Chicken was egg bound and bleeding.

[Livingthecountrylife]

Hi! Yesterday we discovered that one of our chickens was egg bound. My brother removed two eggs from her but she bled quite a lot. Today she is doing a lot better but still acts like has a egg in her still. My brother is worried about her getting a infection. What can we do to help prevent this from happening? And is it possible that she will heal from it?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @Livingthecountrylife Welcome To BYC

Do you have any photo of your chicken and her vent you would like to share with us?

What type of food/treats do you feed?
Do you know how old she is?

Tell us more about how your brother removed the eggs from her.
Do you know if her vent is also prolapsed (protruding)?

It would be a good idea to separate her for a couple of days. Provide her with plenty of fresh water and see that she stay hydrated. If you have poultry vitamins you can offer those too. Sometimes extra calcium like a crushed up TUMS or 1/2tablet of Caltrate added to her food will help - do this for a couple of days.

Without knowing how much damage she may have to the vent or oviduct, it would be hard to say how she will heal.

Eggbinding can be caused by a number of things like nutritional and calcium deficiency, being overweight, having an egg that is too large and infection. Provide her with a balanced poultry feed, fresh clean water daily, oyster shell (calcium) free choice and limit treats to no more than 5-10%of her daily intake.

 

[Livingthecountrylife]

She is about 5 years old. I don't have a pic right now but I will say that the area around her vent is very dirty from droppings. I don't know how to clean her up. Any ideas? She is almost completely better because we started giving her a paste made out of Tums for the calcium. Do you know how much calcium they need? Is it safe to give her the Tums?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is she doing any better?

You can give the TUMS for about a week.

If her vent is very dirt with droppings, give her a nice long soak in warm bath. You can add just a tiny bit of soap (like Original Dawn Dish Soap). Work the soapy water through the dirty feathers. Wear gloves, this way you can really work on each feather without being grossed out.

If she has hard clumps of poop that won't come out, even with soaking, you can use a pair of pliers to gently crush the poop balls. Careful not to tug the feathers, the skin can rip. Alternatively, you can cut the poop balls out with a small pair of scissor, just be careful not to pull or cut the skin.

 

[Livingthecountrylife]

Thank you for the advice! I will try that with the soaking her. You have been a great help!

 

[Livingthecountrylife]

Her and her sister the other day.

 

[Livingthecountrylife]

She is doing quite well and loves getting out to free range.

 

[peckpeckpeck]

I just gave my girl an epson salt bath & blow dry. She initially freaked out but then she started falling asleep for both.

The epson salts help relax her which I heard sometimes helps with passing an egg. Also magnesium can be absorbed through the skin.
And who wouldn't fall asleep with warm air blowing up your bottom!

I don't know where you live but if it's cold like here in Oregon, then you'll want to make sure she's nice & dry before letting her outside. Otherwise she'll catch a draft. You can YouTube how to give a chicken bath.

If she's still bleeding or red, keep her separated so the others don't pick her vent & make it worse. Someone gave me advice to keep her in the dark so she gets a rest from laying.
Also that Tums can help with passing eggs but calcium glucosate is better as a calcium boost. I guess they don't absorb the calcium from Tums as well.

Any pictures you can post of her vent or in general can help people offer good advice.
I hope she starts feeling better now that the 2 eggs are out of her.

 

[Livingthecountrylife]

We live in NY so it is cold here still. That was one thing I was concerned about with giving her a bath. Thanks for the advice! I didn't know about the epsom salts bath. It is very informative!

 

[peckpeckpeck]

Hey! I just moved here from NY 1 1/2 years ago.

Even in NY, there's a big difference between NYC vs Rhinebeck or Albany. You can add your location in your profile. That'll help folks determine the best advice to give you since so much depends on climate.

And welcome to BYC!