Egg bound hen- What is your miracle?

[Justuschicks]

There are so many threads about egg bound hens that there is just too much to read and most say the same thing. I have an egg bound hen and I have tried a warm bath, KY jelly, heat and she still hasn't passed the egg. I can feel the egg on the other side of the vent but I don't always see it when she pushes. When I put the KY in her vent I think it is going in her intestines rather than lubing the egg. Does someone have something else to try that always works for them? My hen is in good spirits otherwise but I feel that her clock will unwind soon.

 

[7L Farm]

I lost one to being egg bound. I took her to a avian vet. You could feel the egg right at her vent. He said what happens is the egg drys inside her which enables her from launching the egg. You have to lube the egg inside her so she can pass it.The vet also explained to me that alot of times once they become egg bound that there's a chance that it will happen again. Well, my girl finally passed the egg about 4 days after it was lubed I never found it. Well, sure enough she laid another egg so I was thrilled & didn't keep my eye on her.
Then I noticed one day that she was lethargic so I took her back to the vet & he said that this time the egg was broken inside of her & she was running fever & was in alot of pain. He suggested that she should be put down. So that's what I chose to do. Never thought I'd miss a chicken but to this day I still think of her. Good Luck!!! Some do make it but keep an eye on her. He also told me to leave her with the flock don't isolate. Leaving her with the flock will reduce unnecessary stress.

 

[Justuschicks]

I am so sorry you lost your hen. I love each and every one of my chickens and loosing one breaks my heart. I have been using KY but I don't think it is getting to the egg. I think it is just giving her an enema. She poops it right back out. I am going to work on her some more. I did bring her in though....a couple days ago but she is hanging out with some growing silkies and chicks in my garage so I know she isn't lonely. While I was soaking her in warm water last night she laid her head on my arm. I gave her a little kiss on the head. She is such a sweet hen, I hope I don't loose her.

 

[ClareScifi]

About 2 months before my hen died last summer she laid the egg pictured as my Avatar. Actually, I think it got stuck in her one day and the next morning she just dropped it out of her, instead of laying it, per se. There were no repeat episodes of an egg getting stuck, but I suspect it set her up for something. She died on a 98 F degree day, August 25. I think there is a connection between this odd egg and her death, but I'm not sure what. She was also heavily feather picking and had gone broody under the house about 6 weeks before. It is haunting not knowing what got her. She loved to eat. Perhaps she had fatty liver disease from too much food and that caused the egg to get stuck.

 

[maverickqueen]

My favorite treatment for egg bound hens is calcium. When I walk in the hen house and see a hen looking dumpy or in that characteristic pose, I give her a human size calcium tablet (600mg). If it's a bantam, it helps it wet it or rub it with Vaseline before putting it down her throat. I will repeat every 12 hours until the egg has passed. Often it will be a soft shelled egg, even though they have lots of oyster shell and grit. If I catch the hen soon enough, I very seldom loose a hen. I raise modern game bantams which are very small and lay large eggs for their size.
I hope this helps. Karen's Blue Ribbon Bantams.

 

[ClareScifi]

What is the characteristic pose?

I was away on vacation when my hen died, but the neighbor saw her in a strange position? I wonder whether she could have been egg bound? I think she had laid an egg the day before I left.

 

[Justuschicks]

THE EGG IS OUT! A little olive oil did the trick. Once I got a finger in there and felt the egg, it was rough feeling. Like the smooth outer layer was left off. Thats when I decided to switch to olive oil. I sure hope the stress will keep her from laying for a few days. Boy I wish chickens came with an off switch for eggs for those rare times that you don't want them to lay. Thank you all for the quick responses and help.

 

[Justuschicks]

When I first noticed my hen, she was still on top of the coop and was in front of a heat lamp I keep on out there (is there such a thing as a chicken that actually goes in the darn coop? lol). She had her head tucked in and looked real droopy and kept closing her eyes. I took her in my garage because it was a pretty cold morning and I wormed her and put her in her own private suite. My first instinct when a chicken doesn't look right is to pull it from the flock in case it is sick or something. She is resting comfortably in front of a heater in the garage w/ her food, water, and shells by her side.

 

[ClareScifi]

Thanks for the info. When my neighbor saw my hen who didn't look right, it was 5 in the afternoon that hot summer day. I suspect she may have already died by then. She was in the same position the following morning, and that's when he knew she was dead. I think he said her head was down and she was on her right side. It may have been heat stroke. Who knows? It is haunting not knowing. I ran the weird egg by a poultry expert when it happened, and he said it might have been a freak thing and that if it happened again it might be a sign of an internal disease/infection that would kill her. It never happened again, and I had thought we were out of the woods. But she had panted harder all summer in the heat than her sister, and I suspect the feather picking was a clue to something-- probably fatty liver disease, but I never could figure it out. I'm glad your hen's egg came out. One thing is for sure-- I'll never give my girls scratch again.

Hatchery broiler type chickens are bred to put on too much weight to be healthy. I don't eat chickens. I keep them as pets, so rationing food is important, I think. Otherwise they gorge and get fatty liver disease which leads to stuck eggs, etc.

 

[7L Farm]

THE EGG IS OUT! A little olive oil did the trick. Once I got a finger in there and felt the egg, it was rough feeling. Like the smooth outer layer was left off. Thats when I decided to switch to olive oil. I sure hope the stress will keep her from laying for a few days. Boy I wish chickens came with an off switch for eggs for those rare times that you don't want them to lay. Thank you all for the quick responses and help.

That's great but remember to keep a close eye on her.