Egg bound hen (Belgian d’Anvers 1 year old)

[Ltilden]

Hi all. My Belgian d’anvers hen is seemingly egg bound. I noticed Tuesday night that she was lethargic and clearly not well. I took her inside and noticed the feathers around her bum were covered in wet poop. I gave her a bath, put on a glove and some Vaseline, and felt an egg very close right inside the vent. I then put her in an epsom salt bath for 20 minutes and put her in a dog crate in my bathroom to rest and hopefully lay the egg. No such luck. She was not doing well at all, not standing on her own or drinking. I did manage to give her some nutridrench in her beak that night. The next morning the same thing, she was still basically completely immobile and looking awful. I did another epsom salt bath and loaded her in the dog crate in my car and went to work with her so I could monitor. Thankfully I only worked till 2 so I knew she would be in the car too long. I checked in on her periodically that morning and around noon when I checked on her, she was standing up and alert and drinking water. Still no egg though. I picked up some calcium tablets in my way home from work, and attempted to crush some up and give it to her. Not super successful since I couldn’t find my syringe but she definitely got some down. At this point I was worried the egg might have broken inside of her because she was leaking liquid poop that looks yellowish. She had perked up considerably, which I though could indicate the egg had broken and relieve some pressure on her nerves or hopefully just shifted. I put some crumble in the crate to see if she was interested and she was. She picked at them and drank more water. We did yet another epsom salt bath, and then I decided to check and see if I could feel the egg again to determine if it was still intact. It felt exactly the same, and doesn’t feel like its broken. I put her in her crate again in my bathroom and hoped she could pass it with the extra calcium she got. Still no luck. Last night and this morning she is in the same condition, more alert, drinking, and interested in food but I’m wary of giving her more because her crop didn’t empty overnight and I don’t want her completely blocked up, although she is pooping relatively normal poops over night (black/white, no longer yellow).
I’m not sure what else to do, this poor little girl clearly is trying to hang on and I want to do everything I can to save her. She was chirping this morning and even flew a little bit when I took her out of the crate last night. Any advice for next steps would be appreciated, as I know time is of the essence at this point from what I’ve read. Thankfully I have today off so I can tend to her.

 

[Ltilden]

What type of calcium tablets did you get?

Also, with tablets, I pop them directly into the birds mouth. No need for crushing. That just makes more work.

I’ve attached a picture of the calcium tablets. They are NatureMade Calcium 600mg and quite large. Since she’s such a small bird, should I maybe cut it in half?

 

[Ltilden]

I'd get Calcium Citrate of the same brand. It's what I use. Calcium Citrate works almost immediately.

I break the tablet in half for smaller birds, but give both halves.

Okay thank you! We are doing another epsom salt bath now, so fingers crossed. I will run to the store in a bit for the calcium citrate if there is no result from this round, it’s so hard to get the pill in her mouth though, even broken up in small pieces.

 

[Ltilden]

You're welcome.

It's always a fight to put a pill in a bird's mouth. It gets easier the more you do it.

Good news!! She passed the egg, THANK GOD. Bad news…it definitely was cracked inside of her. Have you had this happen before? Would you just wait for the rest of the shell to hopefully pass, and would you recommend getting an antibiotic just in case of infection?

 

[Ltilden]

I can tag some other people who dealt with broken eggs inside hens.

@azygous

Appreciate it

 

[MysteryChicken]

I’ve attached a picture of the calcium tablets. They are NatureMade Calcium 600mg and quite large. Since she’s such a small bird, should I maybe cut it in half?

I'd get Calcium Citrate of the same brand. It's what I use. Calcium Citrate works almost immediately.

I break the tablet in half for smaller birds, but give both halves.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Okay thank you! We are doing another epsom salt bath now, so fingers crossed. I will run to the store in a bit for the calcium citrate if there is no result from this round, it’s so hard to get the pill in her mouth though, even broken up in small pieces.

You're welcome.

It's always a fight to put a pill in a bird's mouth. It gets easier the more you do it.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Good news!! She passed the egg, THANK GOD. Bad news…it definitely was cracked inside of her. Have you had this happen before? Would you just wait for the rest of the shell to hopefully pass, and would you recommend getting an antibiotic just in case of infection?

I can tag some other people who dealt with broken eggs inside hens.

@azygous

 

[azygous]

The problem with an egg breaking inside a hen is that the yolk may attract the growth of bacteria and set up an infection that can develop into a chronic reproductive infection, shortening the life of your hen. The other problem is to try to help your hen get all of the broken egg expelled from her system.

You will need an oral antibiotic such as amoxicillin to prevent infection or treat it if it's begun. You will need calcium citrate to help the hen with contractions to expel the egg material.

 

[_Moon_]

Hi all. My Belgian d’anvers hen is seemingly egg bound. I noticed Tuesday night that she was lethargic and clearly not well. I took her inside and noticed the feathers around her bum were covered in wet poop. I gave her a bath, put on a glove and some Vaseline, and felt an egg very close right inside the vent. I then put her in an epsom salt bath for 20 minutes and put her in a dog crate in my bathroom to rest and hopefully lay the egg. No such luck. She was not doing well at all, not standing on her own or drinking. I did manage to give her some nutridrench in her beak that night. The next morning the same thing, she was still basically completely immobile and looking awful. I did another epsom salt bath and loaded her in the dog crate in my car and went to work with her so I could monitor. Thankfully I only worked till 2 so I knew she would be in the car too long. I checked in on her periodically that morning and around noon when I checked on her, she was standing up and alert and drinking water. Still no egg though. I picked up some calcium tablets in my way home from work, and attempted to crush some up and give it to her. Not super successful since I couldn’t find my syringe but she definitely got some down. At this point I was worried the egg might have broken inside of her because she was leaking liquid poop that looks yellowish. She had perked up considerably, which I though could indicate the egg had broken and relieve some pressure on her nerves or hopefully just shifted. I put some crumble in the crate to see if she was interested and she was. She picked at them and drank more water. We did yet another epsom salt bath, and then I decided to check and see if I could feel the egg again to determine if it was still intact. It felt exactly the same, and doesn’t feel like its broken. I put her in her crate again in my bathroom and hoped she could pass it with the extra calcium she got. Still no luck. Last night and this morning she is in the same condition, more alert, drinking, and interested in food but I’m wary of giving her more because her crop didn’t empty overnight and I don’t want her completely blocked up, although she is pooping relatively normal poops over night (black/white, no longer yellow).
I’m not sure what else to do, this poor little girl clearly is trying to hang on and I want to do everything I can to save her. She was chirping this morning and even flew a little bit when I took her out of the crate last night. Any advice for next steps would be appreciated, as I know time is of the essence at this point from what I’ve read. Thankfully I have today off so I can tend to her.

Tbh I have never had an egg bound bird before, but I would continue with what you are doing.