Poor Wilma

[Chikk]

Wilma doesn't feel well. She's a year old, an Araucana. It looks like maybe a soft egg broke inside her, 2 days ago. She seemed ill one morning, then better in the evening, eating cracker and fruit. Now she's ill again. Poop looks yolky. Vent is messy. She's walking slowly and reluctantly. Not eager for food but drank lots of water this morning. No eggs for several days.
She needs a butt -bath, but I hate to traumatize her when she's feeling puny.
Any advice?

 

[seminolewind]

You may want to do an internal exam to see if there's a blockage. The other things is that ovaries can be infected, commonly by e.coli, so an antibiotic for that may help.

 

[casportpony]

You also might want to bring her inside where it's warm (80-85 degrees is ideal)

-Kathy

 

[Chikk]

I brought her inside and gave her a warm bath. She just soaked, didn't fuss, even let me take pictures.




Does this look normal? I never looked there before. It looked like she was trying to push. I did feel inside, but I probably didn't go in far enough. I didn't feel anything weird. If I do feel a blockage, do I try to remove it?



She's sleeping now, in the cat crate in the warm laundry room. Not drinking. Not pooping. I'll check into antibiotics at the Ag store.
Thanks for your help.

 

[seminolewind]

If there's a blockage, I super use olive oil and kind of keep going around the object and where it's stuck trying to work a bit unstuck at a time.

 

[Teila]

Hi there chikk

First up, I am far from an expert on what ails chickens but I experienced this issue with my bantam Langshan a couple of months ago.

She laid a soft shelled egg (during a moult) on the roost one evening. Her vent was also messy and the next morning she was very uncomfortable, walking slowly etc; not a happy chicken.

I couldn’t see or feel anything around or in her vent but I also gave her a warm bath which she enjoyed.

By lunch time she had not improved.

I gave her sardines in oil for lunch, which she loved and that evening, she passed some remaining ‘scrunched up’ soft shell.

By the next morning she was back to her normal happy self and is demanding to be let out for a free range as I type

 

[casportpony]

If she's not drinking you will need to get fluids into her, and the best way to do that is with a tube. No way to safely syringe the amount she needs, which is 15ml per pound several times a day.

Crop feeding videos

These are using a crop needle, not a plastic tube.




This one uses a tube like I use​

-Kathy

 

[Chikk]

Okay, I've got olive oil. Thank you.

 

[Chikk]

Wow! I hope I don't have to do that, but I can if necessary. She is drinking now and I got some antibiotics for the water. I put one teaspoon in a quart.