Sick girl, but I can't figure out what's up.

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She's perked back up again. Is eating regular grain and layer pellets. Isn't drinking as much as she did yesterday. Tail is up a bit, wings not so droopy. Still standing and sitting more often than not, but definitely more "chickeny". Still no evidence of laying anything, one way or the other.
 
She's eating and drinking nearly normally. I brought her in some layer grain and pellets as she didn't seem to want to touch the mash and was having trouble eating from bowls. (She's a free ranger and maybe it didn't feel right to her?) So she's stuffed her crop full again and is drinking well. Hope it empties tonight. But the poor thing hasn't slept very well and she keeps falling asleep standing up. I think she had a rough night of it or is a nervous sleeper outside of her coop or something. She laid in the bedding and tucked her head under her wing for a few and I thought she was going to have a good sleep, but she fought it off and got up and had a drink and a poo instead. I brought a log in for her to perch on, but she doesn't seem interested in it.

Edit: I put another 3/4 of a Tums in her and then we both had to stop. She started panting from struggling and being weak. She's suddenly eating like a horse though. And she's been a tiiiny bit chatty today and consumed a few pieces of grit. A few times she's made her little inquiring noises.
 
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I think I have it all pieced together now. What I thought was a shelless egg, was an internally broken egg. The only part on the ground was the white in a puddle where everyone was taking delicate sips. A few inches away from that was the barest streak of yolk, definitely not a plop event. If there was any shell, it had to have been gobbled up.

She is panting all the time now, though her abdomen is not swollen.

I have followed this advice linked below to try and flush anything stuck out, but though she expelled it, nothing of note came out. She continues to be able to poop semi-normal looking, but mucousy, poops and her crop is still slowly emptying.

I give it slim odds that I have a chicken in the morning, but I won't give up until she does and she really tried today! If you're a praying type, send my Baby chicken prayers. She's a fighter.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/egg-broken-inside-hen.592094/post-7748810
 
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Just read this entire thread. I'm definitely pulling for her! I had a chicken go through a similar bout a couple of years ago. A soft shelled egg had broken inside her, and she had a hard time for a couple of days. The albumen and yolk were all over her backside. I was finally able to get the shell out when a bit of it became visible protruding from her vent. I flushed it out with a big syringe (the kind you use for injecting brine when roasting). She's almost 4 now.

I hope she makes it. She sure is a pretty little thing.
 
Eggcessive said:
Most of us do not recommend flushing the vent after a broken egg anymore. That was an old post from 2011, and flushing the vent can introduce more fecal bacteria up into the reproductive tract. I am not a vet or an expert on anything, but I would not. Keep us posted on how she gets along.
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I was worried about that too, but I figured "She's dying anyway." I think this is the result of a mating injury. Her roo is young and enthusiastic and she just never got as big as she was supposed to according to breed spec. He's half again her size.
 

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