Egg bound?

[SDA92]

We come home to find one of our young hens (not even a 1 year old yet) dead in her cage. I think she was egg bound...is there a way to prevent it? Or at least help prevent it? This would have been her first egg.

Sorry if this is in the wrong place for this post.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Were you able to feel inside her to see if there was an egg stuck?
What type of feed do you use and do you offer oyster shells free choice to your girls?

Here's a couple of links for you:
http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2012/06/egg-bound-hens-how-to-recognize-treat.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/07/chicken-egg-binding-causes-symptoms.html

 

[SDA92]

Yes I could feel one inside her. She had a lot of blood on her to. We feed a mix that a local feed store mixes. No we don't have oyster shells out but we plan on getting some. The girls in the cages haven't started laying yet. All the others are free range tho we are trying to get them in a pen now because we have a stray dog stealing some hens.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What do you mean by "she had a lot of blood on her"?
Was the blood in the vent, other part of the body, etc?

The links I provided list some of the most common causes of egg binding, how to treat and prevent.

 

[SDA92]

It was all around her vent and in that area.

I read both of the links. We will be keeping a close eye on the rest of the hens. We weren't home when this happened and she was fine when I had checked on her earlier in the day. She was one of our favorites.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry.

Hopefully you won't run into any more problems.