Round 2 - chicken is lethargic and laid rubber egg (HELP!)

[Hockeychick]

I have never dealt with an eggbound bird, so I need your help. the chicken in question is a 5 month old red star. She started laying at only 16 weeks. I got home from work tonight and let the chickens out. I sat in the grass for about 45 minutes playing with them and I noticed that the red star had not left the run. She sat in the same position the entire time I was outside. So I picked her up and put her in the grass and she just stood there. She is now in my kitchen. She ate some pellets and drank water, but she really isnt moving a whole lot, and when she does walk around she looks 'stiff', like she is uncomfortable. She is pooping (all over my floor) and I don't see blood or anything resembling shell, but it is a little watery.

When taking eggs out of the nesting boxes earlier, one box had a yellow yolky mess, but no shell to be seen. I am very worried that the shell is inside her. I read a number of posts about how to deal with an eggbound hen, so in a little while we will bathe her and break out the vaseline. I will keep her inside for the next few days until she improves or lays an egg or something! The yolk in the nesting box may not even be from this bird, but since she is lethargic I am going to assume that it is her. I have Tylan, so should I also start her on it? And do you recommend feeding her a little olive oil?

Now I have 1 more possibility, albeit a little far fetched. A fox went after the chickens for the first time Saturday evening. The fox came very close to taking this chicken. It chased her out of the woods, so I don't know if there was ever any contact between the two. About 20 of my pullets ganged up on the fox and it ran away. Is it possible that she is traumatized from the fox encounter? I cannot find any cuts or scratches on her.

 

[Hockeychick]

i have an update. We bathed her in warm water for about 20 minutes. She wasn't so lethargic then - wow did she fight my husband about taking a bath. She seemed absolutely exhausted after. There is no sign of eggshell in her vent, and her abdomen does not feel swollen. Actually, you can really feel her breastbone, so she is definitely losing weight. Anyway, once I dried her off, I put her in a guinea pig cage on pine bedding. I walked away to make her a scrambled egg and came back to find a rubber egg. I have never seen one before. She is now resting in the cage, but not interested in eating. She just looks super tired.

I am worried. I don't have a good feeling about this. Whatever it is had to be going on for a few days now, at least. I have to get her to eat. I don't have plain yogurt, but I do have vanilla? Maybe she will like that?

 

[BeccaB00]

Any yogert is fine to feed them. I'm sure the Rubber egg was the problem, and I think she should be getting better now

I have never had a rubber egg myself, but I'm 99% sure that was the problem in your hen.

Just keep her inside in a seperate cage and give her lots of TLC and she should be fine.

 

[atimme]

Could also be calcium deficient. Yogurt is a great idea, recovery from rubber eggs is swift!

 

[Hockeychick]

Thank you. She looks comfortable enough. I guess it isn't normal to eat at 10:30 pm (for chickens, anyway - I haven't had my dinner yet!) as she would be sleeping at this time. I gave her water, and a bowl of layer feed mixed with oyster shell. We also gave her polyvisol earlier. I hope that I awake to a perkier bird!

 

[chkn]

Mash up half a calcium supplement or tums into her meals. Calcium should improve things.

 

[Hockeychick]

I will try to mash up the calcium tonight. She liked vanilla yogurt, so I can just mix it with the yogurt. She also ate all of her scrambled eggs. She was very active this morning and she wants out of that guinea pig cage.

So she laid a rubber egg last night around 10 ish. When I got up at 6 this morning, there was another. I am now wondering if this is all caused by the fox. Maybe she was just super traumatized?

 

[Hockeychick]

Berry is lethargic again.

When I got home from work on the 3rd, there was a nice and normal looking egg in the cage. Her crop was huge, and she was very excited to go back out to the flock. She was ok the last 2 days. Tonight I get home from work and let all the chickens out. I found Berry sleeping outside the run, not running and scratching around like the other birds. Her crop feels empty, and she is very lethargic. She is walking slowly, almost like she is confused. I put her in the coop and she drank a good amount of water. She then proceeded to lay another rubber egg right in front of me. I wish I was able to get a picture. Before the egg came out, this white thing that looked like a rubbery shell came out before the rubber egg.

I am definitely bringing her inside tonight. Should we give her another bath and check the vent again? And is it time to put her on an antibiotic? I only have Tylan or Sulmet.

 

[turtlebird]

Quote:
What is a rubber egg? Is it simply a soft shelled egg? Or is it a solid mass, like those passed by internal layers?

 

[Hockeychick]

It has a rubbery, soft shell. Almost like a water balloon. The inside of the egg looks perfectly normal, but the outside is wet and squishy.

There is another symptom now. I found her lying down in the run, with her head on the ground. I ran to her, and she picked her head up. I picked her up and this clear, hot fluid came out of her mouth. There is no odor.

She is now in my kitchen in a cage, and she is drinking water and pacing. At least she is moving around. I am going to give her yogurt and make a hard boiled egg for her.