eggs though.
I'm really not sure what you are feeling as "side eggs" unless they are tumours.

 

[Echobabe]

I beg to differ: my first internal layer/egg peritonitis was diagnosed at my avian vet, who showed me exactly what to feel for: a hard, 'shelf' that extends for several inches as if many eggs were all slammed together into a tube.

What you are describing is also internal laying, but where the process goes awry denotes where the eggs are deposited in the abdomen and how they feel on palpation.

 

[rebrascora]

as if many eggs were all slammed together into a tube

This is more a description of Salpingitis (infection of the oviduct) where indeed "lash eggs" are formed and impacted together in the oviduct itself but it usually presents as a bulge just below the vent in my experience.

The gizzard is very hard and can certainly be mistaken for an egg, but if you are sure you felt an egg then either she has managed to lay it and eaten it, or someone else has checked in on her whilst you were out and removed it (I don't know your circumstances as to whether this is possible) since you can no longer feel it inside her. Hens are certainly capable of eating an egg and the shell too but you would normally see some trace in the bedding/litter.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Nothing abnormal turned up (no side eggs either), so I checked her vent and I DID FEEL an egg about 1.5" straight in.

Finger exam reveals NO EGG. No broken shell in pine shavings, no tell-tale evidence of eaten egg.

I don't know if I should leave her be and see how she fares or administer metronidizole in case part of her problem is intestinal related (feeling bad enough to not stay hydrated) or an egg floating around in there. I am due to worm anyway.

The only other thing I can think of it the egg has traveled back up the oviduct (reverse peristalsis of the oviduct). Hopefully it has not dropped into the abdomen.

You mention it's time to worm your chickens, do you use Metronizadole to worm your flock?

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[Echobabe]

Sorry--had another emergency come up but this time with a family member.

After further investigation this morning I believe it did drop into the abdomen

I don't worm with metronidizole. But in cases of anorexic birds with diarrhea, previous fecals have revealed giardia or other micro bugs that Metronidizole will solve. Then I follow up will 2 rounds of worming with safeguard or albendazole. My vet has suggested this as a gentler/safer way to de-parasitize a weak bird.

Although all of that is a moot point with the egg where it is now. I am back and forth to the hospital atm, but will have to deal with poor Piper sometime soon.