2 Cochin pullets egg bound w/1st eggs

[tcmastffs]

I have/had 2 Cochin pullets that were egg bound with their first eggs. I lost the first one this morning and am heartbroken that I did not notice until it was too late for her. The 2nd pullet was able to push out the egg after a warm water soak, but now is suffering from a prolapsed vent. It does seem to have started to be less swollen within the last hour. Couple of questions, 1) I have 19 other hens and have never had this happen (not Cochin's). Why would this happen to 2, what are the odds?? I am really afraid for the 3rd pullet. 2) How common is it to occur on the first eggs? Is this going to be an on going problem? 3.) How can I prevent it from happening, or at least decrease the chance of it happening again. 4) Should I give the prolapsed vent a chance to recede more on its own or intervene immediately by pushing it back in.

 

[teach1rusl]

1) I have 19 other hens and have never had this happen (not Cochin's). Why would this happen to 2, what are the odds?? I am really afraid for the 3rd pullet. 2) How common is it to occur on the first eggs? Is this going to be an on going problem? 3.) How can I prevent it from happening, or at least decrease the chance of it happening again. 4) Should I give the prolapsed vent a chance to recede more on its own or intervene immediately by pushing it back in.

1) There's no way of telling really
2) I've only had chickens for four years, and have never had a first time layer experience egg binding issues - I don't think it's any more/less common than with experienced layers, so it's probably just "luck of the draw" that your two girls both had issues. I have had to work with two of my experienced layers - in one case the eggs just seemed really large for the hen's size, and in the other, I still don't know why she had problems passing her egg...
3) I don't think you can...please market it if you figure a way though...lol
4) The one bird I've had prolapse (hers was not severe - like an outty belly button), I did kind of gently push/tap the tissue back into place as much as I felt comfortable doing so, then left her in a dim bathroom for a few hours. I figured if she semi-went to sleep, she'd be most relaxed, giving her vent the best chance of recovering. Plus it's always recommended to keep them in a dim/dark place to inhibit egg production...and I definitely didn't want more eggs being produced before her vent had a chance to recover...
I know it's stressful dealing with these issues...hope your girl recovers just fine (mine did).

 

[realsis]

I'm so sorry this happened and just wanted to wish you the best with your pullet. Hopefully it will not happen again with the last one. Sometimes things like this happen. By chance were the birds related? It could have been a genetic problem if they were. If not its just an unfortunate thing that happened. I had two birds come down with wry neck in one month. They were not related. It was just an unfortunate thing that happened. I really hope things work out for the rest of your flock and I wish you the very best and hope your pullet heals completely. Again I'm very sorry this has happened. With your last pullet you can try increasing calcium intake and see if that helps her when she lays. Good luck and God bless

 

[tcmastffs]

Thank you for the replies. The 3 girls are from the same breeder and very well could be related. Since the first post she is still eating, drinking and very alert. I did give her another soak yesterday to clean her up, she was rather messy. After the second soak she produced a second egg, small and soft - so 2 eggs in one day? The prolapse has continued to get smaller and smaller so hoping she recovers fully. I have been keeping it clean and gently push it back in but so far it keeps coming back out within 1/2 hour. She is in the house and in a dark quite spot. Here is a pic of her after her second soak yesterday.