Soft Shelled Egg in Abdomen but still Laying?

[WendyTestaburger]

I'm looking for advice on how to proceed. We have a 1.5 year old Barred Rock hen named Jazz. I took her in to the vet today for what I assumed was water belly. When the vet tried to drain fluid they kept getting blood so they stopped and did an ultrasound. The vet showed me a picture of what looks like a soft shelled egg in her abdomen which is causing the swelling.

Jazz is underweight but not so much that the vet was concerned. She is behaving normally and eating just as much as the others. The only way I noticed her swelling abdomen was because our other barred rock was just diagnosed with water belly and the vet said I could compare her to the other birds, which is when I discovered Jazz had a similar feeling belly.

They did do a fecal test and found no parasites, they said she had more good bacteria than bad. We were sent home with an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and a probiotic. I was told they can do a hormonal implant to stop her from laying anymore internal eggs.

The puzzling thing is I believe Jazz is still laying normal eggs as recently as yesterday. No wrinkles or soft shells. I have her in the garage hospital to see if she does indeed lay an egg in the next few days because the vet said if she's internally laying she shouldn't be laying normal eggs.

I'm trying to decide if the internal egg is a one time thing or if we should go ahead and do the implant even if she is laying normal eggs. Or perhaps get a second opinion to see if it's a tumor or a cyst. The vet said that it's not near any internal organs so she doesn't believe it could be a cyst.

Any advice would be helpful, we keep the chickens as pets so it wouldn't be a problem if we need to do the implant, just expensive. TIA

 

[NatJ]

I'm looking for advice on how to proceed. We have a 1.5 year old Barred Rock hen named Jazz. I took her in to the vet today for what I assumed was water belly. When the vet tried to drain fluid they kept getting blood so they stopped and did an ultrasound. The vet showed me a picture of what looks like a soft shelled egg in her abdomen which is causing the swelling.

Did the vet find her gizzard as well, and point it out on the image?

I have read at least two different accounts of vets diagnosing an "egg" inside a chicken, when it was really a gizzard. So I would start by making sure the gizzard was found in addition to the "egg."

Beyond that, I don't know enough to offer any advice.

 

[WendyTestaburger]

Did the vet find her gizzard as well, and point it out on the image?

I have read at least two different accounts of vets diagnosing an "egg" inside a chicken, when it was really a gizzard. So I would start by making sure the gizzard was found in addition to the "egg."

Beyond that, I don't know enough to offer any advice.

All she said was that the closest organs were the liver and the kidney and that she didn't believe there would be cysts in that area which led her to believe it's an egg, she showed me what she thinks is the yolk as well so we're fairly sure it is an egg its just very strange that she's laying normal eggs so I'm hoping it's resolved itself and we just have to get past this point to where her body walls this off and hope it never happens again? Or is that wishful thinking and we should jump on the implant now because it's most likely going to happen again now that it's happened once

 

[NatJ]

All she said was that the closest organs were the liver and the kidney and that she didn't believe there would be cysts in that area which led her to believe it's an egg, she showed me what she thinks is the yolk as well so we're fairly sure it is an egg its just very strange that she's laying normal eggs

Well, I'm not a vet, and I'm not there to see the image, so I'll just hope she is right.

It may be worth asking specifically about the gizzard, or it may be worth seeing another vet, or it may not be. I just don't know enough to tell.

so I'm hoping it's resolved itself and we just have to get past this point to where her body walls this off and hope it never happens again? Or is that wishful thinking and we should jump on the implant now because it's most likely going to happen again now that it's happened once

Unfortunately, I don't know. Maybe @azygous or @Eggcessive would know?

 

[azygous]

It's doubtful a vet would mistake an egg for the gizzard, the gizzard being very much in line with the continuous digestive system. If you can convince the vet to do a digitized photo of the Xray and then post the pic here so we can all judge it, I would take the vet's word that it's an egg and she's laying internally. The antibiotic is necessary because it can cause infection.

Internal laying, once started, is likely to continue. And once an egg is deposited in the abdominal cavity, it may eventually result in EYP (peritonitis). An antibiotic may help, but I wouldn't give good odds on this hen surviving into advanced age.

Internal laying is often a mystery as to what's triggered it. But it's safe to say some abnormality could be causing the egg to reverse back up the oviduct and get dumped into the abdominal cavity. I had a very young hen die of this at just one year of age.

