Penguin posture but NO OTHER SYMPTOMS

[SwampPrincessChick]

Her eggs look completely normal but I have not cracked them open, they are now mixed with other eggs so I cant tell which one would be hers but I will crack open the next one she lays.
We do not keep any other waterfowl animals, only chickens!

Have you tried soaking her in some warm water? If there is something stuck in her vent she might be able to push it out when her body is relaxed in warmth.

 

[Katiewitt20]

Have you tried soaking her in some warm water? If there is something stuck in her vent she might be able to push it out when her body is relaxed in warmth.

I did give her an epsom salt bath 1 day last week when we thought it could have been her being egg bound, but now that she is laying eggs, I didnt think that would be the concern -- I could certainly try giving her another bath though!

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I did give her an epsom salt bath 1 day last week when we thought it could have been her being egg bound, but now that she is laying eggs, I didnt think that would be the concern -- I could certainly try giving her another bath though!

I hope she gets better soon!

 

[Eggcessive]

Chickens are born with two oviducts, but the right one shrinks away normally. The left oviduct is the one most hens end up with. If the right oviduct persist is, it can end up collecting clear fluid inside the abdomen. If the vet said her left oviduct was inflamed, she may have salpingitis or inflammation of the oviduct. Hens with an upright positive and lowered tail can suffer from internal laying from salpingitis, if they are not egg bound.

 

[Eggcessive]

For any interested, here is some reading about cystic roping oviduct and a good picture of it by scrolling down the page:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7106171/

 

[Katiewitt20]

Chickens are born with two oviducts, but the right one shrinks away normally. The left oviduct is the one most hens end up with. If the right oviduct persist is, it can end up collecting clear fluid inside the abdomen. If the vet said her left oviduct was inflamed, she may have salpingitis or inflammation of the oviduct. Hens with an upright positive and lowered tail can suffer from internal laying from salpingitis, if they are not egg bound.

Thank you, yes she has laid 2 normal looking eggs since Monday (those were her first 2 eggs ever). I have done a quick google search on the salpingitis before, but do you know an easy way to treat that if that is what it is? or just ride it out and she could recover on her own? If this were your hen would you isolate her from the flock so the roosters dont take advantage of her weakness/slowness and aggravate her discomfort? I have her sleeping in a crate inside my house.

 

[Katiewitt20]

For any interested, here is some reading about cystic roping oviduct and a good picture of it by scrolling down the page:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7106171/

Thank you so much for this!!

 

[Eggcessive]

It is hard to know for sure that she has salpingitis—you can only notice her symptoms. If antibiotics are used early, then those might help, but there is an egg withdrawal time, and many people prefer not to give antibiotics. If you use one, amoxicllin or enrofloxacin are used. Amoxicillin is impossible to get without a prescription at this time, unless you have some put away. Enrofloxacin or Baytril is found online from Jedds.com. It is banned for chickens because the FDA worries about antibiotic resistance of campylobacter, a common bacteria we can get from handling chickens or eating undercooked chicken. If that doesn’t bother you, the 10% liquid dosage is 0.25 ml twice a day for 5 days. But without having a diagnosis, I might watch her.

I tend to leave all hens in the coop with the others to maintain the current pecking order. Is she being roughed up or bullied? If that is a problem, I would keep her in the coop and run inside a dog crate with food and water. If the coop is too small, maybe just bring her out in the mornings to spend the day.

 

[Katiewitt20]

It is hard to know for sure that she has salpingitis—you can only notice her symptoms. If antibiotics are used early, then those might help, but there is an egg withdrawal time, and many people prefer not to give antibiotics. If you use one, amoxicllin or enrofloxacin are used. Amoxicillin is impossible to get without a prescription at this time, unless you have some put away. Enrofloxacin or Baytril is found online from Jedds.com. It is banned for chickens because the FDA worries about antibiotic resistance of campylobacter, a common bacteria we can get from handling chickens or eating undercooked chicken. If that doesn’t bother you, the 10% liquid dosage is 0.25 ml twice a day for 5 days. But without having a diagnosis, I might watch her.

I tend to leave all hens in the coop with the others to maintain the current pecking order. Is she being roughed up or bullied? If that is a problem, I would keep her in the coop and run inside a dog crate with food and water. If the coop is too small, maybe just bring her out in the mornings to spend the day.

Hmm! That is all helpful and interesting about the antibiotics and yes, since her literal ONLY symptom is her penguin posture and slower to walk/waddle, it is so hard to pinpoint what might be the cause. I think I will continue to monitor and not do antibiotics for all those reasons you mentioned. I put her out yesterday to play with her other hen sisters and could tell she really enjoyed that, but then I brought her back in when the roosters were around. When the roosters are around (I have 3), they do seem to go for her to mate often because I guess she's an easy piece of meat....I have been anxious to get her back out with the flock but also was trying to isolate her to decrease stress/stimuli... maybe I should re integrate her by doing the crate in the run today. I doubt the crate will fit in the coop part though so i would have to stick her in the coop, i doubt she can hop up on the roosting bar though.... I have a large run though, so the crate will definitely fit in there!
As an anxious new chicken owner, I really appreciate your time here, truly.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I don't think chickens have left/right ovaries. It's just a big clump. Any swellings between the legs or under the vent?

Here's an informative article you may be interested in.

Excerpt
""" In almost all species of birds, including poultry, only the left ovary and oviduct are functional. Although the female embryo has two ovaries, only the left one develops. The right one typically regresses during development and is nonfunctional in the adult bird. (There have been cases in which the left ovary has been damaged and the right one has developed to replace it.)
https://poultry.extension.org/articles/poultry-anatomy/avian-reproductive-female/