Egg bound hen help please!

[biscuit7]

I'm fairly sure my turken Tina is egg bound. Last year she passed a soft shell egg that broke inside of her and I pulled out the remainder of the shell that was sticking out of her vent.

She ended up with a prolapse which I treated and she's been fine since then.

Yesterday afternoon I saw her in the nest and she was there again when I went to close the coop door. I took her to the house, cleaned some poop off her feathers and tried to feel around for an egg. I think I can feel an egg from the outside below her vent, but attempted an internal exam and couldn't feel anything. I crushed up a tum in water for extra calcium and tried to give her some. She took a little via syringe but wouldn't open up for much.

This morning I put her in warm water in my kitchen sink. She ate some of the food (layer pellets mixed with water plus the tum) and drank lots of water. She stayed in there for a little over an hour but wouldn't sit down, so her vent was never submerged.

She has been pooping some, and to me it looks like it's mixed with egg white. She still won't sit down and isn't eating/drinking. What else should I do? I know time is of the essence. Thank you in advance!

 

[Awestruck]

View attachment 1697337 View attachment 1697340 I'm fairly sure my turken Tina is egg bound. Last year she passed a soft shell egg that broke inside of her and I pulled out the remainder of the shell that was sticking out of her vent.

She ended up with a prolapse which I treated and she's been fine since then.

Yesterday afternoon I saw her in the nest and she was there again when I went to close the coop door. I took her to the house, cleaned some poop off her feathers and tried to feel around for an egg. I think I can feel an egg from the outside below her vent, but attempted an internal exam and couldn't feel anything. I crushed up a tum in water for extra calcium and tried to give her some. She took a little via syringe but wouldn't open up for much.

This morning I put her in warm water in my kitchen sink. She ate some of the food (layer pellets mixed with water plus the tum) and drank lots of water. She stayed in there for a little over an hour but wouldn't sit down, so her vent was never submerged.

She has been pooping some, and to me it looks like it's mixed with egg white. She still won't sit down and isn't eating/drinking. What else should I do? I know time is of the essence. Thank you in advance!

 

[Abriana]

Warm epsom salt soaks and a cc of olive oil once per day (baths twice, olive oil once) for as long as it takes. That worked for me with my hen.

 

[Awestruck]

I think my chicken is eggbound also. I saw a little egg membrane stuck on her vent (It could have dried on her feathers). I went to the internet, and one web site recommends putting the chicken in epsom salts water for 20 minutes. Let her sit in this water for 20 minutes and if the egg doesn't come out, do it again, every hour, was suggested. I put mine in warm water with epsom salts and massaged around the vent. I think I may have felt the egg but not sure. I tried to move it around. Her vent was very clean though. But when I put her back outside, it looked like something was hanging out of it again. Hopefully, the rest will come out.

 

[Awestruck]

Warm epsom salt soaks and a cc of olive oil once per day (baths twice, olive oil once) for as long as it takes. That worked for me with my hen.

How many days did you have to do this for? How do you know when it finally worked?

 

[Abriana]

How many days did you have to do this for? How do you know when it finally worked?

I had to do it for about five or six days. But it is different with every hen and the severity of the situation--some hens only need one, and I have a friend that needed to soak hers for a week, twice a day. Grace was unable to poop and food wasn't moving through her system (typically crop and reproductive problems are related), she was also lethargic and sat puffed up with eyes closed. Then on the fifth or sixth day she pooped, and I soaked her twice that day, and the next day she ran right out of the coop and wouldn't let me catch her (when before she made no move to run away). She is still fine and I am keeping an eye on her just in case it happens again (she seems prone to problems, poor girl).

 

[Awestruck]

I had to do it for about five or six days. But it is different with every hen and the severity of the situation--some hens only need one, and I have a friend that needed to soak hers for a week, twice a day. Grace was unable to poop and food wasn't moving through her system (typically crop and reproductive problems are related), she was also lethargic and sat puffed up with eyes closed. Then on the fifth or sixth day she pooped, and I soaked her twice that day, and the next day she ran right out of the coop and wouldn't let me catch her (when before she made no move to run away). She is still fine and I am keeping an eye on her just in case it happens again (she seems prone to problems, poor girl).

That's encouraging to know. I thought if a chicken was egg bound, they died within a day or two. I will keep soaking mine then until I see some results. Just have to make sure the rooster doesn't see me or he will attack me when I am taking one of his girls away!

 

[Abriana]

That's encouraging to know. I thought if a chicken was egg bound, they died within a day or two. I will keep soaking mine then until I see some results. Just have to make sure the rooster doesn't see me or he will attack me when I am taking one of his girls away!

Oh no, definitely not. Lots of birds go quite a while with reproductive disorders and their keepers don't notice until they are dead or too far gone--and that can be years. Most likely you've caught it fast enough, and she will recover with the proper care

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Submerge her lower body and vent in luke warm water with some Epsom salts for about 20 minutes and gently rub her abdomen.
Remove her gently from the bath and dry her with a towel.
Then rub some vegetable oil around her vent and very gently massage her abdomen. Keep her in an warm cozy, enclosed, quiet and dark area in a dog crate .
Give her a dose of calcium through electrolytes, vitamins or in liquid form.
Repeat the soak every hour or so until she lays the egg.