Hen laid a hard / "cooked" yolk (no shell)

[casportpony]

That is one I would treat with Baytril ASAP. Baytril is banned for use in poultry, but it really would be the best choice for this type of infection.

If you live in the US you can get Baytril here:
https://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/product_baytril.php
https://www.jedds.com/shop/misc/
https://allbirdproducts.com/products/baytril-10

The dose when using the products above is 0.045 ml per pound of bodyweight twice a day orally.

Edited to add:
If a vet is an option, please do take her in.

 

[denz88]

Thanks so much everyone for the input.

Vet is currently not an option, but if there's something that the vet could do differently that could save her I would definitely consider it. From what I understand, superlorin (deslorelin) under-skin implant is a life saver, but it's somewhat cost prohibitive for us at the moment. I'd prefer avoiding invasive procedures.

As for antibiotics, I've started a course of amoxicillin (for humans, not the aquarium / pet variant), dosing ~100mg (capsule powder diluted in water) last night and again this morning. It's the only antibiotic I have on hand that I've read others using before.

I'm not sure if it's passing the lash egg, the amoxicillin, or a combination of the two, but she seems like she's gotten some of her spunk back already. In attempting to dose her this morning, she made two (vigorous) attempts to flee, knocking over her feed bowl in the process. Hoping it's a path to recovery, but I'm tempering my expectations.

Her droppings from ~5 hrs ago early this morning still look poorly. It's very wet, very dark, and surrounded by yolk, similar to the one she dropped last night and to my previous EYP hen.

I've pasted a pic of her latest dropping (~10hrs after first amoxicillin dosing, ~11hrs after passing lash egg) below.

That is one I would treat with Baytril ASAP. Baytril is banned for use in poultry, but it really would be the best choice for this type of infection.

@casportpony is the amoxicillin I'm currently using sufficient, or should I try to get my hands on Baytril? do you know if it's possible to find this at local feed stores / Tractor Supply? Lastly, do you know if there would there be any issues switching her off from amoxicillin to Baytril midway?

 

[coach723]

My experience with amoxicillin is that this particular infection generally does not respond to it. I would go ahead and give it since it is what you have on hand, and then switch to enrofloxacin once you get it (assuming you are going to go that route). Amoxicillin dose is 57 mg per pound of bird weight twice a day. Amoxicillin is generally well tolerated, maybe it will buy you some time. I usually grind up the pills or empty the capsules and mix into a small amount coconut oil, divide into the appropriate # of doses, and then freeze or refrigerate til firm. Then you have a custom pill and it usually goes down easily, they usually like coconut oil. You can also mix it in some liverwurst or other food item that they like. More than likely, without a vet to prescribe, you are going to have to order the enrofloxacin online.
As for her perking up, I found that they usually felt better for a time after passing a mass of lash material, but it will build up again. It's usually at best, a slow downhill deterioration, with some good days when they feel a bit better. It's a very stubborn infection best treated as early as possible. The longer it goes on the less likely it is to respond to treatment, and often it has been going on for a while before symptoms show up.

 

[casportpony]

@casportpony is the amoxicillin I'm currently using sufficient, or should I try to get my hands on Baytril? do you know if it's possible to find this at local feed stores / Tractor Supply? Lastly, do you know if there would there be any issues switching her off from amoxicillin to Baytril midway?

The amoxicillin dose is ~57 mg per pound of bodyweight twice a day orally. If it's all you can get it's better than no antibiotic. Baytril is not sold at retail stores, the only place to get it is from a vet or an online pigeon or game bird website.

Okay to start the amoxicillin and then switch to Baytril.

 

[denz88]

I placed an order for enrofloxacin earlier in 100ml bottle. It seems like something I should have on hand. Bottle is arriving from CA and I'm in New England so I guess it'll be a few days.

For now, I'll up the dose on amoxicillin to 57mg/lb/dose at 2x dose daily for the time being. Will also try to pick up some coconut oil tonight to try the custom pill method.

One thing I should note is that she hasn't been eating all too well. Hopefully she'll take to the coconut oil. She also loves bread, but not sure if making little bread capsules filled with powder is as effective.

Thanks again for all of the treatment information, you guys are amazing!

As for her perking up, I found that they usually felt better for a time after passing a mass of lash material, but it will build up again. It's usually at best, a slow downhill deterioration...

This leads me to wonder if the hen I thought had EYP might have had salpingitis instead. All of the symptoms are matching up, as is the timeline. The only thing my EYP hen didn't have was the lash egg. Perhaps I didn't spot it when it dropped?

 

[Eggcessive]

Internal laying, salpingitis, and egg yolk peritonitis are all inter-related. One can lay internally for some time, but when bacteria are present, then egg yolk peritonitis will occur. Salpingitis is inflammation of the oviduct, and it will lead to internal laying and EYP as well. These are not the best articles, but they differentiate between the 3 disorders:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...reproductive-system/internal-layer-in-poultry

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...eproductive-system/egg-peritonitis-in-poultry

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/disorders-of-the-reproductive-system/salpingitis-in-poultry

 

[denz88]

The enrofloxacin arrived!! Have a few Q's about it.

The dose when using the products above is 0.045 ml per pound of bodyweight twice a day orally.

Not sure if I'm getting this right, but for my 4lb hen this would come out to 0.18mL, which seems like the volume of a raindrop. Does this sound about right? Is it safe to mix with water, or should I administer undiluted?

Also, any idea how many days I should keep at this dosage? I've completed about 3 days of amoxicillin so far and I'm not sure if I should run a complete course for enrofloxacin just to be safe.

 

[Eggcessive]

I usually recommend 0.05 ml per pound, so that would be 0.2 ml for you 4 pounder. You can get a 1 ml syringe at most pharmacies or WalMart to give babies medications, and those are free (at least at my Walmart, recently.) It should be given for 5 days, even though you gave amoxicillin before. Probiotics would be good to feed her during and after antibiotics.

Edited to say that it should be given twice a day for 5 days.

 

[glassdragonfly]

 

[PioneerChicks]

Looks like you're done talking about lash egg, but I am going to bring it up again. Thanks to @Wyorp Rock, I believe my hen, Penny, has lash egg. I don't know for certain, because I didn't cut open the egg, but all the signs are pointing to it.
In the past few months I have had 3 hens die from being egg bound (not including Penny), but maybe it is lash egg too? I have never had any of my flock get sick until now, and all my flock is getting eggbound/lash egg.
My question is, why are all my hens getting sick with this??? They have plenty of calcium, but we do have a major lice problem (I'm working on it!). Please help. If I don't get any answers here I will probably post my own thread.