we have a possibly egg bound duck with an unclear xray. Anyone have any ideas? xray posted.

[micaelasducks]

I wonder if she is bound with a soft shelled or shell-less egg. I only have experience with chickens, but I know that it is difficult and eventually impossible for them to poop when egg bound--but if the egg is soft, fecal matter can still exit, though it'll be watery and in smaller quantities. When my hens have had trouble passing a soft or thin shelled egg, it is often accompanied by a bloated crop (which goes down once the egg has passed). I've also found a bloated crop to be associated with egg yolk peritonitis, which in one of my chicken's cases, was diagnosed by a vague mass in an x-ray.

So, what's her poop looking like?

I think this is absolutely possible as well and I think the direction the vet is thinking as well. We have had soft shelled eggs laid before. I have only seen her poo small, liquidy amounts but she also isn't eating much. What can be done with a soft egg "stuck" inside?

 

[MysteryChicken]

I think this is absolutely possible as well and I think the direction the vet is thinking as well. We have had soft shelled eggs laid before. I have only seen her poo small, liquidy amounts but she also isn't eating much. What can be done with a soft egg "stuck" inside?

For a possible stuck soft shell, I'd recommend giving a Calcium Citrate Tablet. It'll help with contractions to push it out.

 

[micaelasducks]

For a possible stuck soft shell, I'd recommend giving a Calcium Citrate Tablet. It'll help with contractions to push it out.

Thanks -- it is worth a try. What would the dose be? She is so tiny.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Warm Epsom salt baths followed by a dose of human calcium supplement (1/3 contents of softgel is what I use) and placement in a warm, dark, preferably humid place--this helps prompt them to lay. The Epsom relaxes muscles, and the calcium prompts contractions. This can be repeated every few hours (but only dose with calcium 2x daily). In my experience, they either pass them intact or--less likely but possible--they break inside, which can cause egg yolk peritonitis. Signs of the latter include low appetite, bloated crop, often drinking lots of water, watery stool that can look a sickly egg yolk color, or sickly green.

I know that vets can also carefully syringe the contents out of the egg and then remove it, but I'm not sure do this is possible unless the egg is far down enough.

Last hail Mary thing that can help with a range of issues, including eyp: colloidal silver, 500 ppm, dosed 1 drop 2x daily administered directly or on a small piece of bread. This is what saved my hen with the egg yolk peritonitis. It won't hurt, but like I said it can help with that and a range of other issues until you get a better idea of what's going on.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thanks -- it is worth a try. What would the dose be? She is so tiny.

I use this. You can give her half a tablet, or a full tablet. The full dose shouldn't hurt her in any way.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I meant Shell-less, not soft shell.

 

[micaelasducks]

Hi everyone! I just got a call from our vet and her labs showed signs of infection, so we are getting her started on some antibiotics. I am not sure if the impacted gizzard would cause infection so my current theory is learning strongly towards a soft/shell-less egg "stuck" inside her and/or egg yolk peritonitis. I do also wonder if the excess material in her gizzard is happening as well.

@buffy-the-eggpile-layer @MysteryChicken does this change the treatment you've recommended? I will look for the calcium citrate in my area to give to her.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hi everyone! I just got a call from our vet and her labs showed signs of infection, so we are getting her started on some antibiotics. I am not sure if the impacted gizzard would cause infection so my current theory is learning strongly towards a soft/shell-less egg "stuck" inside her and/or egg yolk peritonitis. I do also wonder if the excess material in her gizzard is happening as well.

@buffy-the-eggpile-layer @MysteryChicken does this change the treatment you've recommended? I will look for the calcium citrate in my area to give to her.

I'd treat the infection first, since that was found, but do still give the calcium boost to help her get rid of egg material if there's any?

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Hi everyone! I just got a call from our vet and her labs showed signs of infection, so we are getting her started on some antibiotics. I am not sure if the impacted gizzard would cause infection so my current theory is learning strongly towards a soft/shell-less egg "stuck" inside her and/or egg yolk peritonitis. I do also wonder if the excess material in her gizzard is happening as well.

@buffy-the-eggpile-layer @MysteryChicken does this change the treatment you've recommended? I will look for the calcium citrate in my area to give to her.

When my chicken had egg yolk peritonitis, it caused her whole system to be "gummed" up, as my vet put it. In fact, it's quite common for reproductive issues, including EYP, to cause system-wide inflammation which hinders their GI system from functioning properly (hence boggy crops and gizzard stop-ups).

You might ask your vet whether calcium would be useful at this point. If the egg broke inside her and caused an infection, you may want her to keep her from laying (or at least not actively try to get her to lay through supplementation) so that she can take a break.

Regarding the colloidal silver: I still HIGHLY recommend using it in conjunction with the antibiotics. My chicken was near death and had finished a 10 day course of Clavamox, with little progress (it seemed to just barely kept her alive). I ended up using colloidal as a hail mary--when on the brink of scheduling her to be euthanized, at the vet's recommendation--and credit that with her sudden turnaround. I've since heard that many have great success using colloidal silver alongside the prescribed course of antibiotics.

One other thing: has your vet prescribed anything for inflammation? EYP causes painful inflammation, for which my vet had prescribed metacam. In lieu of that, turmeric is an effective anti-inflammatory (1/8-1/4 tsp daily--I usually mix it into a little bit of watery mash with black pepper and a tiny bit of coconut oil for absorption--the latter can help with crop issues as well). I've used the turmeric mixture since to prevent/treat reproductive issues at home and so far haven't had another episode requiring the vet.

Sorry this is so long! Wishing your duck a speedy recovery

 

[micaelasducks]

When my chicken had egg yolk peritonitis, it caused her whole system to be "gummed" up, as my vet put it. In fact, it's quite common for reproductive issues, including EYP, to cause system-wide inflammation which hinders their GI system from functioning properly (hence boggy crops and gizzard stop-ups).

You might ask your vet whether calcium would be useful at this point. If the egg broke inside her and caused an infection, you may want her to keep her from laying (or at least not actively try to get her to lay through supplementation) so that she can take a break.

Regarding the colloidal silver: I still HIGHLY recommend using it in conjunction with the antibiotics. My chicken was near death and had finished a 10 day course of Clavamox, with little progress (it seemed to just barely kept her alive). I ended up using colloidal as a hail mary--when on the brink of scheduling her to be euthanized, at the vet's recommendation--and credit that with her sudden turnaround. I've since heard that many have great success using colloidal silver alongside the prescribed course of antibiotics.

One other thing: has your vet prescribed anything for inflammation? EYP causes painful inflammation, for which my vet had prescribed metacam. In lieu of that, turmeric is an effective anti-inflammatory (1/8-1/4 tsp daily--I usually mix it into a little bit of watery mash with black pepper and a tiny bit of coconut oil for absorption--the latter can help with crop issues as well). I've used the turmeric mixture since to prevent/treat reproductive issues at home and so far haven't had another episode requiring the vet.

Sorry this is so long! Wishing your duck a speedy recovery

She has been on meloxicam since the beginning of us noticing her symptoms! We get the antibiotics which I tried to hide in her food and she totally rejected, so I'll have to figure out how to best syringe it down her throat.

HOWEVER, we believe she passed THIS incredibly gross thing this afternoon. After which, she did seem to have some more energy and was much more active. To me, it looks like egg shell material with no egg. It smelled absolutely vile. Thoughts?

@MysteryChicken