Possible egg yolk peritonitis, egg bound, or vent gleet, not sure. Help please

[Paintedchicken]

Hi everyone, I have a hen that has been acting lethargic for about 2 days, just standing around and not much interest in food. I didn't think much of it since a coyote had taken her "chicken buddy" a few days earlier, so I though she was just sad. However, today I noticed her poop was yellowish and watery, it kinda looked like egg yolk or something. I also don't know when she laid her last egg. I'm not sure what's wrong with her; egg yolk peritonitis, egg bound, vent gleet, or what. I haven't noticed her "straining" or anything or standing in the egg bound position, however, she stood in a nesting box today for a while, not sure if she just wanted somewhere quiet or what. Her abdomen doesn't seem swollen, but the area around her vent is quite dirty and a little bare, and I may have noticed mites around her vent, which is odd since none of our other chickens seem to have mites. Should I just start her on some antibiotics as a precautionary? It would be great to know what's wrong with her. Thanks in advance!

 

[Livia Ammon]

If you could get some pictures of the chicken in question, the poop you noticed was unusual, and anything else you think is significant, that would help more experienced members figure it out.

 

[Paintedchicken]

Here are pictures of the hen, and the area around her vent

I found this in the coop, it looks like a piece of membrane from an egg, not sure if it's from her though

I forgot to get a picture of her poop before it dried, but here's a picture I found on the internet that looked very similar

 

[Livia Ammon]

TBH, I have no idea how to deal with this. Fingers crossed that someone else will find this and help you out. I would recommend looking up egg yolk peritonitis on BYC and looking for advice that other people shared

 

[Paintedchicken]

Thank you! I'm just not sure how to treat her since I'm not totally sure she has egg yolk peritonitis, but I'll definitely look into other posts about this

 

[Bawkbok]

If you think she is standing in the nest with difficulty expelling an egg, you can try to give her Calcium Citrate with D3 which could help with contractions. You can find it in the vitamin section at Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc. Give one tablet to her for 5-7 days. It's a large pill but they can swallow it. If you are by yourself, hold her like a football under one arm and with one hand, pull gently on the wattles until her beak opens and with the other hand pop it in and she will swallow it.

I would suggest cleaning her bottom. You can soak her in an epsom salt bath and clean her vent and feathers. If some of the poo is stuck to her vent and difficult to remove, you can use some mineral oil to help remove it.

There is no cure for EYP; you'll just treat the symptoms and provide supportive care. I don't know what to suggest on the antibiotic for precautionary treatment. Someone with more experience will need to respond. We had a hen with EYP and it did cause secondary infections.

 

[Eggcessive]

It looks like she passed an egg membrane as you thought. The dropping from the internet pic looks like egg matter or the yellow urates seen in droppings from hens with reproductive disorder or water belly. Keep her vent clean since maggot infestation from flies (fly strike) can be deadly in warm weather. Antibiotics such as amoxicillin or enrofloxacin may or may not help with reproductive infections, but you can get either from jedds.com.

 

[Paintedchicken]

Thank you both for your advice! She's perked up in the last day, more active and eating more, so maybe she's just been sad over loosing her "friend", but I'll be giving her calcium and keep watching her. She seems rather young to have reproductive disorder, she's less than 2 years old, but she is a hybrid bred for egg production so there's a chance.

 

[Eggcessive]

When one has a shell-less egg or passes an egg membrane, I would normally treat with calcium citrate 300-600 mg with D3 daily for up to 7 days. That should give you time to tell if this is a calcium issue or possibly an oviduct shell gland problem.

 

[Paintedchicken]

Great, thank you very much for your help!