Should I give antibiotics?

[Cayuga momma]

I have a 21 month old white leghorn. I found her around 4pm in the nest box very lethargic.

I brought her in the house and inspected her. I noticed she had what looked like egg yolk stuck to the feathers under her vent.

I gloved up and felt inside her for a broken egg. No shells. When I pulled my finger out a large amount, of what looked like yolk and albumen, shot out.

I soaked her in an Epsom salt bath and flush her out with vinegar water until the slimy stuff stopped coming out.

She won't eat or drink. I have gotten about 15cc of nutri-drench/water mix down her.

Should I give her any medicine? I have Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim (bird sulfa) and I have amoxicillin.

She is normally on 20% All flock feed with oyster shell on the side. They haven't had any treats in about 2 weeks (do to budget constraints).

Any suggestions would help, I'm not sure she will make it.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would give her the amoxicillin. Dosage is 50 mg per pound given twice a day. If you have some human calcium with vitamin D tablets, such as Caltrate or the generic, give 1/2 tablet daily for 3 days. Crush it into feed or give it orally. Sometimes they will take crushed egg shells for calcium before crushed oyster shell. Hopefully, this is just a temporary problem with laying, but if it continues, she might turn out to have internal laying problems.

 

[Cayuga momma]

Thanks @Eggcessive, I know I can count on you. I will weigh her in the morning. I have tums or I can give her crushed, baked egg shells. I will update as I go.

 

[Cayuga momma]

@Eggcessive how long should I give her the antibiotics?

 

[Cayuga momma]

So I checked on Jett. I found her panting so I moved her box to a cooler area, but then I noticed she was wet and yellow all over her tail, butt, and belly.
View attachment 1622720
Her vent keeps pulsing too.
View attachment 1622721
She drank some water, but she won't stand on her own anymore

She just had a bath so she was perfectly clean before this.

 

[Cragg Klefor]

I'm so sorry
It sounds like you have made her as comfortable as possible

 

[Eggcessive]

Give the antibiotics at least 7 days up to 10 days. Dosage is 50 mg per pound twice a day. Can you feel inside her vent with one finger up to 2 inches, and check for any egg shell, membranes, or more egg matter. She is obviously having some problems with her oviduct, and could have a soft shell-less egg stuck. They tend to feel really weak if they pass soft eggs, and they can become egg bound more easily, since they are hard to pass. Give the calcium for the next 3 days unless she starts laying a normal egg. Do you have Poultry Cell or NutriDrench to give her a couple of drops? Offer water as well. Sorry about your hen. I hope her lameness is just due to being egg bound or weak.

 

[Cayuga momma]

I checked inside her, no shell.
I've been giving her nutri-drench/water mix and then regular water.
I'm suprised she is still here. She is extremely week, but I don't see anymore yolk/ albumen coming out.

 

[Eggcessive]

I really hope that she can regain her strength soon. Here is some info on reproductive disorders including hypocalcemia induced paralysis and internal laying, and other articles:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/disorders-of-the-reproductive-system/internal-layer-poultry

 

[Cayuga momma]

I really hope that she can regain her strength soon. Here is some info on reproductive disorders including hypocalcemia induced paralysis and internal laying, and other articles:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/disorders-of-the-reproductive-system/internal-layer-poultry

Thank you, I will start reading up on it.