chicken may be constipated or have large egg stuck! Please help!

[Wilmer Gehman]

I would advise you to get hands on. Has she layed an egg today? Is she still straining? Has she passed any more blood? If you can feel for an egg by inserting your finger in her vent you will get a better idea of what is going on. Still give her a calcium tablet crushed in a small amount of feed or treat. If you are not sure then it would be best if you could take her to s vet. If she is prolapsed it will probably be caused by a problem with laying. It could be a big egg. It could be a soft shell or shelless egg. There is no structure for the hen to push out when trying to lay so can cause problems. Have you noticed any egg around the run or any strange looking shell membrane anywhere?

update on egg bound hen: yes we felt what we think is an egg in her probably 2-3 in. from the outside. She is in a dog crate inside a darkened room at my neighbor's house. my neighbor bathes her in warm water and masages her. she has crushed calcium and tums with some regular chicken feed crushed. A vet tech looked at her and said to keep doing the treatments my neighbor was doing. the hen is doing better! hopefully the egg is out soon! I don't think there has been any blood...but i'm not sure since i haven't been over there all the time. thanks for all your help!

 

[CCUK]

update on egg bound hen: yes we felt what we think is an egg in her probably 2-3 in. from the outside. She is in a dog crate inside a darkened room at my neighbor's house. my neighbor bathes her in warm water and masages her. she has crushed calcium and tums with some regular chicken feed crushed. A vet tech looked at her and said to keep doing the treatments my neighbor was doing. the hen is doing better! hopefully the egg is out soon! I don't think there has been any blood...but i'm not sure since i haven't been over there all the time. thanks for all your help!

You're welcome. I hope she lays soon. She'll be a lucky hen.

 

[Fancychooklady]

You may need to examin her internally . I had a hen that had an egg turned on it’s side in the chamber. I managed to gently rotate the egg inside without breaking it and she passed it shortly after. Calcium is essential for muscle contraction and a deficiency can cause many of the reproductive issues in hens including prolapse.

 

[Wilmer Gehman]

You may need to examin her internally . I had a hen that had an egg turned on it’s side in the chamber. I managed to gently rotate the egg inside without breaking it and she passed it shortly after. Calcium is essential for muscle contraction and a deficiency can cause many of the reproductive issues in hens including prolapse.

yes we are giving her crushed calcium pills. Egg not in sight yet. it seems to be below and a little to one side.

 

[Fancychooklady]

There are liquid calcium supplements that are easier to administer and you will probably need to supplement her in future. Pop a disposable glove on and see if you can feel the egg. Warm Epsom salt baths and massaging towards the vent can also help to reposition the egg, just be careful not to break the shell.