Soft egg shell stuck in vent

[Sally PB]

Today I saw Pip, one of my 9 month old pullets, in the classic "I don't feel good" stance: head hunched, tail down, off in a corner. I checked her bum and saw what looked like egg whites mixed with poop on her feathers. I brought her inside and cleaned her off. There was something sticking out of her vent. I pulled it out, and it looked like a bit of soft eggshell. I probed her vent, and pulled out this:

This is a bit bigger than life size, as the drop of blood wasn't that big.

This was stuck on the outside of the shell:

It looked like a bit of "meaty snack" which they got on Friday. (Meaty snack is the mashed up stuff left over from making bone broth: meat, soft bits of bone, vegetable mush. The bones are so soft I can mash them with my fingers.)

I gave her a calcium citrate pill. The "pull down on their wattles to make them open their beak" trick does work. She's in a small dog crate now. I've seen her eat feed and a few dried mealworms, drink water, and poop. Her first poop was the "starvation" poop: urates with a small green blob. Subsequent poops are bigger and less green, but still soft and slimy.

Her head is up, her eyes are bright, and I think she misses her flock. Should I keep her inside overnight, or take her out at roost time? I can continue the calcium pills as long as needed; should I start an antibiotic? I have fishmox on hand.

Tagging some BYC chicken health experts...
@azygous
@Eggcessive
@Wyorp Rock
@aart

 

[azygous]

Yes, that mess is mostly pus, otherwise called lash material, indicating infection in the oviduct. Start her on amoxicillin 250mg twice a day twelve hours apart. Do the full ten days. Caught early, these infections have a chance of resolving, but understand that they are notoriously difficult to treat.

 

[Sally PB]

Yes, that mess is mostly pus, otherwise called lash material, indicating infection in the oviduct. Start her on amoxicillin 250mg twice a day twelve hours apart. Do the full ten days. Caught early, these infections have a chance of resolving, but understand that they are notoriously difficult to treat.

Thank you.
Continue with calcium too?

 

[Sally PB]

Sorry, hit post before I asked:

Do I need to keep her separate? Can she go back to the flock?

 

[azygous]

No need to separate her, and yes, calcium for today, and if she's still passing that material, continue into tomorrow.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would give the calcium citrate for several days. They can pass egg products (membrane, yolk, albumen, and lash material) with salpingitis. Hopefully she feels better and stops this soon. Do you have any amoxicillin around, or care to use that on your pullet?

 

[Sally PB]

I would give the calcium citrate for several days. They can pass egg products (membrane, yolk, albumen, and lash material) with salpingitis. Hopefully she feels better and stops this soon. Do you have any amoxicillin around, or care to use that on your pullet?

I have Fishmox, and gave Pip one before I took her back to the flock. I don't know if I can space them 12 hours apart, but I plan to give her one at open and another at lock up.

I'll give her a calcium sometime during the day. Maybe at snack time, which is mid-afternoon.

Of course this has to happen to my little Pippy. She's my favorite of my pullets.

She's the one who is most likely to sit on my lap. Fortunately, that also means she is the easiest to handle.

 

[Eggcessive]

She is precious! Giving her one first thing in the am and then when they go in is probably just fine.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Pippy is a pretty pullet.

Good advice from @azygous and @Eggcessive

The only other thing I can add, is that I hope she bounces back quickly, and the medication takes care of this problem.

 

[Sammster]

I hope Pippy is feeling better, soon ♡