Well, that's very true, however it goes on to say that it is very dangerous to puncture the egg. Once the integrity of the egg is damaged infection quickly sets in and death follows. It should ONLY be done if she is going to die anyway. You did go to a very good resource. I went to the same one and read on for a while. I found an entry later on that I'm going to log for my own reference. This is a bunch of people in the UK and they have access to some stuff that we don't, but I'm still going to try and find this anti-inflammatory she is talking about, or maybe see if some of the folks over there might send some over (under wraps) guess I shouldn't have said that. This is the link to the thread on that site. You will have to register, but it's free:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9910#poststop
Several of the entries make comments about the dangerous nature of breaking the egg and that it is very nearly impossible for a novice (non-vet) to get the hen clean and sterile enough to live through that procedure.
Anyway, here's the quote about the meds and stuff I was talking about. Also it seems that if you could very gently insert a gloved finger into the vent heavily lubed w/ KY, that might be of some help. This is from "thepoultrysite.com":
Try oiling up your finger and gently putting it inside her vent. You will be in her rectum, not her oviduct, but you should be able to feel the egg along the top wall of the rectum, if the egg is close to the end of the oviduct. If you can feel the egg, then you have an emergency situation on your hands, despite your hen's calm demeanor... Likely, if she has been egg bound for 3 days and your hen is still pretty happy, then she is not egg bound, but (as you suggested) half-way broody. However, there is a possibility that, if there is an egg, that it is cemented to the inside of the uterus, where the shell glands secrete the calcium carbonate. Sometimes, a stuck-egg will cement itself to the inside of the uterus and requires a vet to anesthetize the hen and physically go up through the cloaca and remove the egg, after aspirating (sucking out) the contents. I had to have this done on a bantam hen, although I aspirated the egg through the hen's abdominal wall (with the help of the vet on the phone...). Then I was able to break the egg inside the hen, whereby the hen is supposed to then pass the shell. However, the shell stuck inside her uterus, so I had to bring her in to the clinic (this was the Friday of a long weekend, so I had to wait for several days...) to have the egg removed. The banty hen recovered and was fine.
Anyway, other signs of typical eggbinding are a craving for calcium, droopy/draggy wings, loss of appetite, lethargy, great reluctance to move and if you have a hen that is normally hard to pick up, she is so miserable that you can easily pick her up... bad sign. Distillery has given excellent advice. Soaking for long periods in warm-to-hot water (water about the same temperature you'd wash dishes in...) is a good idea. Put enough water in that the hen's vent is covered, but if she lays down in the sink, it's not over her back or up her neck. I like to give an anti inflammatory, as well, in the form of either aspirin or metacam. If the hen is in a lot of discomfort, you can give a large orpington hen an infant dosage of a baby aspirin (about half of an 81 gram aspirin). Alternatively, if she is drinking, put 5 regular strength (325 mg) aspirin in 4 litres of water and let her have this free choice for up to a week at a time. OR, if you can get ahold of a vet, you can give your hen metacam, an avian-safe anti inflammatory, at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg, once per day, orally.
If you cannot feel an egg inside her, though, that would indicate to me that there is something else going on with her and we'll have to figure out what to do next!
I don't know how hot your dish water is, but mine is pretty hot. I think my poor hen might be stewed by the time she soaked in it, but I think common sense prevails here.
Well, I must get on to my kids. I am so sorry for your hen. I know she must be miserable and I did get the impression that time is of the utmost importance. Trying to hurry and relax at the same time........tall order for YOU.
I'll be thinking of you and your girl.
