[KNewbyRobson]

I have only had my rescue chickens since September and all has been well until yesterday when I noticed one of them looks off colour. Doris is just sitting about with feathers fluffed up and is not eating unless I offer her mash porridge from my hand. There are no obvious signs of disease and I wonder if she might be egg bound, she squeaks a bit when I feel her tummy area which seems hard, how can I tell and if she is what can I do about it? Any advice appreciated as my local vet does not seem to know much about chickens.

[Flyin Chickens]

I had a sick hen the other day who  I thought may have been egg bound.

Take a look at this post mid way down advising of a possible bath etc

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=28181

[Vember]

When Crumb (Goose) had problems I squirted a bit of oil via a small animal feeding bottle in to her vent :oops:
Worked a treat


There also has been some birds going broody could it be that :?
She will try and stop you moving her by pecking if she's a moody hen
If you put a couple of eggs under her or your hand she will snuggle down on to it or them - both are signs she's broody

Sarah

[KNewbyRobson]

Thanks, she does not mind me picking her up and feeding her by hand, she just squeaks when I touch her tummy. When I put her down again she just stands about with her feathers fluffed up. I will try the oil although this is very new for me and locating her vent should be interesting.

[Vember]

Found these pics they might be of some help :?


Pictures

Sarah

[Kate and her Ducks]

Worried that was going to be the gizmo photo then!

[Foxy]

If she is egg bound her vent will be "puckering" Be very careful when handling as the egg may break inside.

Other symptoms are:
puckering vent
staying in the nestbox or frequent visits
tail held low (half mast)
droppings are white and thin/messy bottom
waddling walk

With ex-batts this can be a problem they are literally designed to lay large amounts of eggs in a short space of time with little recovery. Calcium is needed to build the egg shell and also needed to help the muscles push the egg out. It could be she needs a calcium injection from the vet to help expel the egg if she is egg bound.
What you can do is keep her nice and warm and hydrated -very important she takes fluids. A nice warm hot water bottle underneath will help keep her warm and loosen sore cold muscles.If her vent has become inflammed a little heamorroid cream will help reduce swelling (preparation H from the local chemist) You could also dissolve a childrens size aspirin into a cup of water and offer, again to help reduce swelling.
These are only my opinions though -I would advise phoning around for a vet who is happy and confident to treat poultry.
To prevent the problem offer adlib oyster grit.


egg bound piccy



normal egg

[KNewbyRobson]

Thanks everyone, very helpful. I have just cleaned out their house and I can see that her droppings are thin and watery pale yellow, frozen at the moment as it is -2 here. She is still just standing about and my main concern is that she is not drinking. I am going to bring her inside and keep her in our old puppy crate in a warm bolier room and try the hot water bottle. I have been putting out grit for them but maybe she doesnt take it! New years eve is not a good day to track a vet down but I will try them again today to see if they can give her an injection. Thanks again.

[Foxy]

hi just a little note "poultry grit" and "oyster shell" are two different things -the grit is used by birds to grind up their food -and the oyster shell -which is basically ground up oyster shells contains the calcium the birds use to make the egg shells.

 

[KNewbyRobson]

ok thanks I will get some today, Doris is sitting on two layers of cardboard on her hot water bottle in the warm, looking quite comfortable now. She has taken some water too, maybe we will see a monster size egg soon! Thanks very much for the advice.

[Foxy]

Good luck!

BTW natural yoghurt is a good source of calcium, chooks love a little yoghurt too!

[Vember]

Worried that was going to be the gizmo photo then!

Couldn't find it

Gdad was shouting he wanted to get up so just linked to first pic I could find

Sarah

[KNewbyRobson]

We have learned a lot about the anatomy of chickens today. Doris is still sitting on her hot water bottle regularly warmed up by me and she is taking water from a bowl if I hold it for her, other than her obvious problem I think she is secretly enjoying all the attention. This afternoon I managed to locate her vent and whilst my husband was holding her I squirted some olive oil in, extra virgin olive oil I might add! We are now waiting for the happy event and hope something happens soon, have left the light on so that she keeps trying to pass the egg, or should I switch off and let her sleep? I thought that might slow the process down. Anyway maybe Doris will see the new year in in the best way a chicken can, hopefully an egg for breakfast.
Happy New Year everyone

[freda]

am very intruiged - did Doris lay the egg?

[KNewbyRobson]

Unfortunately after three days off intensive care we had to take Doris to the vet today, we found one who could treat chickens, and she had to be put to sleep. There was no egg, the vet thinks she either had an unformed egg caught somewhere inside like an ectopic pregnancy, or she had a tumour. We were very sad about it, amazing how attached you can get to these creatures when you are up close to them, still she had a lovely four months with us which is better than her previous life as a battery hen and we got to know her very 'intimately' the last few days whilst administering oil to her vent and feeding her by hand, now she is at least out of her discomfort.  Her five sisters are alive and very well though. Thanks everyone for your advice, we are a lot wiser now which will benefit the others if any future such problems occur.