Egg Bound?? Or something else?? ** An Egg finally **

[patman75]

well sugar is back inside with the humidity treatment. Her vent does not look right, it is partially open and can see inside but i'm not sure what should look right.

I'm thinking she is really in trouble

 

[Billy7871]

I am no expert but if you can afford it you may want to take her to the vet since they do deal with livestock. You seem to have it documented very well so maybe a vet could help.

 

[spotsplus]

I have read that if they strain it affects the muscles that pass the egg along so if a hen has trouble with passing an egg it may continue to cause problems thereafter because the egg passage is "damaged". I have had this happen with my finches and occationally with a chicken hen. Just passing soft shelled eggs is a symptom of a problem. I have used this method that works well: let the hen lay a clutch so she goes broody (give her fake eggs) and stops laying as each egg passed can continue/aggravate the problem. Hopefully she will stop laying to give her insides a rest but that doesn't always happen. Put a few drops of olive oil on her vent to help eggs pass. Keep her in a warm area. For finches I use a damp cloth that I heat in the microwave and have her sit on it (finches will sit on the bottom of the cage rather than perching when eggbound). Usually the finch will feel better after a while (and many reheatings later) and will pass the egg and feel much better. For a hen I've used a heating pad but keep an eye on it so she doesn't get burned feet.

Hope that helps.

T

 

[ChickensRuleMe]

If she does have egg bound you can take her to a vet to get the egg inside her crushed. if you dont take her to the vet you would probably
put her down. If she does have egg bound, she would die a very slow painful death. But I dont think she has it..just check, anyway.
I hope she gets better. <333

 

[patman75]

She laid another soft shell during the night. She looks better. I'm giving her apple sauce/yogurt/crumbles mix.

Chances of her going broody is 0%. She is a White Leg Horn. Thanks for the idea.

I'll be calling the vet to see if they can do anything.

I'm saving culling for last resort. I have a small flock and my 4 year-old would be upset if her pet Sugar ended up as dinner. She will have to learn about it sooner or later.

 

[AmyBella]

The vet will probably prescribe calcium for her. I think that that is going to be key to her recovery. Even though you have free-choice oyster shell she may not be eating it for whatever reason. She could also have a deficiency in vitamin D or something that is interfering with her ability to properly utilize the calcium.

Here is a link to the advice that I got for my girl... https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=238500 There are a couple of posts by dlunicorn about the use of Tums. It might be worth a try before you shell out big bucks for a vet!

 

[patman75]

Well I called the vet and he said no need to bring her in. He said she is probably used alot of calcium when she laid the double yoker. I told him she has osyter shells and then he said if she does not have access to grit then she will be unable to crush up the osyter shells.

My chickens are in a tractor most of the time. I do let my chickens free range but they really dont go over by the gravel driveway. They always go to the mulch beds and tear them up.

After a day of having all my hens work up my garden I have Sugar back inside with a fine crushed oyster shells, grit, crumbles and yogurt. She doing fine right now and if she eats her snack I put her back outside.

I dont have tums around but I do have Calcium Lactate 40mg & another calcium supplement that has 100IU of Vit D, 250mg calcium carbonate, 30mg of Phosphorus and 50 mg of magnesium.

Would these be OK to give her?

Thanks for the link Amy Bella.

 

[AmyBella]

The person that advised me was pretty specific about the Tums so I went out and got some even though I had other calcium in the house. I got a roll at a gas station for about a dollar. I looked it up and there is 400 mg of calcium carbonate in each regular strength Tums so you certainly would not be overdosing your bird if you give her your calcium carbonate supplement. What I am not clear on in terms of chicken nutrition is the phosphorus and magnesium. I know the vitamin d is beneficial for calcium absorption in people and birds, but I am not sure about the other stuff!

On the one hand, I doubt you would be doing her serious harm giving her the people vitamin but then again, Tums is cheap unless you live out in the boonies and don't have access!

I am really glad that she is doing better! I'm sure she will continue to improve.

 

[AmyBella]

Thought this might be of interest - http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1003/factors-influencing-shell-quality

Best,

Amy

 

[patman75]

Quote:
Thanks Amy, very good link.

I have been feeding Sugar and the other 3 a crumble, yogurt, milk, fine crushed oyster shells and grit mix once a day for the last 3 days. Sugar has not layied an egg since the last soft shell but she has alot of energy. I have them in the garden and they have been enjoying tearing it up and the compost pile.

So for now I'm just keeping an eye on her.