Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[fisherlady]

I just checked when I posted about Penelope being egg bound. It's been 4 WEEKS ago! Poor baby. She has not lost her spunk. She was fighting, she picked the fight, with the roosters in the next run through the fence. She is still hanging in there.

This is a crazy question. Could the egg incubate in her body? All the posts I have seen about an egg bound hen die within 48 hours if the egg hasn't come out. It has been 4 WEEKS.

I wouldn't think she was egg bound, possibly internal laying, which could progress to peritonitis... or fluid build up (ascites) from another medical condition such as heart or liver disease.

 

[barbiegirl]

I wouldn't think she was egg bound, possibly internal laying, which could progress to peritonitis... or fluid build up (ascites) from another medical condition such as heart or liver disease.

With internal laying can you feel an egg by the vent? There still is a hard egg shaped object by her vent. I felt it 2 days ago.

 

[fisherlady]

With internal laying can you feel an egg by the vent? There still is a hard egg shaped object by her vent. I felt it 2 days ago.

I have not had an egg bound hen yet... but extensive amount of reading on it here on byc. I have butchered 'spent' laying hens and found hard tumors in their reproductive system and abdomen which could be considered egg shaped if palpating externally. some of the findings were calcified eggs and some appeared to be (probably cancerous) tumors...
Do a search for 'internal laying' and see if symptoms aren't similar to what your hen is dealing with.

 

[barbiegirl]

I am trying now. She started to walk like a penguin and I brought her in and soaked her, put lube in her vent, and gave her extra calcium. I felt a hard egg shaped lump by her vent then and still do. I kept her inside for about a week before putting her back outside. She was very depressed inside.

Symptoms of an internal layer with peritonitis can include:

• Yolk colored feces
• Weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Lethargy/Depression
• Swollen & spongy feeling vent area and/or abdomen
• Respiratory problems
• Fluffed feathers
• Penguin stance; abnormal waddle

The only signs she has there is penguin walking. Her abdomen is swollen but doesn't feel spongy, there is a hard egg shaped feeling. She eats and drinks fine. She waddles all over the yard. Her comb is still red, not pale. When she was inside the poops weren't yolk colored. I was checking to make sure she pooped and she did. Sometimes she cannot get back into the coop at night and I put her in. Every day I think I will find her dead but she is still holding on. She keeps trying to push out an egg. I can see her pushing but nothing comes out, besides a poop. Maybe she has tumors?

If I process her, to put her out of her suffering, could I feed her to my dogs? We will be processing our extra roosters and turkey soon. If there is something really wrong with her I wouldn't want my dogs to get sick from eating her. She is my oldest hen.

 

[dheltzel]

This is a crazy question. Could the egg incubate in her body? All the posts I have seen about an egg bound hen die within 48 hours if the egg hasn't come out. It has been 4 WEEKS.

An egg can't incubate successfully in such a low oxygen environment. If there is an egg in there for the past few weeks, any embryo has been dead for some time, so it is decomposing inside her body right now.

 

[dheltzel]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. I just don't understand. I'm doing everything the same as I've always done and I've never lost chicks like this before.

There is an element of chance with any living thing. It could have been something genetic, but very likely the 2 pullets died from very different causes. If you had 20 and 2 died, you would chalk it up to weaknesses or chance. It's always harder when you have very few of a breed you really want to keep for the long term. Every time I go to the farm, I go by the pens with the stock I'm growing out for next year but that I only have 1 or 2 pairs of. I do a quick head count just to be sure they are safe. I hope nothing happens to them, but sometimes things go wrong.

I will have more CCL pullets for you whenever we can figure out how to get them to you.

 

[barbiegirl]

An egg can't incubate successfully in such a low oxygen environment. If there is an egg in there for the past few weeks, any embryo has been dead for some time, so it is decomposing inside her body right now.

She looks so happy today. She was sun and dust bathing.


Yesterday we tried out a new to us wood chipper. That thing is loud and our little flock of free ranging chicks took off. I was calling to them and looking for them and couldn't find them. It was getting late and my cat found me. I was holding her and then she seen something moving in the ferns. She jumped down and went to get the "mouse". The mouse turned out to be my missing chicks. She stopped and didn't attack them. She is a live stock protector cat I guess lol.

 

[Hounds51]

Hi I am back after a long absence..

 

[BullChick]

I had been planning on moving my chickens back to the big coop tonight. Since I only pulled the rest of my vegetables yesterday, I decided to give the girls a few days of eating whatever was left behind, and tilling and fertilizing the garden. Somehow one girl got out yesterday, and I don't know how. Well, the neighbor came to my door half an hour ago to alert me to all six being in her yard. THE MOMENT I spoke, all six came running to me!!

I have never gotten this reaction from them! I had to go back in to change, and when I came back out, all six ran after me straight into their old coop. I guess God has other plans for my week, and He knew I needed to move them tonight.

 

[fisherlady]

I had been planning on moving my chickens back to the big coop tonight. Since I only pulled the rest of my vegetables yesterday, I decided to give the girls a few days of eating whatever was left behind, and tilling and fertilizing the garden. Somehow one girl got out yesterday, and I don't know how. Well, the neighbor came to my door half an hour ago to alert me to all six being in her yard. THE MOMENT I spoke, all six came running to me!! I have never gotten this reaction from them! I had to go back in to change, and when I came back out, all six ran after me straight into their old coop. I guess God has other plans for my week, and He knew I needed to move them tonight.

That is cool!! They obviously trust you and like you for them to do so well...certainly made it easier for you to gather them up!