Imperforate tube near cloaca. Polypus: snare and twist off. Egg
impaction: from atony, inflammation, stricture, congenital smallness,
exhaustion, large eggs, thick end first, broken egg. Symptoms: mopes
alone, feathers erect, wing and tail drooping, large, solid swelling
around anus and abdomen. Rupture into abdomen. Treatment: oil cloaca
and oviduct, manipulate, turn, break egg and scoop out, incise and
extract, antiseptic oils. Excision of ovary.
_Imperforate oviduct_ usually occurs in the lower part of its course,
the tube being connected with the cloaca by a short, fibrous cord. In
the case of a very valuable bird it may be incised and the walls of the
duct may be brought down and fixed to those of the cloaca.
_Polypi of the oviduct_ may seriously impede laying, and start
obstruction and impaction. The seat of the tumor having been
ascertained, it may be seized and twisted off by a snare. An elastic
wire is passed through a small metallic tube so that a loop protrudes
large enough to pass over the polypus. When fixed around the pedicle, it
is tightened, and the tissues twisted through.
=Egg Impaction in the Oviduct.= From weakness or lack of tone in the
bird, by inflammation and loss of contractile power in the oviduct, by
stricture of the duct as a sequel of inflammation or abrasion, by
congenital narrowing, by weakening of the oviduct through constant
laying, by excessive size of the egg, by double yolked eggs, by
presentation of a large egg with its thick end first, or by an egg with
broken shell, the oviduct may be rendered incapable of passing the egg
on and out, and as others continue to press down from above an excessive
and dangerous impaction ensues. The bird refuses food, mopes around with
ruffled feathers and drooping head, wings and tail. The region of the
anus and in front of it hangs downward and feels firm and solid, and the
oiled finger introduced into the cloaca comes in contact with the
impacted mass. The bird strains violently but ineffectually and rubs its
anus on the ground. The swelling goes on steadily and rapidly
increasing, and the bird becomes more prostrate and hopeless. Sometimes
the overdistended and congested oviduct gives way and the eggs escape
into the abdomen. Reul has counted as many as 24 eggs that had thus
escaped into the abdominal cavity. Or without rupture of the oviduct,
the soft eggs pack together into a solid, dry yolk-like mass, the watery
parts having been pressed out or absorbed. In bad cases this may weigh
1½ lb. in the hen (Weber). In the way of _treatment_ the cloaca and
oviduct should be thoroughly lubricated with a bland oil, which might be
injected with a syringe, so as to pass it, if possible, around the
impacted egg or mass. By careful manipulation the egg may now be brought
away. If the thick end is presented it is sometimes possible to turn it
so that the thin end will come first. Should all fail the egg may be
broken and its contents together with the other impacted matter may be
dislodged with a looped wire or small spoon. The oviduct should be
lubricated for some time with a bland antiseptic oil (olive oil and
boric or salicylic acid). In obstinate cases the abdomen and oviduct may
be laid open and both evacuated of any egg matter that may be present.
After suitable antisepsis the wounds in the oviduct and abdominal walls
are to be sutured. If there appears to be danger of the further early
descent of eggs into the weakened oviduct the ovary may be removed.
_Eversion of the Oviduct._ This appears at times as a result of the
intromission of the penis (ducks) being shown immediately after
copulation as a pink, lax membrane one or more inches long, dragging
from the anus. In other cases it appears to result from the paresis that
occurs in old birds from prolonged laying, or from inflammation and
impactions. It may appear abruptly or gradually, and after a few hours
becomes the seat of exudation, swelling and redness, forming a pyriform
mass. In some cases it is carried out around an egg which does not glide
through its canal and may be felt through its walls, and through its
terminal opening. A partial eversion may take place as an invagination
into the cloaca, without showing externally. When an egg is impacted, or
when the protruded organ is inflamed and swollen, violent straining
continues, which tends to aggravate the condition, and the bird gets
rapidly exhausted, resting on its breast, later upon its back, and dying
in convulsions.
In slight cases following copulation, the vermicular movement of the
duct, of the cloaca and anus may serve to secure speedy spontaneous
reduction. In the partial cases, of eversion into the cloaca, the free
local use of oil, may secure the passage of the presenting egg and the
return of the oviduct. If necessary the egg may be broken and its shell
thoroughly extracted. This last method is imperative when the egg
enclosed in the oviduct has already passed through the anus. The oviduct
should then be cleansed in tepid water, and laudanum, oiled and
returned.
_Inflammation of the oviduct_ is a common condition resulting from
debility, from impaction of an egg or of egg-material, from scratching
with the shell of a broken egg, and from microbian invasion. The
frequent passage of large eggs is an accessory cause, and the egg
becomes an important factor in the maintenance and aggravation of the
inflammation. The mucosa becomes red, dry, infiltrated, thickened and
friable, and the muscular coat increasingly paretic. The egg, becoming
impacted, and subjected to constant pressure in the vain efforts at
expulsion, hinders circulation and nutrition, and favors necrotic and
ulcerative processes, and too often the fragile membranous walls yield,
and the mass drops into the abdominal cavity. Short of this, the exudate
at a particular point, the main seat of inflammation, contracting in
undergoing organization, forms a distinct stricture, which renders the
further laying of fully formed eggs difficult or impossible, and further
impaction, inflammation and rupture may follow. Sometimes the irritation
causes undue peristalsis in the anterior and less actively inflamed part
of the tube, and the eggs are laid prematurely without albumen or
without shell, yet with much effort and suffering. Or the bowels become
irritable and a profuse diarrhœa sets in, hastening the exhaustion of
the patient.
_Treatment_ should be applied early. A cooling diet of vegetables or
slops, the careful removal of all irritating contents from the oviduct,
and its frequent injection with bland oils medicated with mild
antiseptics (boric or salicylic acid, or potassium permanganate) will
usually serve a good purpose.