Part 0800.0005

[thelurch]

Had our 5 hens about a month now and up until about 4 days ago all 5 were laying everyday.

 

Then we started to see our first few softies, which were found in the poo trays of the cube. Then the next day there was what looked like a bit of a runny yolk, and shell which looked like melted rubber.

 

Now we are getting 4 eggs, no soft eggs but one hen has had very pooey bottom feathers.

 

A couple of days ago she sat on a perch in the run with her bum towards me and saw her vent which was really pulsing, then she pushed out part of the inside of her vent ( about 2 cms long ), it then went back inside and then suddenly a small jet of water came out of the vent! I tried to pick her up but couldn't catch her.

Next day she seemed much brighter and haven't seen the possible prolapse again

 

She still goes in the nest to sit and makes some strange noises but never lays.

Today I cleaned her vent and feathers with soapy water and a sponge as the brown feathers had turned White!

Her vent is clean, not sore looking and there are no mites etc but is pulsing quite a lot.

 

All the hens are halfway though a dose of flubenvet.

 

I've read lots on what it could be, peritonitis,egg bound, etc.

I have felt around the vent and it doesn't feel like there's anything solid there or any liquid being held there.

 

She is still eating and drinking although not as vigorously as the others.

 

I know she needs to see a vet but I just can't find a vet anywhere near me that will look at chickens, the nearest one is a 3 hour round trip! Which I just can't do, so unless I do find a more local vet I'm just going to have to continue nursing her and see how she goes.

 

I really wasn't prepared for the lack of support from most vets.

 

Does anyone have anything I could be doing? If there's an egg stuck then presumably her system stops producing more eggs?

[Egluntyne]

Some advice on egg binding **here**, from the FAQ section.

[thelurch]

Thanks for that, I might try the gloved finger in the vent option to try and find out if there is an egg in there, if she will let me.

 

How far inside does the egg sit?

[scarlettohara]

There are quite a few poultry friendly vets in your area listed under FAQs in the chicken clinic

[thelurch]

Thanks for that, I hadn't found that thread before, seems there's one about 20 minutes drive away

 

And incidentally my wife has just called to say we had our 5th egg of the day this afternoon, not sure if it was poorly hen but it was the biggest we've had.

We had started getting one much bigger egg every day from one of the hens until our poorly hen started being poorly, so it could be hers and finally got free !

 

She seems happier so fingers crossed I won't need that vet just yet!