Duck egg-bound with shell-less egg

[Crazy Birds]

My khaki tends to have problems laying floppy eggs even though they always have calcium, but today at 5 AM she had let herself out of the coop and stood at my window screaming and woke me up. She was acting fine, aside from very loud quacking at my window. She ate and has been drinking like normal, but when I check on them roughly 15 minutes ago she was pushing really hard and seemed to be pushing an egg. Went out to check on her, and was worried she was egg-bound because I didn't get an egg from her this morning, and pushed on her belly. A very floppy egg shell came out but no yoke or egg whites. She is now in a tub filled with warm water and epsom salt. She is still pushing. Is there anything I can do for her? Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

Usually with egg binding or shell-less eggs, it is good to give a human 600 mg calcium tablet with vitamin D daily until she is laying a hard shell. Encourage drinking.

 

[Quatie]

Soaking in warm water will help with the passing of the egg. You can do this multiple times a day to help.

I treat mine with 1ml of calcium gluconate or 500mg of calcium citrate + vitamin D 2 times a day. 500 mg of calcium carbonate will work as well. You can get more effective calcium sources from a vet. If I don't see the egg with in a day, I increase the calcium frequency.

You can also put lube into the ducks vent to help with the passage of the egg.

In worst case scenarios, you can puncture the egg and remove it, but it is not what I would recommend if you can avoid it. If you do this, you will want to put the ducks on an antibiotic, because they can potentially get an infection from this.

Once your ducks gets past laying the egg, you will want to look at what could be causing it. Low calcium and vitamin D are the most common causes. Just because you are providing calcium, doesn't always mean they are eating enough. Some ducks need to be trained to eat oyster shells. There is also white vs gray oyster shells, which ducks appear to prefer gray ones. If they have too many treats, this can also reduce their calcium intake. Are you providing supplemental light extending their laying season? This can also lead to same issues if they don't get enough rest in the off season.

I will also say, I have noticed this more in my higher laying breeds. This year especially, my ducks started back up unusually early. I had the same issue with my Khaki Campbell and I believe it had more to do with her starting to lay so unusually early in the year.

 

[Crazy Birds]

Thank you for this! I do have a red heat lamp in the duck coop, but not for eggs. I have it because the drake is separated and we're in Colorado; lots of snow and very cold. She has passed the soft eggshell and after poking at it, it's clear that the egg broke inside her. The yoke is still nowhere to be seen. I'll be keeping her in a crate with straw and such so I can keep an eye on her. I don't have any calcium/vitamin d pills currently, but I happened to order them a few days ago. Can I do anything for the yoke to pass?

A quick update:

Pressed on her belly lightly after posting what's above and a TON of yellow gunk came out. Cleaned the water, put her back and she immediately started playing in it and acting normal, as well as calling for her friends, and stoped pushing. Let her play for a bit and she's now in the crate - fussing with her straw and begging to be let out. I have an order in for amoxicillin and will probably pick it up Wednesday or Thursday just to be safe, I have also ordered the calcium tablets +D3? Thanks everyone for the help, any additional advice is very much appreciated!!

 

[Quatie]

Thank you for this! I do have a red heat lamp in the duck coop, but not for eggs. I have it because the drake is separated and we're in Colorado; lots of snow and very cold. She has passed the soft eggshell and after poking at it, it's clear that the egg broke inside her. The yoke is still nowhere to be seen. I'll be keeping her in a crate with straw and such so I can keep an eye on her. I don't have any calcium/vitamin d pills currently, but I happened to order them a few days ago. Can I do anything for the yoke to pass?

A quick update:

Pressed on her belly lightly after posting what's above and a TON of yellow gunk came out. Cleaned the water, put her back and she immediately started playing in it and acting normal, as well as calling for her friends, and stoped pushing. Let her play for a bit and she's now in the crate - fussing with her straw and begging to be let out. I have an order in for amoxicillin and will probably pick it up Wednesday or Thursday just to be safe, I have also ordered the calcium tablets +D3? Thanks everyone for the help, any additional advice is very much appreciated!!

That is good that it came out and she is starting to feel better already.

The calcium tablets you can get a your local pharmacy and likely even your local grocery store carries them. It is a pretty common calcium supplement people take. She may end up trying to lay another egg, so the sooner you can get her on increased calcium the better.

If she is not having issues, I usually let them run around again and crate them at night. That way I can continue to monitor the progress of their egg formation.