20 month old hen Egg Bound, nothing so far is working!

[BigBlueHen53]

It’s a Joel Salatin/Justin Rhodes thing, if I remember correctly. I’m just the sheep following that herd . But you have prompted me to look up the advantages/disadvantages compared to crushed oyster shell, so I’ll report back if I find anything useful!

I never heard of them either....

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Report back, maybe we can all learn something!

 

[Stonecoast]

Well, she finally passed some stool amidst the sudden gushes of … well we will call it ‘warm water!’ I’d say the presence of what looks like bits of cooked yolk confirms EYP?

 

[Stonecoast]

I finally found a vet that would see a chicken…for euthanasia. $25, nowhere near what I thought it’d be! (I know I know, the axe is cheaper and probably less traumatic but my hubby and oldest kiddo would have nightmares.)

She is eagerly drinking, and putting up a fight when I try to get the calcium/D3/Meloxicam into her beak, and then almost immediately falling asleep again. Sometimes she’ll look around alertly, and peck at this or that, but won’t actually ingest any food. Comb and face still red, vent area still pale, respirations within normal limits, crop moderately full of water, abdomen quite distended. I can still feel the hard mass on the right lower abdomen. Any white you see on her beak and face is from an aborted attempt to get the calcium citrate mixture in her beak - I gave up and mixed it with her water.

 

[Bawkbok]

I'm sorry your hen is not well - she looks miserable. Reproductive issues suck. So does euthanasia. Our first vet one cost $285 (dog/cat vet). They took advantage of us not being chicken vets. Consider yourself lucky if $25 is the actual fee. Have you considered a necropsy if you have her euthanized?

 

[Eggcessive]

I’m sorry that you are considering euthanasia, but it is good to not let them suffer. A necropsy should be done, either by you at home, or by your state vet lab where tissue cultures may be done. If you do a home necropsy, take pictures of the major abdominal organs to post here. Some vets will euthanize along with doing a necropsy. If you consider a state vet necropsy, the body should be kept cold and here is a list of state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...7IOlHOhP-eD8qMtZ70RNq6BMO9kVUn3x6so7q0Z_JgEr8

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How on earth does it get down to the abdomen?!? That is crazy…like an ectopic pregnancy? I have a lot of reading to do it looks like! Thank you. Wow. Poor girl!!

I wonder if once this has happened once, even if she recovers, is it more likely to happen again?

I'm sorry your thinking about putting her down. You can try giving a round of antibiotics to see if she will rally for a while longer, that would be something to ask the vet. I'm glad you found a vet.


As for how does yolk, a whole egg, lash material, etc. get into the abdomen...
The reproductive system is not "closed".
If you look at the images below, the Ovary sits very slightly apart from the Infundibulum (that funnel looking thing at the ovary). So an Ovum (Yolk) can easily drop into the abdomen if the timing is off for the Infundibulum to move forward and encase the Yolk when released. There are other ways like reverse peristalsis, etc. as well. Either way, the Yolk (sometimes Albumen/whites), lash material and/or a whole egg can definitely make its way into the abdomen.