can I use Pedialyte for my hen

[shend]

My silver laced wyandotte appears to be egg bound. I've given her a sit in a warm bath and put her in a box in the dark closet and she has done a poo after that (runny and yellow) but no egg yet.

My question is, I've read to give her calcium to quickly help that egg (if there is one in there) get laid. I couldn't find liquid calcium at my local store but I got Pedialyte. Can I use that to help her?

 

[Eggcessive]

Pedialyte is a good substitute for electrolytes, but it does not contain any calcium. You can give her a human calcium tablet or a Tums. Crushed egg shell and oyster shell is pure calcium citrate as well. Can you poke a gloved finger into her vent 1-2 inches to check for an egg? Place her in a warm humid spot such as an extra bathroom with the door closed and hot shower running off and on. Here are some good links to read:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/07/chicken-egg-binding-causes-symptoms.html
http://beautyofbirds.com/eggbinding.html

 

[shend]

Thanks for the quick reply. I tried her on some of the oyster shell I always make available but she wasn't interested in eating it. I crushed a Tums into some pedialylte and used a syringe to get a few millimeters down. She doesn't seem distressed-her comb is nice red, her eyes are clear but she is holding her tail straight down and, when she does walk, its a stilted gait.

I guess I didn't feel far enough into the vent. I've never done that before so I didn't know how far up to probe. She did poo after the first warm soak. It was quite liquid (and on the rug!) and yellow so I thought that was a good sign, but still no egg.

Could be something else is wrong. How long can they go not laying that egg before its deadly?

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is she? Some problems such as internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis can strike hens 2 and 3 years old, sometime younger, and the symptoms can appear like egg binding. Most of those hens haven't been laying steadily for awhile though. You might check out other problems such as if her crop is emptying by morning, look for signs of lice or mites and their eggs, and consider worming her with Valbazen cattle wormer or Safeguard Goat liquid wormer. I used to hear that 2 days was the longest they could live being eggbound, but have since learned it can be much longer. The fact that she is passing droppings is a good sign.

 

[shend]

Well, I couldn't save her. after a 3rd warm bath I set her up in the bathroom with a heating pad for the night. this morning she seemed about the same but in the afternoon she suddenly lurched up and down and was gone.

I did another probe last night while I had her in the water and I think I felt in far enough but didn't touch an egg, but it must have been that. It turned out to be a learning curve-maybe I can save one of my girls if it ever happens again-hope not!

Thanks for your replies.