Terramycin for possible GI and skin infection

[chilisandchicks]

One of my hens was egg bound. On the advice of a vet, I pierced the egg, aspirated the contents of the egg and gently broke it inside of her. It has been 2 days and she has not expelled the cracked shell or another egg. Yesterday she was eating and drinking and pooping a little. Today, she hasn't gotten down from her perch and seems to be in pain (eyes closed). I'm not sure if giving her an antibiotic would help any. Any advice on how to proceed?

 

[faykokoWV]

is it possible she is egg bound again? Do you know what caused the first issue? Is there any blood in her vent?
You may want to change the title of your post to something reflecting the egg bound issue.

 

[purpletree23]

Those broken pieces of egg could have punctured her internal tissues and now she has an infection. I would call the vet back and say now what dufus!

Sorry moderator if I can't call the vet dufus.

 

[speckledhen]

The shell should never be left inside. It's best to get it out whole rather than crush it. The vet's advice is causing more trouble than not.

 

[threehorses]

Penicillin is more indicated for GI and skin infections.
Why do you say skin infection by the way?

Can you also please answer the questions from the second sticky in this disease forum but answer into this thread? Nutrition plays a HUGE part in egg laying (and breaking), and it might be that we can help you there - to solve the original problem, not just put a bandaid on the result. We really want to help you fix EVERY bit of the problem.

By the way, I agree with purpletree's assessment of your vet and other than calling him to tell him how very dreadfully wrong he is, I'd call another vet. An avian vet. http://www.birdsnways.com/articles/abvpvets.htm <-- there is a good list of true avian vets who understand egg laying. The ones they list for Houston (my town) truly are remarkable, so hopefully the others are as well. They're professionally required to know about birds to be certified.

You will need the right antibiotic, and very quickly.

 

[threehorses]

I found something while reading tonight that I think will be of interest to you.

I have a text that recommends in cases of egg bound hens that mineral oil be applied into the cloaca, and using one finger gently you insert into the cloaca, the other hand against the abdomen, to try to gently ease the egg out.

It also says that if the egg is absolutely too large, that you can direct the egg towards the back of the vent, pierce the eggshell and crush gently to make it smaller, and then remove it AND ALL portions of the shell. NOT that I would recommend this to anyone (I like the former version). But I had remembered hearing of this but just knew something was missing that made it very bad advice as presented.

But what I NOW remember having also heard is the very very very important next step..

As the book puts it, you then use water and a very mild (internally safe) antiseptic to flush absolutely all of the egg contents and bits of shell from the vent, and they recommend that it is cool to help decrease the inflammation as well as remove all the contaminants.

I'm thinking a saline solution of the type that you'd use for wounds (the weak solution), or possibly Nolvasan mixed with much water. It may be too late for this, but maybe not. That's what I would do if you hadn't.

I can reference the book, but will do tomorrow. I just had to type this in case you were up tonight. (Boyfriend is like "You're going to type that now??" lol)

 

[chilisandchicks]

Thanks for all your advice and help. I ended up taking her to a vet friend. She removed the shell manually and gave her on antibiotics and NSAID (like advil). She's doing much better. Thanks again!

 

[faykokoWV]

glad to hear she is doing better!