Egg Bound Hen

[GoneQuackersYYC]

I'm fairly confident that my Welsh Harlequin duck is egg bound. She has been lethargic since Saturday, not keeping up with the others, limping and I've noticed she's been straining her back end repeatedly (though she is pooping). I felt her abdomen and I can feel a lump just before her vent. She is soaking in warm water and epsom salts but is there anything else I can do to help her pass the egg? Even now in her warm bath she's straining over and over.

 

[Jenbirdee]

yes! give her calcium! you can give her either
liquid calcium gluconate 1 ml with a syringe (no needle)
or a calcium citrate pill
or a tums, yes, a tums
you can give the calcium once a day for a few days
even twice on the first day
have you ever gave meds to a duck yet? you have to be careful not to aspirate them

 

[Jenbirdee]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

 

[Miss Lydia]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...bound-ducks-preliminary.959537/#post-14940303

Get some calcium into her asap

 

[GoneQuackersYYC]

Thank you all! I've given her a crushed tums and she seemed a lot happier after her bath. She's eating and drinking, walking but limping. I also saw her do a big liquid black poo. I felt her again and could feel a hard lump about 2-3" above her vent. I felt my other Welsh Harlequin and she didn't have anything hard between or below her legs down to her vent so it must be an egg right?

 

[GoneQuackersYYC]

Checked this morning. No eggs yet. My girls are molting and it's really hot here so eggs have been sporadic. The hen in question was walking around, quacking and rummaging around like normal. She seemed in better spirits. Still has a limp though. I'm questioning if she is really egg bound. I didn't feel her up again this morning but I will later to see if the lump has moved at all.

 

[Miss Lydia]

If you can get the liquid Cal gluconate that is the best stuff for being egg bound. Tums is good in a pinch too.
Could the drake injured her mating? But that wouldn’t cause the hard thing inside of her.

 

[BoradorBeans]

We had something similar with our duck. Back in March, we noticed a change in her behavior. Her abdomen was swollen, she was lethargic, and she waddled so badly it looked painful. We thought she was egg bound, but she was still pooping and eating. We assumed she wasnt egg bound because she could still poop, and instead changed her diet to include more niacin, probiotics, and greens. We found out months later (and some very, very expensive vet bills... and visits we're still not done with), she WAS egg bound but the egg was in her abdomen, which still allowed her to poop.

If she hasn't laid the egg yet, I recommend taking her to an avian vet with experience specifically with ducks. They will get her an xray and help early if they can, before it potentially gets worse and very expensive.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We had something similar with our duck. Back in March, we noticed a change in her behavior. Her abdomen was swollen, she was lethargic, and she waddled so badly it looked painful. We thought she was egg bound, but she was still pooping and eating. We assumed she wasnt egg bound because she could still poop, and instead changed her diet to include more niacin, probiotics, and greens. We found out months later (and some very, very expensive vet bills... and visits we're still not done with), she WAS egg bound but the egg was in her abdomen, which still allowed her to poop.

If she hasn't laid the egg yet, I recommend taking her to an avian vet with experience specifically with ducks. They will get her an xray and help early if they can, before it potentially gets worse and very expensive.

Please update on your Runner.

 

[BoradorBeans]

Posted an update in the original thread. She's doing well!