Sick hen or eggbound?

[authorlindsayc]

Our white leghorn is still sick. She's been in the house since yesterday morning.

We don't know her age or history, but she's been laying every day for the past 2 weeks. Until yesterday, and she seemed very sick.

Symptoms- lethargic, droopy comb, standing around with eyes closed, puffed up. Watery poop.

She's been drinking her electrolyte water, but doesn't want to eat.

We can't feel any lumps or hardness in her, so we don't know if she's actually eggbound. Yesterday there was a broken, stringy egg in the coop from her. Like a strand of eggshell and a pile of yolk.

Any ideas? Here's a pic of her poop. It's a struggle for her to poop, I can tell it hurts her.

 

[Eggcessive]

She possibly could be suffering from coccidiosis or could have a stuck egg or other reproductive disorder. Put on a rubber glove and examine the vent an inch or two inside for egg binding. Do her droppings look like egg material or even cooked eggs. Symptoms of coccidiosis are lethargy, not eating, puffing up, diarrhea with or without blood, and weakness. Treatment is Corid (amprollium) in the water for 5 days. If you can have a dropping checked for coccidiosis and worms, it may help narrow down the problem. If you feel she is egg bound, then give her a dose of calcium or Tums, then place her in a warm humid environment such as a bathroom with the shower running.

 

[authorlindsayc]

Droppings definitely look like egg yolk or liquid eggshell almost.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would feel inside the vent for more egg contents, and try gently to get any shells or membranes out. Give her some calcium, crushed egg shells or oyster shell in case she is not taking enough. This can be common in heavy layers, and later on she may be a candidate for internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis. Just make sure she isn't egg bound. Try getting her to take plenty of fluids or electrolytes also. I would probably confine her in the house so that you can keep a close eye on her droppings and what she is eating. Hens who are 18 months old or older can start having egg yolk peritonitis symptoms, but some younger hens will sometimes show it. It can be common to have eggs break inside, then recover and go on to lay well and be fine, but I would watch her closely for a while. Is she on layer feed?