The last of my meat bird layers is eggbound - vet gave calcium - still no egg - suggestions please!

[cocoloco]

It has been a rough season for me. I knew raising meatbirds as layers would be a labor of love - and that they would not have long lives. I have one hen left - I call her Cindy. This one was never a consistent layer. I expected nothing from her when autumn came - after not laying for 1 month, I started getting 1 egg a week from her in late Oct. Four days ago she appeared eggbound - going from nesting box to nesting box tail down bobbing. Not wanting to take any changes with the last of my fat-bottom girls (that's what we called them) I gave her a warm bath Xmas eve, tried to feel for an egg with a lubed gloved finger could not feel anything but only went in an inch or so. Kept her warm & inside all night, gave her tums with calcium. Being a meatbird, her appetite is good - she has been eating and drinking (gatorade/water) - and pooping normal looking poop throughout this whole ordeal. On Xmas morn we put her in the coop in a big dog cage, so our rooster couldn't bother her. (I was having guests and figured the coop - with my 6 other birds - would be more quiet. I was lucky to get her an appointment with a local avian/reptile vet on Monday. The vet said she felt something large but it did not feel like an egg and was probably a tumor. I gave permission for them to X-ray - here is the image - it is an egg.

Vet immediately gave her a calcium shot and gave me a bottle of liquid 200mg Calcium Glubionate to give her (1ml twice a day). Vet also gave me Amoxycillan for her - just in case there is another issue going on - even though she agreed her poop looked normal. Right now it is almost 48 hours later - she's had the calcium and the amoxy, she's eating, drinking and pooping - doing everything but expelling the egg. Last night I was so upset, watching her strain, I warmed olive oil and massaged her vent with it. I poured a bit in her vent. I awoke this morning - she's still alive - but no egg. Any suggestions as to what else I can do? I will add - she does not appear to be in pain (of course, we can't know for sure) and she will leave the cage and walk around the room - almost like a woman would trying to induce labor. Btw, we brought her back into the house yesterday and plan to keep her inside nice and warm.

 

[casportpony]

Call your vet back and ask about giving her subcutaneous fluids and meloxicam. In the meantime, set your water heater to high, fill your bathroom with steam by running the shower (extraction vents off of course), and place hen in bathroom for several hours.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Above picture from:
http://www.audubon.org/news/the-art-hatching-egg-explained

-Kathy

 

[cocoloco]

Hello, thank you so much for the suggestions. Re the steam and high heat - I would do that with one of my normal birds but meatbirds have a hard time with that - we had her next to our wood stove last night - it was toasty and warm - she started panting - so we let it die down a bit. That's what she does when she is overheating - I saw it all summer long with these birds whenever the temp got over 90, it's all the extra weight they carry. Vet said her heart sounded strong but her breathing was labored. I am almost afraid to give her another warm bath or keep her really warm. She pants and wheezes when we do. I hate to lose her - she is such a good girl - vet could not believe how mellow she was.....

 

[casportpony]

Hello, thank you so much for the suggestions. Re the steam and high heat - I would do that with one of my normal birds but meatbirds have a hard time with that - we had her next to our wood stove last night - it was toasty and warm - she started panting - so we let it die down a bit. That's what she does when she is overheating - I saw it all summer long with these birds whenever the temp got over 90, it's all the extra weight they carry. Vet said her heart sounded strong but her breathing was labored. I am almost afraid to give her another warm bath or keep her really warm. She pants and wheezes when we do. I hate to lose her - she is such a good girl - vet could not believe how mellow she was.....

I have found the steam bath method to be less stressful to them, so that's what I do instead of a bath.

FWIW, my vet says that the number 1 cause of egg binding is dehydration, and when one of mine is egg bound, she has me give fluids and metacam twice a day. Have you ever given fluids to a dog or cat? If so, you can do it yourself.

-Kathy

 

[cocoloco]

When you say - give fluids - do you mean intravenously? I hold the water right up to her head and force her to drink. She has been drinking a lot - so I wasn't too concerned about that. She likes Gatorade - I have been giving it to her 1:1 with water. Should I give it to her straight? When you mention Meloxicam - do you mean get that in addition to what she is already taking? Thank you so much for responding.

 

[casportpony]

When you say - give fluids - do you mean intravenously? I hold the water right up to her head and force her to drink. She has been drinking a lot - so I wasn't too concerned about that. She likes Gatorade - I have been giving it to her 1:1 with water. Should I give it to her straight? When you mention Meloxicam - do you mean get that in addition to what she is already taking? Thank you so much for responding.

When my 9 pound hen was egg bound the vet had me give 200 ml of fluids subcutaneously (under skin) twice a day, and she also had me give meloxicam and calcium gluconate twice a day.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/914094/subcutaneous-fluids-and-injections

How much is you hen drinking each day and how much does she weigh?

-Kathy

 

[cocoloco]

She weighs just over 15 lbs and, actually, is the thinnest of my meatbird hens. I have not gauged how much she is drinking - I fill the dish as soon as it is empty. I just gave her Gatorade straight - she dipped in and took 9 or 10 full swigs - she really likes it. If I can get her to do this often, will that have the same effect as the fluids? Being a meatbird - she won't walk 3 feet to get water - if you put it in front of her - she will drink it dry. That's why I said I "force" her - it's not really forcing, I just make it easy for her.

 

[casportpony]

She weighs just over 15 lbs and, actually, is the thinnest of my meatbird hens. I have not gauged how much she is drinking - I fill the dish as soon as it is empty. I just gave her Gatorade straight - she dipped in and took 9 or 10 full swigs - she really likes it. If I can get her to do this often, will that have the same effect as the fluids? Being a meatbird - she won't walk 3 feet to get water - if you put it in front of her - she will drink it dry. That's why I said I "force" her - it's not really forcing, I just make it easy for her.

I think it would be best to talk to your vet about what an appropriate amount of fluid is.

-Kathy

 

[cocoloco]

I plan to call her today. I just noticed you wrote meloxicam in your first post and metacam in one after that - are they the same?