🚨Possibly egg bound, not sure now. Help please!! 🚨

[CackleShack]

Yesterday (Tuesday) midday, when I went to check on all the girls, I noticed my Lavender Orpington (6.5 mo.) was sitting/laying and didn’t seem to want to move. They all run to the fence to greet me & see if I’ve got any goodies for them, so this was very unusual.

I picked her up and moved her to the middle of the run, and she did not want to stand. I felt all over, gently massaging, looking for any injuries, lumps, bumps; anything abnormal. Nothing. She did have waste on her bum feathers indicating that she’s had runny poop, and her vent continued to move as if uncomfortable and constipated or working to expel an egg.

I let her be, she slowly waddled under the coop and sat on a tire, and I went to get my daughter from school.
After looking it up, I came to the conclusion that she is likely egg bound.

She just started laying. I’ve gotten about 4 eggs from her, and the last confirmed one was this past Saturday when I saw her in the box. (I have another Orpington, so it’s hard to tell which has laid sometimes.)

Last evening, I gathered everything needed to bring her inside for the night, and I gave her a nice soak in the tub. I applied coconut oil to her vent, and put her in the crate for the night. She never once moved from where I placed her.

I haven’t really had any issues with eating or drinking. I added some oyster shell directly to the feed to help with calcium. Her comb and waddles are still red, perhaps a little less vibrant this morning.
She stood once this morning, took a few steps, and laid back down.

(No water as of yet this morning. I should also mention it appeared that she drank so much at one point yesterday that she seemed to regurgitate some of the water. I only saw that happen once. ??)

BUT she did have a normal poop this morning, so now I’m not totally sure she is actually egg bound!

I was about to run to TSC to get Calcium Gluconate 23%, as others have suggested. But I’m not sure if it’s the right thing now.

Any advice??

Taking her to the vet isn’t really an option right now.

*sorry for the long post! I tried to give as much info as I could.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's lovely.

Have you felt inside her vent for an egg?

Drinking a lot of water - I would check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight.
Feel her abdomen below the vent between her legs - any bloat or swelling?

 

[CackleShack]

She's lovely.

Have you felt inside her vent for an egg?

Drinking a lot of water - I would check to make sure her crop is emptying overnight.
Feel her abdomen below the vent between her legs - any bloat or swelling?

Thank you!


Ok, I gave her another physical, she is soft; no distention or firmness anywhere that I can feel. It’s kind of hard to tell if there is swelling, but if any at all, it’d say it’s probably quite minimal.
I also checked to see if I could feel an egg, and I did not feel one.
Her crop felt fine; not full.

She has had two large, regular poops today, which is why I was thinking now she isn’t actually egg bound.
She’s picked a little at her food and water throughout the day; no overeating or overdrinking.

I’m just not sure at this point. She seems ok based on those findings, but really doesn’t want to move around or do anything, like she’s depressed.
There haven’t been any changes in anything (foods, water, environment, flock, etc.) recently.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's not growling at you is she? Just checking LOL

That greenish poop to me is concerning. Can you take a sample to your vet for testing of worms and Coccidiosis?
I would check to make sure her crop is empty in the morning.

Hard to know what's going on with her, she's young, but may be having trouble with a soft shelled egg. Let's hope and if so she expels it.

 

[Chicken Newbie07]

Yesterday (Tuesday) midday, when I went to check on all the girls, I noticed my Lavender Orpington (6.5 mo.) was sitting/laying and didn’t seem to want to move. They all run to the fence to greet me & see if I’ve got any goodies for them, so this was very unusual.

I picked her up and moved her to the middle of the run, and she did not want to stand. I felt all over, gently massaging, looking for any injuries, lumps, bumps; anything abnormal. Nothing. She did have waste on her bum feathers indicating that she’s had runny poop, and her vent continued to move as if uncomfortable and constipated or working to expel an egg.

I let her be, she slowly waddled under the coop and sat on a tire, and I went to get my daughter from school.
After looking it up, I came to the conclusion that she is likely egg bound.

She just started laying. I’ve gotten about 4 eggs from her, and the last confirmed one was this past Saturday when I saw her in the box. (I have another Orpington, so it’s hard to tell which has laid sometimes.)

Last evening, I gathered everything needed to bring her inside for the night, and I gave her a nice soak in the tub. I applied coconut oil to her vent, and put her in the crate for the night. She never once moved from where I placed her.

I haven’t really had any issues with eating or drinking. I added some oyster shell directly to the feed to help with calcium. Her comb and waddles are still red, perhaps a little less vibrant this morning.
She stood once this morning, took a few steps, and laid back down.

(No water as of yet this morning. I should also mention it appeared that she drank so much at one point yesterday that she seemed to regurgitate some of the water. I only saw that happen once. ??)

BUT she did have a normal poop this morning, so now I’m not totally sure she is actually egg bound!

I was about to run to TSC to get Calcium Gluconate 23%, as others have suggested. But I’m not sure if it’s the right thing now.

Any advice??

Taking her to the vet isn’t really an option right now.

*sorry for the long post! I tried to give as much info as I could.

