Egg Bound Hen???? URGENT

[i_only_listen_to_dgd]

I found one of my hens (I have 7 total) just an hour ago walking funny with her tail down. My family have raised hens before and one of our hens from years ago had seemingly been egg bound but we didn't know how bad this was and she died from it. When I saw this hen acting like this I immediately thought back to that other hen and am trying to save her (if this is what is wrong?? she does not seem nearly as sick as that other hen was). She is having trouble walking and her tail is down. Otherwise she is very alert and eating and drinking (in fact she seems very thirsty). The feathers under her tail seem clean, but I haven't checked if there is an egg in there because I have never done that before and am a little scared to hurt her. Its cold out right now so I brought her into the house. I had her sit in warm water in a tub for about 15 minutes, dried her off gently with a towel and set her in a big container with wood chips with fresh water. I also cooked up an egg and I read that Tums could help so I crushed up half a tablet of tums and mixed it in with the egg and fed it to her. She is still making soft noises, she is not sleepy. She is not even a year old and just started laying. What should I do and am I doing anything right so far???

 

[azygous]

You're doing everything right so far. Give her the other half of the Tums now.Just pop it into her beak. No need to crush it. She will swallow easily.

The calcium helps to encourage contractions to get the egg out. Don't worry about trying to feel for the egg. Most of the time, the egg isn't in a position to feel. Make water available as an obstruction can cause thirst and you do not want her getting dehydrated.

 

[i_only_listen_to_dgd]

You're doing everything right so far. Give her the other half of the Tums now.Just pop it into her beak. No need to crush it. She will swallow easily.

The calcium helps to encourage contractions to get the egg out. Don't worry about trying to feel for the egg. Most of the time, the egg isn't in a position to feel. Make water available as an obstruction can cause thirst and you do not want her getting dehydrated.

Thank you so much for the reply. Ok, I will give her the other half. She is drinking quite a bit of water, I actually am concerned for how long in the day she has just been sitting in the coop and not drinking. She was perfectly fine yesterday. Would another warm bath help? Also, could she use extra heat (the house is heated already), like heat directly from a small heater or would that make her too hot?

 

[azygous]

One warm bath was enough. Too many can cause stress. After giving the rest of the Tums, let her rest quietly (with water to drink) in a place away from distractions. It can take a few hours, but the egg should come out. But if she doesn't perk up and return to her normal behavior, another egg could be following close behind the first. This is more common than people think, and it can be the cause of egg binding.

 

[i_only_listen_to_dgd]

This is her droppings. Does this look abnormal?? It doesn't look super alarming to me besides being a little runny but I could be wrong.

 

[azygous]

The poop is consistent with being egg bound. Is she dribbling a clear fluid from her vent? Does it have an unusual acrid odor?

 

[i_only_listen_to_dgd]

I will check for clear fluid. The droppings don't seem to smell any different than normal. What do I do if she does not pass the egg?

 

[i_only_listen_to_dgd]

There is droppings stuck to her feathers now but I don't see any clear liquid.

 

[azygous]

Do you happen to have an oral antibiotic on hand?

 

[i_only_listen_to_dgd]

I have 500mg amoxicillin capsule.