Egg bound? Did I do it right?

Andrea PNW

Songster
Sep 4, 2020
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Oh man duck mamas it's been a minute since I've checked in with y'all - cuz frankly, everything has been going great with my Heathers.

However, something happened today and just want to make sure I did it right and ask about next steps.

Peaches, the matriarch of my Heathers (Welshie) has been acting kind of weird these past 2 days. She's been off by herself more than normal and I noticed she wasn't at interested in her nightly mealworm treat before locking them in the quackhouse at dusk last night.

But this afternoon I knew something was wrong because she was laying in the gravel by herself all puffy and when I reached down to pick her up she didn't even try to protest. I've been super on top of all their feet and her's are pristine - so no bumble.

Then I remembered that egg bound isn't that uncommon and while she hasn't had any issues laying before - they are all starting up again after winter. So I read to put her in a warm bath and I swear in under 5min she passed a misshapen looking small-ish egg membrane-y water balloon-y thing. And by small I mean it was like half the size of a chicken egg and the shape of two mini sausage links attached together but bent down end to end like the letter C.

Anyways, she snoozed in the tub for awhile (naturally I played her yoga music to help her relax cuz I'm that kinda duck mom) and after about 30min she took two giant poops and started to perk up. She drank a bunch of water, ate some mealworms and quacked at me for a bit and acted like she wanted to get out. So I took her back out to the quackhouse.

Is there something else I should have done/should be doing? Was that eggy/white water balloon sausage-y thing plugging her up? It was so much smaller than an actual duck egg - but it didn't have a shell. Should I just keep an eye on her tomorrow and if all is well - assume that's what it was and move on??

Thank you so much for your input!
 
You did a great job. Definitely keep an eye on her the next few days and make sure she's behaving normally.
what feed does she get on a regular basis? Is there calcium like oyster shell available for her to get if she desires?
I would supplement her with some calcium for the next couple days just to make sure this doesn't happen again back to back.
 
You did the right thing
Soft shell eggs tend to be harder for them to get out
If you don’t already have durvet calcium gluconate I would grab a bottle
It helps give a quick boost for extra calcium but also starts contractions of pushing to get an egg stuck out
1ml per day unless the girl is badly egg bound you can give a second dose later that day
 
You did a great job. Definitely keep an eye on her the next few days and make sure she's behaving normally.
what feed does she get on a regular basis? Is there calcium like oyster shell available for her to get if she desires?
I would supplement her with some calcium for the next couple days just to make sure this doesn't happen again back to back.
They all have a duck layer crumble + oyster shells sprinkled on top + fresh veggies + mealworms daily. One important note tho: about a month ago I ran out of the oyster shells for about a week but they have had it for the past 2wks. I haven't been able to monitor who is taking it in and how much of the calcium since I have 5 and they all eat out of the same feeder. Should I just keep a big bowl of oyster shells out vs put it in their food?
 
You did the right thing
Soft shell eggs tend to be harder for them to get out
If you don’t already have durvet calcium gluconate I would grab a bottle
It helps give a quick boost for extra calcium but also starts contractions of pushing to get an egg stuck out
1ml per day unless the girl is badly egg bound you can give a second dose later that day
I'll get it today!
 

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