Emergency!! one year old pullet egg bound or internal infection?

[my beautiful girls]

Lily is almost 1 year old. she has had rough start. she only weighs 3.75 pounds. her sister weighs 7 pounds. she laid eggs fine when she first started in sepetmeber. stopped in december and had a small molt and was just going to start laying again. her comb has reddened and she would squat when i went to pet her. she has not laid an egg yet this spring.

she has had a dirty bottom for the last few days and diarrhea. abdomen normal.

yesterday she stood still most of the day and pretended to eat, but ate very little.

she was drinking water normally.

her poops now look to me like she has not eaten, urates are yellow, keel bone prominent. she has always been thin.

her abdomen is now big and firm. her crop this morning was not completely empty, but it was not squishy or hard. inbetween.

her poops have different, stronger odor than the other girls.

I gave her 400 mg calcium citrate + D3 this morning and an epsom salt bath and blew dried her feathers. Her abdomen doesnt really feel like a large egg, but It is much firmer than the other girls, i compared them this morning.

she is in the house in a semi dark place in case she has an egg stuck. She is just standing in there.

She ate some scrambled egg from my hand this morning after her bath.

her vent pulses when i put my hand on it. she kind of did a semi squat. she walks carefully, but prefers to stand in one place. she is not interested in nesting box.

She had coccidia when she was 3 months olds.

Do you think an egg is stuck or she is laying internally or has a internal infection?

Evelyn died in November of egg yolk pertonitis she was 8 months old. lily and evelyn would be same age now.

any suggestions are welcome please. I know its urgent.





H

 

[azygous]

The poop looks consistent with egg binding. So does the bad odor of the poop. You've done all the correct stuff. Be sure she has access to food and water. A little sugar added to the water can boost her energy to get her through this.

 

[my beautiful girls]

The poop looks consistent with egg binding. So does the bad odor of the poop. You've done all the correct stuff. Be sure she has access to food and water. A little sugar added to the water can boost her energy to get her through this.

couple more questions. should i put some ky jelly around her vent? should she have a soak every hour? she is not interested in laying down at all. thank you for your previous response.

 

[azygous]

Yes, you may lube her vent. Do not continue to give her soaks, however, as it is very stressful and can aggravate the stuck egg.

 

[my beautiful girls]

Yes, you may lube her vent. Do not continue to give her soaks, however, as it is very stressful and can aggravate the stuck egg.

can you tell me what you see?

I see inflammation near her vent and some gas bubbles. appears to be a yolk near her backbone which i assume is where it is supposed to be.

I put her on meloxicam and baytril 10?

The calcium is probably not necessary at this point?

I got a CBC done, no results for couple days.

thank you again. how do you tell if salphingitis is present?

 

[azygous]

I confess I'm not schooled on reading X-rays.

I would continued giving the calcium, a tablet each day until this resolves. No matter the obstruction, the calcium will help her move it.

Salpingitis is very difficult to identify until the hen passes some lash material (pus). It can obstruct the oviduct. That's why continuing the calcium is a good idea.

 

[my beautiful girls]

I confess I'm not schooled on reading X-rays.

I would continued giving the calcium, a tablet each day until this resolves. No matter the obstruction, the calcium will help her move it.

Salpingitis is very difficult to identify until the hen passes some lash material (pus). It can obstruct the oviduct. That's why continuing the calcium is a good idea.

in your opinion, does calcium seem more important than antibiotics at this point? calcium prevents absorption of antibiotic.

blood test may not be back for 2 days. to confirm high WBC or not

I put her out with her sisters this afternoon and she is just standing with droopy wings and sleeping standing up. little puffed up as well.

how long before improvement in her behavior with either treatment do you think?

so hard sometimes to not second guess myself. thanks again.

 

[azygous]

You can give calcium with the antibiotic. But you need to leave two hours in between the two doses. This way the calcium won't hinder the absorption of the antibiotic.

When you have a sick chicken, it's normal to second and third guess yourself. While we can't know what her outcome will be, improvement will occur noticeably within 24 hours. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. If this is something that has the ability to defy treatment, you will see her noticeably decline.

When I don't see improvement with an antibiotic within 24 hours with decline instead, I begin preparing for the decision to euthanize.

 

[my beautiful girls]

@azygous lily passed away after 5 days of illness. UC Davis necropsy said Marek's disease. she was 1 year old. what are next steps for the rest of my flock? I have 4 three year olds and 2 one year old that were lily's flock mates. She died in my arms. she was vaccinated as are all the rest.

 

[azygous]

Vaccination only prevents tumors. Birds can still get the virus.

You really don't need to do anything other than practice biosecurity so you don't spread this to other flock owners. Don't wear the same shoes and clothing to the store that you wear working with your chickens. Don't rehome chickens. Buy only vaccinated chicks.

The virus lives up to two years in the dirt and facilities. Starting over is more complex than keeping your flock and doing good biosecurity.