Gaia: Egg bound Chicken #2

Well last year we had to take Big Red to the vet several times because she was egg bound. We ended up having her spayed and she is doing great. She is happy and loves to run up to us faster than all the other chickens looking for treats....

Over the last few months we have noticed Gaia our New Hampsire Red from time to time looked egg bound but would always pass it herself without to much problem. Today I went out to see all the chickens and give them some treats and noticed her all fluffed out and her comb was very pail. Now if her comb wasn't pale I would have given her more of a chance to pass the egg herself before I interveined. But I had my husband catch her and for the first time this year I stuck my finger in and found a whole yolk stuck just inside the rectum at the end of her cloaca. It was at the very end and everytime she would try to pass it her cloaca would particly come out with it. I tried to coax it out a few times but then decided to call our Avian vet. He was leaving in an hour and we live more than an hour away so... He told me to use equal parts mineral oil to water and use a syrunge and put it in around her cloaca to rehydrate the area. He said alot of the time the chicken will be dehydrated and it will just get stuck right there. He said to administer it and then wait to 15 minutes and check on her again. She had not passed it but it would now turn when she would try to push it out. So you could tell it was loss now. So I decided to try a 2nd method of bringing her in the house and soaking her for 20 to 30 minutes in warm water. Remember that a chickens normal body temp is 102F to 103F so remember when you soak her that it needs to be a little warm to you to be warm to her. so about the temp you would comfortably wash dishes in. (Not hot!). we soaked her and she seemed not to mind so much and even sat there for a few extra minutes by herself. We took her out and checked her bottom which was still very protruded. I put a glove on and was able to work it out with her help. I would have left her to push it out herself. But she was visibly in pain, clapping her beak, and making noices when trying to lay. We kept in side for the rest of the night under a heat lamp drying and trying to get her stress level back down. I was worries about shock that evening but she was still eating. We gave her an egg, some apple, a couple grapes, and some lettuce to eat.. and she happily ate them although kind of slowly.

When we let the chickens out the next morning we let her go into the coop so she could walk down like she was never missing. No one seemed to care.. and the only Chicken that really picked at all was Isis and that was just a couple little pecks. She is still fluffy but she is doing ok. I am still waiting on the swelling to finish going down and I am sure she will go back to her normal self considering she is eating and drinking...

Update: She is doing well it has been 5 days now. She is still fluffy from time to time but she runs around with the rest of the chickens, eats, and drinks normally...Her comb has taken time to get a good amount of color back into it but it is looking better as well. I assume by the end of summer we will have her spayed just to make she she has not further problems. If she stops being egg bound and has no further issues then we won't spay her but she has been egg bound several times and has been able to eventually pass it. So I figure it is only a matter of time before she will need spayed. Big red did so well and she is so happy now and has had no problems since her spay so I want Gaia to have that same happy go lucky life! I will update later...

Looking alert wondering whats going on. Her comb was really really pale even though you can't really tell from the pictures.

Taking a trial dip... Seems ok....

Waiting on the tub to fill up a little more

John helping her sit low enough for 20minutes....They were both good little troopers :)

A little wet and annoyed.... egg still stuck....

This is the yolk I helped her pop out....We were all releaved when it came out...

Still wet, under the heat lamp, eating her much needed egg to give her some energy after all the stress. when ever any of my chickens have problems and have been stressed I feed them raw eggs. Its always something they love that I know they will eat and it has fat and protein to help them rebuild there health issues while giving energy.