First, wow she is gorgeous!
Second, after reading your post, it sounds like you are doing everything you can to help. I do think it may be a soft shell egg giving her a hard time.
I feed my chickens all their eggs shells back after I’m done making breakfast, not everyday but often, maybe once a week. My girls lay very hard shelled eggs. I also poor a bit of apple cider vinegar in their water about once or twice a month to help keep their ph balanced. Food grade diatomaceous earth can also help prevent mites and internal parasites, clean their digestive track and it also provides minerals that can lead to hard shelled nutritious eggs.
This is what I do for my flock, but you can do your research on what I mentioned to come to your own conclusion on what your beautiful hen may benefit from right now that your having this issue.
I hope she gets well soon! Best of luck

 

[CackleShack]

She's not growling at you is she? Just checking LOL

That greenish poop to me is concerning. Can you take a sample to your vet for testing of worms and Coccidiosis?
I would check to make sure her crop is empty in the morning.

Hard to know what's going on with her, she's young, but may be having trouble with a soft shelled egg. Let's hope and if so she expels it.

Lol nope, she’s remained sweet & docile the whole time. Totally letting me do whatever I need to.
Her crop was empty this morning.
Her poops mostly seem normal now to me, but then again I’m not fully familiar with the wide range or normals and abnormals.

She is more interested in walking around and eating now, even flipping the little trough over to scratch and peck, whereas before she was wanting to sit and eat.
She’ll now stand for a little longer periods to preen her feathers, then sit back down again for a while.
I’m concerned she just doesn’t want to do a whole lot because she’s not used to being so confined.

I went to TSC yesterday and got the Calcium Gluconate 23%. Should I attempt that? Would it help with a soft shelled egg issue?

Unfortunately, going to the vet isn’t really in the budget right now. Is there anyway to treat her at home for Coccidiosis? Anything that I could give her that wouldn’t harm her if that happens to not be the case?

Should I keep her quarantined or do you think she’s safe at this point to return her?
I just don’t want her to get depressed.

I have 11 other hens of various different breeds all around the same age (only 2 others besides her have begun laying), and all the others have remained normal thus far.

 

[CackleShack]

First, wow she is gorgeous!
Second, after reading your post, it sounds like you are doing everything you can to help. I do think it may be a soft shell egg giving her a hard time.
I feed my chickens all their eggs shells back after I’m done making breakfast, not everyday but often, maybe once a week. My girls lay very hard shelled eggs. I also poor a bit of apple cider vinegar in their water about once or twice a month to help keep their ph balanced. Food grade diatomaceous earth can also help prevent mites and internal parasites, clean their digestive track and it also provides minerals that can lead to hard shelled nutritious eggs.
This is what I do for my flock, but you can do your research on what I mentioned to come to your own conclusion on what your beautiful hen may benefit from right now that your having this issue.
I hope she gets well soon! Best of luck

Thank you very much!!

Those are all great suggestions! Thanks!

Only 3 of my 12 have started laying, so I had oyster shell in there until I had enough to start giving them their own shells, but that is definitely the plan. I haven’t really had an issue with brittle shells that I’ve noticed.

How do you give them the shells? Do you just sprinkle them out to scratch at, or put them in a dish or feeder like with oyster shells?

Any idea how much ACV you might add to a 5 gallon bucket of water? That’s what I have for them in the run. I also have a 1 gallon bucket in the coop.

Also, are you adding DE directly to the feed? Is there a rule of thumb for dosage/measuring?

I have a couple of tires in the run that I was going to fill for dust baths, so I was planning on getting DE anyway. It’ll be easy to add it to their diet too then.

 

[CackleShack]

She's not growling at you is she? Just checking LOL

That greenish poop to me is concerning. Can you take a sample to your vet for testing of worms and Coccidiosis?
I would check to make sure her crop is empty in the morning.

Hard to know what's going on with her, she's young, but may be having trouble with a soft shelled egg. Let's hope and if so she expels it.

This is her latest poop. It was solid enough to pick up with a napkin for disposal; nothing runny. Her last few have been this consistency and color as well.

She hasn’t been super interested in drinking, but I’m suspecting that it’s the bowl I had to put it in. (The waterer started leaking.) I’m going to switch it out and see if it makes a difference.

You also mentioned the possibility of worms. Do you have a suggestion for home treating?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The poop looks pretty good. If she were mine I would put her back with the others and observe to see if she's being picked at or kept from food/water.

She may also be lacking nutrients if you are feeding a loose feed like scratch and peck. Some birds will only pick out their favorite things and leave the rest which leaves them deficient.

 

[CackleShack]

The poop looks pretty good. If she were mine I would put her back with the others and observe to see if she's being picked at or kept from food/water.

She may also be lacking nutrients if you are feeding a loose feed like scratch and peck. Some birds will only pick out their favorite things and leave the rest which leaves them deficient.

I am feeding Nutrina NatureWise Layer Crumbles. I just switched from the same brand Grower Crumbles because they’re either laying or on the verge of laying.
I only offer a large scoop of scratch sprinkled in the run as a treat every so often.

Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate your help! I’m going to put her back in and monitor closely.