Please Help! Eggbound & Possible Prolapsed Vent

[tlcmurphy]

I’m certain nothing you gave her caused her to pass away, chickens can have Tums as well as the calcium pill, the pill just works better. The vitamins also won’t hurt them.
I double yolk egg is essentially 2 eggs laid at once that end up in 1 shell, they happen with new layers. Unless that’s also a soft shell, I don’t think they need extra calcium for it.
I don’t know anything regarding a chicken vomiting, perhaps @azygous can address this?

I’m sorry you lost your baby, she was so cute

 

[Tiffany Wikk]

I’m certain nothing you gave her caused her to pass away, chickens can have Tums as well as the calcium pill, the pill just works better. The vitamins also won’t hurt them.
I double yolk egg is essentially 2 eggs laid at once that end up in 1 shell, they happen with new layers. Unless that’s also a soft shell, I don’t think they need extra calcium for it.
I don’t know anything regarding a chicken vomiting, perhaps @azygous can address this?

I’m sorry you lost your baby, she was so cute

Thank you so much for your helpful reply! It means a lot to my family and I to know people are here to help and encourage us. That makes me feel a lot better that the supplements were fine. I'm glad it didn't cause anything bad.

 

[azygous]

No, nothing, absolutely nothing you did contributed to her death. She began to die right after she passed the egg.

When there is egg binding, it causes the crop to slow down and accumulate fluid. That's normal for the condition. So, when she began to die, her organs began shutting down, and the crop regurgitated.

Death isn't like a light switch - one second you're alive, then the next second you're dead. It's like shutting down a power plant, a step by step process. In a chicken, after the heart stops, the final step is for the nervous system to shut down with all the nerves firing off one final time resulting in furious wing flapping , which is very upsetting to the humans witnessing it.

Often, in egg binding, a calcium deficiency is involved. Sometimes, as the hen's body is struggling to get the egg through the shell gland where the shell is laid over the egg membrane, there is an abrupt draw-down on her blood calcium. This can deprive her heart of the calcium it requires to beat. The result is heart failure.

This is why egg binding is one of the most serious health emergencies a flock keeper faces. Keeping calcium citrate handy at all times and popping a pill into the hen at the first sign of egg binding can save her life.

 

[Tiffany Wikk]

No, nothing, absolutely nothing you did contributed to her death. She began to die right after she passed the egg.

When there is egg binding, it causes the crop to slow down and accumulate fluid. That's normal for the condition. So, when she began to die, her organs began shutting down, and the crop regurgitated.

Death isn't like a light switch - one second you're alive, then the next second you're dead. It's like shutting down a power plant, a step by step process. In a chicken, after the heart stops, the final step is for the nervous system to shut down with all the nerves firing off one final time resulting in furious wing flapping , which is very upsetting to the humans witnessing it.

Often, in egg binding, a calcium deficiency is involved. Sometimes, as the hen's body is struggling to get the egg through the shell gland where the shell is laid over the egg membrane, there is an abrupt draw-down on her blood calcium. This can deprive her heart of the calcium it requires to beat. The result is heart failure.

This is why egg binding is one of the most serious health emergencies a flock keeper faces. Keeping calcium citrate handy at all times and popping a pill into the hen at the first sign of egg binding can save her life.

Thank you so so much! I don't know what I would do without this advice. Next time I see a hen acting at all the way she did I will give her the calcium citrate as fast as I can. Do you think it would be better for me to just feed the large pill to them whole? Or would crushing it, soaking it, and using the syringe properly be better?
I checked to make sure that they hadn't run out of the oyster shells. They still have plenty in the run along with the calcium carbonate limestone grit. I'll make sure they will always have access to that. I've seen them eat them plenty (even our rooster calls then over sometimes to peck at it). Maybe I just hadn't noticed Leeli wasn't eating it. Or maybe she was eating it but just wasn't able to process it correctly?
They also have free access to layer feed, but they also get fermented feed that's not layer in the mornings for our rooster to not get too much calcium.
I really appreciate the detailed response and explanation. It really helps for me to understand what was happening and why.
I'm so very relieved nothing we did caused her to die. This is my first chicken to die, and I didn't realize how hard it would be. I'm glad she is no longer in pain.
We truly appreciate people who have more knowledge and experience than us to help guide us. Thank you so much for taking time out of your days to help us. I cannot thank everyone enough!

