can an egg get "stuck"?

[maggierose]

My 7 month old hen has been laying eggs beautifully every day for weeks now... today, she has been in the coop in her nest box and acting like she needs to lay an egg, but literally "screams" when the other hen goes near her... this is VERY odd behaviour for her... she has been doing this for a couple hours... I pet her and calm her down, but she still has yet to lay an egg. Is there anything I can check? I don't want her to be suffering!
Thank you

 

[maggierose]

ok *whew* just went and checked again and Fran has laid her egg... pulled her out of the coop and did a full chicken-check... all seems fine and she is pecking and scratching out in the yard once more! Sheesh scare me to death...
Have a good weekend everyone!

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm glad she laid her egg and is okay.

Chickens can become "egg bound" when an egg gets stuck, either due to weak oviduct muscles, an overlarge egg, or an unknown reason. If the egg remains stuck, the bird will die. Fortunately, stuck eggs are usually easy to remedy: soak the hen in warm water to relax her muscles, isolate in a dark, quiet place, and give calcium (in the form of oyster shell, a human calcium supplement/pill, etc.) to strengthen the oviduct muscles. In most cases, these measures will help the hen lay the egg.

 

[maggierose]

I'm glad she laid her egg and is okay.

Chickens can become "egg bound" when an egg gets stuck, either due to weak oviduct muscles, an overlarge egg, or an unknown reason. If the egg remains stuck, the bird will die. Fortunately, stuck eggs are usually easy to remedy: soak the hen in warm water to relax her muscles, isolate in a dark, quiet place, and give calcium (in the form of oyster shell, a human calcium supplement/pill, etc.) to strengthen the oviduct muscles. In most cases, these measures will help the hen lay the egg.

thanks BantamLover21.... Yes, I was very relieved she laid her egg... and it was normal sized so not sure what was up today! The weather was horrid here --- tremendous wind, pouring rain --- so maybe that had her upset? I'll remember the warm water trick if it happens again. Thanks again for the advice! Happy Sunday to you and yours!