Bound egg

[Carolrich]

Dear Friends,
Merry Christmas to you!
My hen, Beatrice, has a bound egg. She began being lethargic yesterday and ate little. I checked her crop and it was fine. She was defecating as well.
This morning, I checked her vent carefully using coconut oil as lubricant. I noted that she wasn't making contractions. About 2 inches in I felt a fullly formed egg. I carefully circulated my finger around the egg but felt something odd. I could pass my finger around the circumference of the egg except in one spot where it felt covered by a thin membrane and I couldn't pass my finger around it. I settled her down in a small tub of warm water in my tub for 15 minutes. (I don't have Epsom Salts.) I gave her a Tums. She is in a darkened room now on dry towels with food and water. I am waiting now. I think the egg could come out but and concerned about the membrane It felt like a pocket the egg is in. It seems like if the egg were pushed up an inch or two it might clear over the top of the pocket and then come down through the cloaca. I hesitate to attempt this because I don't know what the membrane is and I fear breaking the egg. What does anyone think this is?

 

[azygous]

You are probably accurate in your diagnosis. You're doing all the right things. But giving her calcium 400mg at least, will help considerably to get her body to pass the egg.

If, by this evening, she's still in distress, and you can see the egg stuck behind the membrane in the cloaca, you may need to insert an oiled gloved finger to free it from the membrane. There's one very explicit YouTube video that shows this. If I can find it, I'll stick it up.

 

[Eggcessive]

Vitamin D3 is important as well, and human calcium tablets, such as caltrate are good to use as well. Salmon, tuna, and egg yolk are good sources. Offer water, since dehydration can add to egg binding. You can repeat the bath very shallow if necessary, but keep the room warm. Some use a spare bathroom with high humidity, or a heatpad on low (cover with towel) to keep from doing too many baths. Check her often to make sure that she doesn’t have a prolapse, and that she can poop. Here are some good links just to read more about egg binding, and I hope that she lays soon:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/chicken-egg-binding-causes-symptoms/

https://www.beautyofbirds.com/eggbinding.html

 

[azygous]

Thanks, @Eggcessive , I forgot to mention the D3. Also magnesium. Find a calcium supplement that has all those as they are very helpful in helping to pass a stuck egg. And lubricating the cloaca and just inside the vent with an oil such as mineral or coconut oil will also help a lot.

Also, this could require more than just one day for the hen to get the egg out. But do be prepared to intervene after 48 hours has passed, either taking her to a vet or doing a lubricated gloved finger extraction.

 

[Carolrich]

To azygous and eggcessive thank you so very much. I will do all these things and get back to you.

 

[Eggcessive]

You’re welcome. I hope she will lay her egg soon.

 

[Carolrich]

Would anybody describe to me the anatomy in the nether regions of the hen so I can understand what I am feeling when I put my finger up there? Is the membrane I feel covering the entrance to the oviduct and is there an opening in it that membrane that the egg is just not passing through? I thought that the intestinal tract had a "valve" or membrane that closed off when a chicken eliminated. Meanwhile, we hav had a second bath, an egg yolk and more calcium.

 

[Eggcessive]

I will tag some others who may be able to answer you.
@coach723, @TwoCrows, @casportpony? Any others have answers? I have not had any eggbound hens in 8 years, but have only done the vent exam a few times.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some diagrams of the anatomy:

 

[Eggcessive]