Egg bound and warm bath not working

[lilshadow]

I have a buff orpington that is egg bound, I know this because I can feel the egg's. Yes, egg's. I have given her a warm bath for 30 minutes, massaged her abdomen area, and even tried gently inserting vasoline. Nothing is working. I am wondering if I got a heating pad and sat with her on my lap would this work. I don't want to lose her. She is very thin, and earlier today was gasping for breath. I have her in a box with a blanket next to the wood stove for warmth. I have put water down for her. I am on my way to buy a heating pad. Please help.
Veronica

 

[crazy hen quartet]

Oh no... I hope someone with some good advice responds soon. I will keep my fingers crossed for your sweet girl.

 

[debilorrah]

You can try putting KY or vaseline around the vent......

 

[lilshadow]

Quote:
I tried that already, nothing. I just went and bought a heating pad, so I hope that work's if not she will die. I can't afford the vet. They wanted to charge 300.00 just to stitch one of my hens.

 

[ebonykawai]

Can you feel the egg if you insert a finger? If nothing else is working and you feel she needs emergency help, you can try to break/collapse the egg and draw it out yourself. A syringe or turkey baster would be helpful, as well as an assistant. But that's a last resort, really. Good luck, I hope everything is OK.

 

[jhm47]

I had a zebra finch that was eggbound just last week. She was all fluffed up, and sitting on the floor of her cage. I picked her up and felt her abdomen, and could feel a tiny egg there. I squirted some olive oil on her vent, and carefully worked the egg out. It came very slowly, and I would guess that it was a double yolker. The finch was exhausted, so I placed her in one of the nests, and left her alone. She stayed there overnight, and in the morning she was just fine. She is staying in the nest again, so I suspect she's getting ready to lay again.

The olive oil is much more fluid than vaseline, and I suspect that it flowed into her oviduct and helped to lubricate the egg.

 

[jmason]

I don't know if you have a vet that will help you...I've had a couple of mine that have been egg bound. If you can get some oxytocin from your vet. They don't require very much of it so it shouldn't be that expensive. Also if she's having trouble walking (because the eggs take the calcium out of their bodies) give her some supplemental calcium. I don't know if some of the grain stores carry the oxytocin it is commonly used in difficult births...they may have it on hand for the dairy farmers. I'm not sure I'd recommend trying to break the eggs and get them out yourself. That can cause problems too. Good luck

 

[ebonykawai]

Yes, breaking the egg is really a last-ditch attempt if you can't afford a vet and you think she's not going to make it, and if you think her pelvic size is just too small for the egg that's trying to pass. You really need to get all the shell particles out, try and "deflate" the egg gently without having it smash and be jagged, because obviously that will harm the vent and/or canal. Wash the cloacal canal with a disinfectant to prevent infection from the egg, and also give antibiotics in the water afterward.