Usually, the hormone implant is most successful when the issue is egg binding and its very problematic associated issues. I haven't heard of using it in instances of internal laying. The implant must be replaced every six months, did the vet tell you? That route involves considerable expense, but if you are desperate to save a special pet chicken, you may be willing to take that on.

 

[coach723]

I have heard of some getting the implant for internal laying, I think it's very much case by case, depending on the actual condition of the bird, how long it's been going on, etc. I will link to one thread below, you can search for more. I have also heard of some where surgery was done to remove all build up in the abdomen before putting in the implant. That is pretty risky for a bird, but it's been done. The issue with internal laying is that all that stuff deposited in the abdomen is a petri dish for infection if it stays there, sooner or later. If you are seeing an avian vet, then I would strongly consider all that they say. If they are not an avian vet, then I might get a second opinion from one who is experienced in implants and reproductive issues before making the investment of time and money, to make sure you are fully informed on risk/benefit, cost, prognosis, etc. It can be very hard to not make a decision based mostly on emotion (I've been there, believe me), but having as much information as possible is always better than just going on hope and wishes.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...implant-treatment-for-internal-layer.1579938/

 

[WendyTestaburger]

ultrasound image of the internal egg

 

[WendyTestaburger]

Egg the internal layer just laid yesterday. It looks normal, but she definitely has swelling in her belly. Aside from the swelling I'd have never known she was "off"

 

[WendyTestaburger]

It's doubtful a vet would mistake an egg for the gizzard, the gizzard being very much in line with the continuous digestive system. If you can convince the vet to do a digitized photo of the Xray and then post the pic here so we can all judge it, I would take the vet's word that it's an egg and she's laying internally. The antibiotic is necessary because it can cause infection.

Internal laying, once started, is likely to continue. And once an egg is deposited in the abdominal cavity, it may eventually result in EYP (peritonitis). An antibiotic may help, but I wouldn't give good odds on this hen surviving into advanced age.

Internal laying is often a mystery as to what's triggered it. But it's safe to say some abnormality could be causing the egg to reverse back up the oviduct and get dumped into the abdominal cavity. I had a very young hen die of this at just one year of age.

Usually, the hormone implant is most successful when the issue is egg binding and its very problematic associated issues. I haven't heard of using it in instances of internal laying. The implant must be replaced every six months, did the vet tell you? That route involves considerable expense, but if you are desperate to save a special pet chicken, you may be willing to take that on.

Thank you. The vet did let me know the implant would need to be redone, they said every year though but it is still expensive. Can an internal layer continue to lay normal eggs? It looks like it's just a single egg inside her (I posted the ultrasound in a previous comment). The vet said it is possible for the body to wall off this egg and it will turn into a gross liquid gunk but will no longer be a risk of infection at that point so our thinking was we just need to get her past this initial inflammation. But she is still laying normal eggs, so I'm not sure if we should do the implant.

 

[WendyTestaburger]

I have heard of some getting the implant for internal laying, I think it's very much case by case, depending on the actual condition of the bird, how long it's been going on, etc. I will link to one thread below, you can search for more. I have also heard of some where surgery was done to remove all build up in the abdomen before putting in the implant. That is pretty risky for a bird, but it's been done. The issue with internal laying is that all that stuff deposited in the abdomen is a petri dish for infection if it stays there, sooner or later. If you are seeing an avian vet, then I would strongly consider all that they say. If they are not an avian vet, then I might get a second opinion from one who is experienced in implants and reproductive issues before making the investment of time and money, to make sure you are fully informed on risk/benefit, cost, prognosis, etc. It can be very hard to not make a decision based mostly on emotion (I've been there, believe me), but having as much information as possible is always better than just going on hope and wishes.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...implant-treatment-for-internal-layer.1579938/

Yes this is an avian vet. I agree I don't want them to suffer. We have another girl who does have water belly, she is getting winded when exerting energy despite having it drained on Friday and being on meds, I'm tube feeding her and doing all I can but I can tell she's on the brink of losing her will to fight. It is hard, the more chickens we lose the better I'm getting at recognizing when its time to say goodbye but it never gets easier. Our water belly girl has an appointment today so I will ask about Jazz while we're there.