Sick Lady

[Wyorp Rock]

Just a guess on my part here, from what I've seen with my own birds.

I would say it's probably a soft shelled egg or you may see a membrane expelled along with egg material.

Hard shelled eggs could break inside, but usually they don't. But yes, if you did happen to have a hard shell break, then you would want to very carefully extract the pieces. Egg shell can damage tissue.

Give her a bit of time. See that's she's drinking or if you need to, take care in syringes fluids into her. If I can get them to drink own their own, that's best. Hold a cup for her or even something strange I've found, they seem to love drinking out of a chick water station, don't ask why, but I can just get out supplies and my hens seem to think that little waterer is just the bomb

Let us know what happens. I'm hoping she'll expel something soon, but it takes time.

 

[edellefemine]

My apologies for never coming back with an update. Just wanted to give my sincere thank yous to @Wyorp Rock & @Eggcessive !

I took your advice, calmed my fear and she turned out to be OK! I had her isolated at the end of the run, making sure she was drinking and that she swallowed the calcium pill whole. By the time the sun was setting and I went back to check on her, she had jumped over her little barrier and was roosting with the rest of the family. SO that was a quick turn around <3 Thank you again both for your advice.

 

[edellefemine]

Sadly, we lost her today. 3 months to the day from this original post. She had fallen ill again... this time, with a black comb. I was researching this symptom and was literally typing the post above to inquire on other steps to take, as she was refusing to eat, drink or even stand on her own - when she took her last breath.

As we were feeding her some additional water, she threw it all back up along with what I presume was bile... when she just gasped and then died. Our 2nd chicken to die in our arms while trying to help (previous one was attacked by the neighbors dog, I had a previous post about this also )

it's tough loosing a girl when you've raised them from chick and spent so much time connecting with them. sad indeed. But part of the deal I guess. Thank you again for your help and advice, this amateur chicken poppa is learning every day.

 

[edellefemine]

Actually, on that note - could I ask your advice again, should we have another chicken go through a similar scenario? In your experience, what are some more common reasons for a chicken to share the same symptoms as being egg bound - but also with a black comb? And what are some good first actions to take to help her recover?

Here are some pics from yesterday when she was still standing on her own, be it in one place without eating or drinking on her own

 

[Tookie]

Sadly, we lost her today. 3 months to the day from this original post. She had fallen ill again... this time, with a black comb. I was researching this symptom and was literally typing the post above to possibly inquire some other steps to try to take as she was refusing to eat, drink or even stand on her own - when she took her last breath.

As we were feeding her some additional water, she threw it all back up along with what i presume was bile... when she just gasped and then died. Our 2nd chicken to die in our arms while trying to help (previous one was attacked by the neighbors dog, i had a previous post about this also )

it's tough loosing a girl when you've raised them from chick and spent so much time connecting with them. sad indeed. But part of the deal I guess. Thank you again for your help and advice, this amateur chicken poppa is learning every day.

So sorry to hear.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Actually, on that note - could I ask your advice again, should we have another chicken go through a similar scenario? In your experience, what are some more common reasons for a chicken to share the same symptoms as being egg bound - but also with a black comb? And what are some good first actions to take to help her recover?

Here are some pics from yesterday when she was still standing on her own, be it in one place without eating or drinking on her own

I'm sorry for your loss.

The only way to know for sure what's happening is to examine further when you lose one. This can be done through your state lab or sometimes you can see something doing your own necropsy.

A hen that acts like being egg bound but truly doesn't have an egg binding in the cloaca usually has some type of reproductive disorder - whether it's cancer, EYP, Internal Laying, Salpingitis, etc. it can be hard give the exact name, symptoms of all of these can be similar. Fatty Liver Disease is something else that can look like reproductive problems or can even accompany reproductive problems, as can the symptom of fluid in the abdomen (Ascites).

Darkening of the comb is usually a reduction in oxygen-again I've seen this with reproductive disorders, organ failure and at the end days of a hen's life.

I have found that sometimes when I further examine the internals, I can often associate symptoms with what I see.

As for first action steps to help with recovery. Sadly, ime, once a hen does start to present with reproductive issues, they will ultimately succumb to whatever the condition is. Not to say they can't improve for periods of time (multiple times even) with supportive care, but they do eventually die. Supportive care for mine includes making sure they are eating/drinking, crop is emptying, staying on top of parasites, do what I can to keep them comfortable (sometimes they aren't able to roost and I make sure they have clean dry fluffy bedding) and possibly antibiotics (but this is fairly rare for me).

It can be frustrating and very sad to lose hens, especially when you've given them extra care and love.

My 2¢

 

[Eggcessive]

A necropsy by the state vet would give you some answers on what was wrong. But you can sometimes get some answers by doing a home necropsy, looking at the abdominal organs and taking some pictures to post here.