 

[tlcmurphy]

You and your sister did the best you could for your little girl, it was just too much for her body to handle . You know what to look for and can give a pill as soon as you see the symptoms again, I think it’s best to give the whole pill.

 

[Tiffany Wikk]

I just realized the article that most helped was the one you had written @azygous. I was so busy I hadn't looked at who posted it, but I am so grateful for it. If it weren't for that article I wouldn't have asked my mom to get the calcium citrate at the store! I'm so thankful for your answers and article! I would have had no clue about the importance of calcium citrate if it weren't for you!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/

 

[azygous]

I'm going to post two of my favorite tutorials - why chickens can handle swallowing a whole pill and how to properly syringe fluds into a chicken.

Here's my tutorial on why chickens have an easier time swallowing a bulky pill than humans do.

We think chickens must have a problem swallowing a large pill just because we do. But their digestive process is different from ours. We begin the digestive process by chewing first, then swallowing. We aren't meant to swallow large chunks. We naturally choke.

Chickens don't have teeth for a good reason. They don't need them. Their digestive process begins after they swallow. The food goes directly into their crop without passing "Go", and then it trickles down into their gizzard where the "chewing" action goes into full swing.

Therefore, chickens can amaze us by swallowing things that we think would choke them, large pills included. But they actually have no problem. Slip the pill into the beak and you'll see it disappear like magic. Unless you don't get it far enough back on the tongue. Chickens can rival dogs and cats at firing a pill across the room like a guided missile, but it's not because they aren't able to swallow it easily.

Below is a depiction on how to insert a syringe into the esophagus, thus avoiding the airway in the center of the throat behind the tongue.

 

[Tiffany Wikk]

I'm going to post two of my favorite tutorials - why chickens can handle swallowing a whole pill and how to properly syringe fluds into a chicken.

Here's my tutorial on why chickens have an easier time swallowing a bulky pill than humans do.

We think chickens must have a problem swallowing a large pill just because we do. But their digestive process is different from ours. We begin the digestive process by chewing first, then swallowing. We aren't meant to swallow large chunks. We naturally choke.

Chickens don't have teeth for a good reason. They don't need them. Their digestive process begins after they swallow. The food goes directly into their crop without passing "Go", and then it trickles down into their gizzard where the "chewing" action goes into full swing.

Therefore, chickens can amaze us by swallowing things that we think would choke them, large pills included. But they actually have no problem. Slip the pill into the beak and you'll see it disappear like magic. Unless you don't get it far enough back on the tongue. Chickens can rival dogs and cats at firing a pill across the room like a guided missile, but it's not because they aren't able to swallow it easily.

Below is a depiction on how to insert a syringe into the esophagus, thus avoiding the airway in the center of the throat behind the tongue.
View attachment 3797165

Okay! Thank you so much!
I was wondering since it was a huge pill but I won't be worried anymore. I'll give it straight to them! You have no idea how much you are helping.
I'll definitely be careful to do it properly if I ever have to use a syringe again.
I don't think I could have gotten better people to help me! Thank you thank you thank you!

 

[TundraGhost]

I'm so sorry your hen passed away. Just know you did everything you could. She was clearly well loved, and she knew that.

I've learned a few things reading through this thread. I recently gave one of my hens one calcium pill a day for about 5 days, because I noticed she was laying soft eggs. I was worried she wouldn't be able to eat the pill so I would make her some scrambled eggs and crush the pill up to sprinkle it over. Worked like a charm, but if I feel I need to give some again I might try it whole just to see.

 

[Tiffany Wikk]

I'm so sorry your hen passed away. Just know you did everything you could. She was clearly well loved, and she knew that.

I've learned a few things reading through this thread. I recently gave one of my hens one calcium pill a day for about 5 days, because I noticed she was laying soft eggs. I was worried she wouldn't be able to eat the pill so I would make her some scrambled eggs and crush the pill up to sprinkle it over. Worked like a charm, but if I feel I need to give some again I might try it whole just to see.

Thank you so much for your kind words! We've learned so much from these people kindly giving advice. I certainly hope that people can learn from this thread as I did.