Duck in “labor” when laying egg

[0iseau]

My silver appleyards have just started laying and one of them, Vidia, is odd.
The day before she laid her first egg we noticed her butt was “heavy” (that’s what we call it - you can see their butt looks a little heavier, and since these guys have a bulldog stance it’s very noticeable). During the day she looked like she was in labor - breathing heavily, sometimes with her beak open, fanned tail, and closed eyes. She was pooping no problem so not egg bound and we checked her belly and found it to feel normal.
The next morning she laid the egg and went back to normal. Until the next day.
This has repeated 3 times at this point. I’m not too concerned as she seems completely fine the next day, hasn’t been egg bound (and continues to show no signs of it), and is eating/drinking/moving fine even when in “labor”. There doesn’t seem to be discomfort when pressing on the belly or feeling around it either, but I wouldn’t rule out her feeling discomfort when out and about due to how she’s acting.
Any ideas as to what this is? I’ve not seen this in any of the other girls; even the other 7 which are also new layers.
If anyone can provide some guidance on what this may be I would greatly appreciate it. I want all of my girls to be happy and healthy and will stop at nothing to make it so.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Is she getting enough calcium? what are you feeding them and do you offer oyster shell? When laying they need a good amount of calcium to form hard shells and it also helps them move the egg down and out. It's always a good idea to have some Calcium Gluconate on hand just in case one is having problems. TSC carries it , give 1ml orally either over a treat just enough they eat it all and get full dose or by mouth which can be tricky unless you know how but we have info on that too.
Are her eggs unusually large or normal for her breed? I'm sure as the egg is passing down the chute there is some discomfort It can even press on nerves as it's moving and cause temp lameness.
It may be that her body will adjust and everything will be fine it's something to monitor just in case she was to have trouble.

 

[0iseau]

Is she getting enough calcium? what are you feeding them and do you offer oyster shell? When laying they need a good amount of calcium to form hard shells and it also helps them move the egg down and out. It's always a good idea to have some Calcium Gluconate on hand just in case one is having problems. TSC carries it , give 1ml orally either over a treat just enough they eat it all and get full dose or by mouth which can be tricky unless you know how but we have info on that too.
Are her eggs unusually large or normal for her breed? I'm sure as the egg is passing down the chute there is some discomfort It can even press on nerves as it's moving and cause temp lameness.
It may be that her body will adjust and everything will be fine it's something to monitor just in case she was to have trouble.

She should be getting enough calcium. I feed 50% purina duck feed and 50% layer feed along with oyster shells and crushed eggshell.
Her eggs are average size for the breed and so far no egg abnormalities.
I’ll definitely run out to TSC and grab some calcium gluconate. I’m actually familiar with giving oral medications due to one of my previous ducks, though I’d definitely try a treat first as it’s much easier lol.
I’ll keep an eye on her and we’ll be taking one of my indoor birds to the vet soon so I’ll also ask about Vidia just to get his opinion.
Thank you!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Let us know what the vet has to say.

 

[BelovedBirds]

She should be getting enough calcium. I feed 50% purina duck feed and 50% layer feed along with oyster shells and crushed eggshell.
Her eggs are average size for the breed and so far no egg abnormalities.
I’ll definitely run out to TSC and grab some calcium gluconate. I’m actually familiar with giving oral medications due to one of my previous ducks, though I’d definitely try a treat first as it’s much easier lol.
I’ll keep an eye on her and we’ll be taking one of my indoor birds to the vet soon so I’ll also ask about Vidia just to get his opinion.
Thank you!

How is she doing? Any thoughts from the vets yet?

 

[0iseau]

How is she doing? Any thoughts from the vets yet?

Let us know what the vet has to say.

Sorry for such a long wait! It’s been a crazy couple of months with vet visits for Vidia (she had a cyst in her toe D: ) and my cockatiel and trying to get things done haha.
So he believes that it’s the egg pressing on the sciatic nerve. Which is uncomfortable at absolute minimum.
I’ve noticed that my other two silvers have started to do it as well on occasion. With his info and based off of my silvers I believe this is because of their “bulldog” stance - at least my 3 have a much wider stance with shorter legs that they tend to lean back on. It seems that how their hips are positioned just doesn’t work well with the path of the egg.
It has gotten better - it’s no longer a constant and is only occasional now, probably due to her growing a bit.
Hopefully this can be of use to anyone finding their ducks doing something funky! I wish there was a way to ease the discomfort/pain besides oral meds. hopefully it’ll get better over time