possibly eggbound.. EDIT : didn't make it.

[thistlecreek1]

I have a black sex link hen about one year old, possibly eggbound. She has been standing for a couple days with her tail aimed down, and sort of listless.

I brought her in yesterday around noon when I noticed her poo was runny and green and stuck to her butt. she has had a couple warm water soaks and I have felt around her tummy, I might have felt the egg, so I massaged her underside for a bit after each soak. Last night I gave her a little feed watered down so it was not hard, and access to crushed granite. Today her crop feels bloaty not hard and sand baggy, but bloaty. Could that be something besides egg bound or crop impacted?

today I drizzled some olive oil on her food, should I put oil on bread rather, or not give oil at all?

Her vent looks normal, not prolapsed.

have put electrolyte in her water.

she seems more depressed than irritated or pained. doesn't seem bothered by my feeling around or bathing/soaking her.

Going to the vet is not an option, and procuring supplies anywhere but locally, is not either. (we have dumped all our credit cards, so ordering on line is a big zero)



EDIT

I read up on sour crop and took some action that direction, I noticed during warm soaks that grace had horrible breath.. I have flushed distilled water in and massaged the crop to expel what I could, it smelled soo soo bad it was all I could do not to vomit myself.

Should I assume that horrible smell is not normal?

And how long does food stay in the crop? she has been in almost 24 hours should anything she had outside 24 hours ago still be in the crop? I got bits of grass and corn and the couple flies she snagged in the bathroom window... the grass and corn are 24 hours old. I did not get a big wad of grass, but i got a bunch of nasty stuff.

she seems to enjoy having her crop massaged and after our flushing session is a little more indignant with me than before.. good sign?

she'll never make it as a super model chicken she hated throwing up.. and so did I... yuck..

I read advice on giving yogurt and olive oil and then making them throw up .. should I wait a few hours and try that too?

 

[Blue_Myst]

It sounds like she may be eggbound, yes

I'm not entirely familiar with the signs of sour/impacted crop, but if she is showing depression and listlessness rather than pain, eggbinding would be my first guess

In addition to what you have been doing, I've also heard that it's best to put some type of lubricant (olive oil, perhaps?) around/just inside the vent to help the egg slide out easier.

With smaller species of birds, I've heard that steam helps with eggbinding, but I'd think she's getting plenty of that with the warm water baths.

Sorry I couldn't be more help, I hope she recovers quickly!

 

[thistlecreek1]

after our next bath I'll lube her vent area...

I had actually wondered if epsom salt in teh bath would do any good at all.

 

[thistlecreek1]

bump Any other help please?

 

[Blue_Myst]

How is she doing today?

 

[thistlecreek1]

seems the same..

she is currently having a soak in the bathroom sink.. eyes closed relaxing like its a spa. Her crop feels empty, if its sour crop will it bloat again? should I try flushing it with water again ?

I'm at a loss, I massaged the place I thought was the egg again and it sounded like it gurgled, and next to it felt like a crop does normally, like a sack of grit.

 

[coffeemama]

Did a search for Miss Prissy's sour crop info. I had a hen with it and used her steps. Apple cider vinegar is one of the steps, and it gets rid of the "sour" part.

 

[thistlecreek1]

I don't know if I have any apple cider vinegar, I'll check for it and get some.

 

[coffeemama]

Try this thread-there is some info and links to info that might have the apple cider stuff. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=92454

 

[charpcharp]

Hey how's the patient? I was reading your posts and wondering if Grace was looking like she was doing any heave-ho straining? As if she was trying to do a HUuuuuggggeee... toilet stop? Almost like contractions?

My little chicken was eggbound recently and it turned out her egg was a soft shell so our only option was to break it inside her and hoy out the shell by hand. That's sort of the last resort action though. But I wonder if there is something blocking Grace's oviduct? Everthing supposedly blocks up behind an obstruction unless it's cleared.

There are loads of posts on eggbinding but unfortunately every case is slightly different from the next. Sounds like if you can ensure you've flushed out both ends and still the condition doesn't improve it might be something more serious. And there will be loads of help available on BYC - I'm just very new to keeping chickens so it might not be from me! Good luck though!