Bantam Cochin Egg Bound! Help!

[portianaomi]

My banty cochin, Frigga, is egg bound. I have been watching her all day and she has all of the signs. I feel the egg in there and have given her a warm bath (30 min soak). I also tried to massage her mussels. She has drank a bit of water spiked with some electrolyte today, but I haven't seen her eat anything...her crop is empty and the only excrement I've seen is watery clear liquid.

This will only be her second egg, if she survives.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. There is an avian vet 19 miles away that will charge me $106 +tax to see her, but I'm sick with the flu and don't want drive there unless I HAVE to. Plus, ~$106 is a lot to spend on a chicken. Do hens usually get egg bound again after the first time?

 

[portianaomi]

Well, she is still with egg. I took her to the ER last night and the just gave her sub Q liquids and told me to keep doing what I was doing. I will get a humidifier today as well. So, save yourself $139 and don't take your chicken to the vet...they don't do much but charge you money. FYI

 

[slickchik]

Can you try lubing up her vent with olive oil... Inside and out. Do you see anything protruding?

 

[portianaomi]

The egg has definitely moved closer to the exit...I'll try with the olive oil. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[portianaomi]

The egg is out! Yippee, she is going to live!

It is a weird egg without the shell...do they reabsorb the shell? I know that thing was solid last night...

 

[slickchik]

Was there any type of soft shell at all?

Soft shelled eggs are difficult to pass and twice I've seen a little grey/white "finger" protruding out of a hen's vent and it is part of a soft shelled egg. I broke the little finger, helped the egg to drain and then she passed the rest.

Glad to hear she is ok. Sounds like she needs a calcium supplement.

 

[portianaomi]

Yes, the shell was membrane was there, but not the shell. Since this post she hasn't had anymore problems with becoming egg bound, although her eggs are irregularly shaped with a flat side and sometimes the flat side's shell is a little more thin than the other parts of the shell. It may be a genetic defect

I give my girls oyster shell, but I have been looking into a calcium supplement as well...any suggestions on organic types?