Egg bound EE

[hobomom]

I've got a 2-1/2 yr old EE who is egg bound. Started yesterday - I can feel that there is an egg but I can't get to it with a gloved finger....it's like it is in the wrong spot... so now what. It has been in the upper 90's & today will be much the same. She was drinking as of last night (and even pecking at the feathers of one of the other gals) but I haven't seen her do so this morning. She went out of the coop before I could get back outside to see if she went to the water.

No changes in feed, the girls gets plenty of oystershell & get a run of the yard in the afternoon. Plenty of shade & water but she has had some eggs lately that have had clumps of calcium deposited on them but some spots of her shells have been thin. I think this is because of the heat since a couple other hens have had some eggs with thin spots.

I've read some of the other posts regarding egg binding but this is not a broken egg, it is hard shelled & cannot be touched with a gloved finger. I'm not sure that I'm going into the right duct. Oh, and I've seen some posts stating to 'go in the left side of the vent'.... left side of the chicken facing towards you or away from you??

I don't want to break the egg so information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[faykokoWV]

I tried doing a search, but all I found was references to links that weren't working. Sorry I can't help, i'll keep looking and maybe someone with more experience will reply

 

[faykokoWV]

OK, I found this in another post

"Im not worried about a hen laying a rubber egg, that just happens sometimes , however, the fact that she has egg yolk near her vent makes me concerned that she has broken an egg internally.

If a rubber egg breaks inside her and then is expelled, then it isnt as much of a problem as when a normal eggshell breaks internally, because the shell pieces can cut her up inside. She could also be egg bound which can cause all kinds of problems ranging from a deadly infection to prolapsed vent, to backed up plumbing.
NOTE:Edited 4/6/07 8pm to clarify and to add that Wes has indicated that even a soft egg can cause a serious infection if broken internally and then the hen would need antibiotics.



Did you see any blood around the vent?
Is she behaving normally or is she acting like she is straining to lay an egg?
Is she eating and drinking or is she looking lethargic?

If she is behaving normally, doesnt appear in pain or distress, and doesnt have blood around her vent, then I would wait and watch her.

If she seems unable to pass an egg, seems distressed, ill, in pain, or you see blood, then here are some suggestions :

Separate her.
Plan on keeping her separated from the other hens for a couple days so that you will know if she passes an egg, what condition the egg is in (although a broken egg will often be eaten right away) and so that the other hens do not peck at her vent if she has egg yolk or blood in the area.
Examine her externally.
Examine her by gently feeling her belly from the outside. Can you feel a hard egg? If so, you
can give her a warm bath (see instructions below) and massage her belly towards her vent to help move the egg out.
Examine her internally.
Now, I can understand that you might not feel that you know your hen well enough to check inside her vent for an egg or shell pieces, but it really might be necessary. You could put on a pair of surgical gloves if that makes you feel better and put some vasoline or mineral oil on your finger and then just gently feel around inside her vent to see if you can feel a hard egg or sharp shell pieces.
This will not only give you an idea of what might be going on, but it will also apply some lubricant where it might do some good if there is an egg stuck in there. If you feel any broken pieces of shell, see if you can carefully slip them out without cutting her.
Unfortunately, they sometimes get twisted inside and it becomes impossible for the egg to come out without surgery, or it causes the reproductive tract to prolapse (invert itself outside of the vent). If that happens then you need to gently push the prolapsed part back inside and hope it stays, but often that becomes chronic and requires culling.

Giving a chicken a massage bath:
You can use rubbermaid tote, a baby bath, a 5 gallon bucket or an old dishpan for the bath. I use the sink on my back porch or the laundry sink. (Some folks use their kitchen sink but I dont suggest that for sanitary reasons... )
Check the water temperature the same as you would for the baby, good and warm but not hot.
Lower her gently in the water. It should come up to her back. Keep your hand over her back to prevent sudden escape attempts and to keep her from losing her footing and panicking. Either one will result in her flapping her wings and you will get soaked.
Massage her belly gently moving in the direction of her vent. She should relax in the warm water. Some birds even fall asleep.
Getting her dry.
After the bath, wrap her in an old towel and put her under a warm lamp or inside the house to keep her warm. Keep her wrapped in the towel for at least 15 minutes, or longer, to absorb as much of the water from her feathers as possible. Then move her to a rubbermaid tote or a dog/cat carrier with a lot of shavings to help dry her. Again, keep her inside until she is dry, it will take overnight, and she needs to be in a warm place. It takes a long time for them to get dry all the way to the skin unless you want to speed the process with a hair drier. Amazingly, after the first minute or two, they dont seem to mind the hair drier. Just be sure to frequently use your other hand, between the hair drier and the bird, to be sure that it isnt too hot.

(note: a bath to prepare a chicken for a show or to treat mites/lice would require the additional steps of shampooing the bird plus rinsing a couple of times. I dont recommend that you do that while the chicken is already in distress)"

 

[hobomom]

Thanks, faykokoWV.

She is at the point where she is just 'moping' - she will drink but then goes back under the coop or stands off to the side which is not normal for her because she has over the past few months voted herself 'queen of the coop' and decided that one bantam needs to be banished & that her buddy, the RIR, who *was* dominate now sports a bald back. That is what started this yesterday. She wouldn't leave this one bantam alone (poor gal still has a bald spot from a week ago) so I put Chick-A-Dee (the EE) in a wire cage that had water/food on the floor of the coop. The floor has tons of straw so I figured that if she had to lay her egg she would in the straw but apparently this was a huge mistake. I had her in there for about 1-1/2 hours so that the bantam could lay her egg without getting her head ripped off. In hind sight, I should have put the bantam in there instead. Six nesting boxes and they all want a row to themselves

There are two hen-sized doors in the back, floor vents, a cupola with vents on the roof & the front door wide open so there was good airflow and was cooler than out side so she wasn't heat stressed, just mad that she was put in the cage apparently.

Anyways, a couple more questions to anyone else who has treated their hens who have become egg bound. I've also read about administering Tums & aspirin.... okay, but what is the dosage? I'm guessing a whole Tums tablet mixed in with water or yogurt and 80 mg aspirin mixed the same way, too? And when to repeat the dosage?


UPDATE: I believe the egg may be on the move. She had a good soak in the tub with her buddy Mrs Peeps (who is really annoyed about the whole ordeal but she needed her feet soaked anyways) & my daughter got her to eat some yogurt with a crushed tums/aspirin. I put some olive oil in her vent, then massaged her a bit (I am not her best friend right now)

so maybe that will get things moving along. The girls are out in a pen cleaning themselves & hopefully we'll have an egg sometime later today!

Should I give her another dropper-full of olive oil or wait a bit and try again this afternoon or another squirt sooner? Thanks!

 

[hobomom]

Hooray!!! Success - one lumpy looking egg with lots of calcium deposits all over it (that had to hurt!) but she is a happy hen now Thanks again!