Help please?

[GreenCreekHaven]

2 year old Gold Sex Link, suddenly acting unwell. Droopy wings, not making any noise, laying down. Her vent looks wrong. I don't see maggots so I'm not sure if it's fly strike. We're putting her in a warm epsom salt bath now.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looks like her vent is bruised. She may have prolasped at some point and the others picked at her but the prolapse has gone back in. She's not kept with Male Ducks is she?

If she's lethargic, you may want to place in a steamed up bathroom or provide a heating pad on low for her instead of soaking her in a warm bath which may send her over the edge.

Do you know if she laid an egg today?

I'd give her some electrolytes or sugar water and Extra Calcium. You can give 1 Calcium Citrate+D3 tablet or 1 Tums now, then once daily for a week.

A photo of all of her so we can see her face/comb?

 

[GreenCreekHaven]

Looks like her vent is bruised. She may have prolasped at some point and the others picked at her but the prolapse has gone back in. She's not kept with Male Ducks is she?

If she's lethargic, you may want to place in a steamed up bathroom or provide a heating pad on low for her instead of soaking her in a warm bath which may send her over the edge.

Do you know if she laid an egg today?

I'd give her some electrolytes or sugar water and Extra Calcium. You can give 1 Calcium Citrate+D3 tablet or 1 Tums now, then once daily for a week.

A photo of all of her so we can see her face/comb?

No egg laid today. No ducks, we don't even have a rooster.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

No egg laid today. No ducks, we don't even have a rooster.

OK, then likely another hen (or more) picked a her vent. The purple looks to be bruising and the vent looks swollen too.
If you have an anti-inflammatory cream or Prep H, you can apply a small amount to just the vent to see if that give a bit of relief. If not, a bit of oil or honey.

I'd still give her extra Calcium for a few days, she may have had some trouble with an egg or prolapse.

Poor Girl! She sure doesn't look like she feels very well does she. Likely the vent is painful.

If you feel she can tolerate a soak, you can try that too or if you feel she'd get stressed, you can apply warm epsom salts soaked compresses to the vent for a little while. This may help reduce some swelling, but it's going to be a few days not matter what you do.

 

[GreenCreekHaven]

OK, then likely another hen (or more) picked a her vent. The purple looks to be bruising and the vent looks swollen too.
If you have an anti-inflammatory cream or Prep H, you can apply a small amount to just the vent to see if that give a bit of relief. If not, a bit of oil or honey.

I'd still give her extra Calcium for a few days, she may have had some trouble with an egg or prolapse.

Poor Girl! She sure doesn't look like she feels very well does she. Likely the vent is painful.

If you feel she can tolerate a soak, you can try that too or if you feel she'd get stressed, you can apply warm epsom salts soaked compresses to the vent for a little while. This may help reduce some swelling, but it's going to be a few days not matter what you do.

Thank you for the advice. She had a hearty appetite when I offered some scratch grain with some crumbled calcium tablet. (A good sign I hope.) She has gooey white & clear substance leaking from her vent now, post epsom soak. And a little normal loose poop came out too when she pushed so I think we are on the right track with an egg problem. I've just never seen a vent with that discoloration and didn't know what to think!

We give high protein layer feed, they have access to oyster shell and we feed back egg shells. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. This is our second hen to have a laying problem within a week. Our other hen has had multiple problems so far this year.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for the advice. She had a hearty appetite when I offered some scratch grain with some crumbled calcium tablet. (A good sign I hope.) She has gooey white & clear substance leaking from her vent now, post epsom soak. And a little normal loose poop came out too when she pushed so I think we are on the right track with an egg problem. I've just never seen a vent with that discoloration and didn't know what to think!

We give high protein layer feed, they have access to oyster shell and we feed back egg shells. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. This is our second hen to have a laying problem within a week. Our other hen has had multiple problems so far this year.

Thank you for the advice. She had a hearty appetite when I offered some scratch grain with some crumbled calcium tablet. (A good sign I hope.) She has gooey white & clear substance leaking from her vent now, post epsom soak. And a little normal loose poop came out too when she pushed so I think we are on the right track with an egg problem. I've just never seen a vent with that discoloration and didn't know what to think!

It can be normal to see a gooey substance leaking when the vent has been damaged and/or experienced a prolapse. I think it's a combination of Urates and "I'm just not sure". That stuff can adhere to the tissue, especially any tissue that is damaged and build up. Apply a bit of mineral oil to help keep it somewhat pliable. I've found that it will eventually slough off as the vent heals.

Normal loose poop sounds promising as well.

I would somewhat suspect she suffered a prolapse and the tissue was picked at by another hen, possible she picked at herself if it was painful, I've seen that happen too.

If she were mine, I'd give her Extra Calcium for several days just in case she lays another egg and prolapses again or has some issues with expelling the egg. I use Calcium Citrate+D3, you can find it at Walmart, CVS, etc. Pop 1 tablet right into the beak and let her swallow. Yes, the tablet is big, but they can swallow it fine, but if you wish, break it 1/2 and put a piece at a time into the beak. The Extra Calcium can help with retention and also with contractions to help expel an egg.

The Other Hen, did she have problems with prolapse or something different?

We give high protein layer feed, they have access to oyster shell and we feed back egg shells. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. This is our second hen to have a laying problem within a week. Our other hen has had multiple problems so far this year.

 

[GreenCreekHaven]

The Other Hen, did she have problems with prolapse or something different

No prolapse that I'm aware of but appearing egg bound and laying soft shelled/broken/malformed eggs eventually.

As for my girl in the picture, she made it through the night and at 2am when I checked on her, I found a fully formed but soft/squishy egg that was on the larger size for her.

I'm not understanding why the layer feed + offering oyster shell & egg shells isn't "enough". I will look for the Calcium Citrate + D3 tablets. Thank you for the advice!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

No prolapse that I'm aware of but appearing egg bound and laying soft shelled/broken/malformed eggs eventually.

As for my girl in the picture, she made it through the night and at 2am when I checked on her, I found a fully formed but soft/squishy egg that was on the larger size for her.

I'm not understanding why the layer feed + offering oyster shell & egg shells isn't "enough". I will look for the Calcium Citrate + D3 tablets. Thank you for the advice!

Glad she was able to expell that egg.
I'd give her the Extra Calcium once daily for 5-7 days, see if that improves shell quality as well.

I'm not a nutritionist, so can't explain why layer feed+OS isn't enough. Sometimes it just isn't, or the hen(s) may not be eating the OS or supplemental Calcium that is provided.

Some hens don't absorb or utilize nutrients/supplements like they should, so even when provided adequate feed, etc. they may still be lacking.

Also, reproductive/production issues can be common, unfortunately.

So many factors really.