Constipated Hen

[elc0711]

Need help. 2nd time in 3 weeks, my hen has become constipated. The first time around, she came in the house for 4 or 5 days, got epsom salt baths for 20-30 minutes 3-5 times daily with massages, Nutridrench and Rooster Booster in water. She ended up prolapsing, at which point I was able to soak and remove the impacted stool, and replace the prolapse. Fast forward a week, and she's puffed up and straining again, and back in my bathroom. I don't feel an egg, so I don't think that's the problem. When she strains to try to pass stool, I can visibly see caked stool on the inside of her vent. She is still passing small, watery stools at the moment, and is eating, drinking, and acting relatively normally, despite the puffing and straining - still scratching and searching for food, bright, alert, responsive. Is there anything more, different, or additional that I can or should be doing to 1.) soften the stool to get her some relief and 2.) keep her from ending up like this again in another week? I'm at a loss here and thought I was doing everything I could, but I can't have a hen in my bathroom every other week for a week of baths

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What do you feed?
How old is she?
Do your chickens have a source of grit (rocks)?
Does she lay normal hard shelled eggs?
Has she ever been wormed or treated for Coccidiosis?
If she passes the poop, please take some photos.

I would give her 1 tsp coconut oil or mineral oil to see if that helps get things moving. Make sure she's drinking well (do you add anything to your water?) and offer her some wet food to eat. I would also check to see that her crop is emptying overnight.

Do you notice if she's being kept from food/water during the day by the flock?

 

[elc0711]

What do you feed?
How old is she?
Do your chickens have a source of grit (rocks)?
Does she lay normal hard shelled eggs?
Has she ever been wormed or treated for Coccidiosis?
If she passes the poop, please take some photos.

I would give her 1 tsp coconut oil or mineral oil to see if that helps get things moving. Make sure she's drinking well (do you add anything to your water?) and offer her some wet food to eat. I would also check to see that her crop is emptying overnight.

Do you notice if she's being kept from food/water during the

What do you feed?
How old is she?
Do your chickens have a source of grit (rocks)?
Does she lay normal hard shelled eggs?
Has she ever been wormed or treated for Coccidiosis?
If she passes the poop, please take some photos.

I would give her 1 tsp coconut oil or mineral oil to see if that helps get things moving. Make sure she's drinking well (do you add anything to your water?) and offer her some wet food to eat. I would also check to see that her crop is emptying overnight.

Do you notice if she's being kept from food/water during the day by the flock?

They're on 16% protein layer pellets, she'll be 1 year old next month, they have free choice oyster shell, she was laying a few normal eggs/week before this started. She became constipated and didn't lay for those two weeks or so, came inside and got her turned around, she layed again yesterday, and today back to straining to poop. She hasn't been treated for anything. She is eating and drinking, and I put Nutridrench and electrolytes in her water. Her crop feels normal right now, and ranks high middle of the flock when she's with them, so no issues being kept from food/water that I'm aware of. Her feathers are still wet from her bath in the picture.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Let's see what @Eggcessive and @azygous thinks, but I would start with giving her some coconut or mineral oil. Probiotics or a little yogurt once a day too.
Hard to tell if the vent has been damaged at some point or not, but I would continue with the soaks and apply a lubricant to the vent - maybe some mineral oil around the vent as well.
She may becoming constipated due to infection - possibly yeast or bacterial, but that's just a guess. If you have a vet that can do some testing it may be helpful so you can get the treatment right. A shot in the dark, I would treat as yeast and consider an anti-fungal, but I would like to see what the others think.

You may have to dig out the hardened poop if the soaks and lubrication don't work. I've seen a few here on BYC that used wooden popsicle sticks to help aid in removing hardened poop from the vent - of course, it was a process of soaking/lubricating and removing.

 

[azygous]

What you may believe is constipation may be a blockage of the oviduct. A shell-less egg, judging from the drip from the vent, which appears to have a pecking injury, thus the swollen tissue.

We can't diagnose from the internet, and even a vet would need an x-ray to see if an egg was stuck. What we can do is suggest things to try, and if they work, then you may also have a diagnosis.

What I suggest is to treat for a stuck egg by giving her calcium citrate if you have it. One whole tablet directly into the beak. If there is an egg blocking her, and it would constipate her, the calcium will encourage strong contractions to expel the egg.

It's important to have her on a towel instead of shavings so you can inspect the egg or egg remains. If the remains indicate the egg broke open inside her, there could be yolk growing bacteria left behind that will require an antibiotic.

 

[elc0711]

What you may believe is constipation may be a blockage of the oviduct. A shell-less egg, judging from the drip from the vent, which appears to have a pecking injury, thus the swollen tissue.

We can't diagnose from the internet, and even a vet would need an x-ray to see if an egg was stuck. What we can do is suggest things to try, and if they work, then you may also have a diagnosis.

What I suggest is to treat for a stuck egg by giving her calcium citrate if you have it. One whole tablet directly into the beak. If there is an egg blocking her, and it would constipate her, the calcium will encourage strong contractions to expel the egg.

It's important to have her on a towel instead of shavings so you can inspect the egg or egg remains. If the remains indicate the egg broke open inside her, there could be yolk growing bacteria left behind that will require an antibiotic.

@azygous @Wyorp Rock I'll give the calcium citrate a try as well. She only ever laid a few eggs a week at most, and just laid a normal egg the day before yesterday, of that makes a difference. I do have her on towels, and believe there is some damage, as there was blood present. I'm not sure if that is solely due to the pecking injury you mentioned, or if it may also go deeper than that. I'll continue with the soaks and pick up some mineral oil. I know you can't diagnose, and even if you could it would be a shot in the dark with the limited information, but is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening again, or is this likely to be a recurring problem? And thank you for your advice.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hard to know if it's going to reoccur but I have a feeling it might, since this is the second go round.
You may want to offer wet feed and probiotics a couple of times a week to see if that helps.
Getting a fecal float to see if worms are part of the problem is another though.

 

[azygous]

If it is a stuck egg, in a very young layer, it probably won't happen again once her calcium level balances. Let's hope something works. Be sure she's getting plenty of water. If she's thirsty, it lend more weight to this being an obstruction.

 

[Eggcessive]

As others have said, it may be constipation or there could be egg matter or something else partially blocking the vent. Dig out what you can often with a gloved lubricated finger. Use the coconut oil, and consider using the Monistat yeast cream 1/2 twice a day given orally. Look for dried white urates that have caked or hard poop.

 

[elc0711]

As others have said, it may be constipation or there could be egg matter or something else partially blocking the vent. Dig out what you can often with a gloved lubricated finger. Use the coconut oil, and consider using the Monistat yeast cream 1/2 twice a day given orally. Look for dried white urates that have caked or hard poop.

@Eggcessive From what I can see, it does look like the white urates that have caked. She had her first soak today, and it looks promising to be resolved, at least at the moment. Is that 1/2mL twice daily for the Monistat? And how long would I continue that for? Thank you!