Egg bound? Or something else?

[HannahL]

Hi all! So I just came home from vacation and went out to check on my two hens (both 6 years old, a lavender orpington and an olive egger). The orpington, Phoebe, seemed a little off when I went out there. She was a bit lethargic and her wings were drooping, which I originally attributed to the heat until I saw her straining a bit. I left to get some blueberries (which she readily ate) and when I came back there was an egg on the ground, without a shell. It seriously looked like someone had cracked an egg in the middle of the coop. The yolk was unbroken and the white was in tact. The second I shined my flashlight they both ran over and ate it. She drank a lot of water, cleaned her beak. Seemed a bit perkier after that. But I stayed out to watch her and noticed that she was still visibly straining and fluffing up. I checked her abdomen and it felt totally normal. Her vent definitely has some discharge though, but I wasn’t sure if that was just because she had recently laid. It’s the middle of the night so it’s very strange for her to be laying an egg at all. She’s never had any other egg issues, besides being egg bound once when she was an adolescent. Her color is good. Do you think this is indicative of a larger issue? Could there still be material stuck inside? The continued straining is concerning to me. Is there anything I can do? I was considering giving her a crushed up Tums but I saw somewhere you should only do that if they are actively egg bound. Any and all insight and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[alinas2010]

Hello, sorry to hear about Phoebe. How is she doing this morning?

I have experienced very similar episodes with my hen, Ravioli. This often happens at night with Rav, too, for some reason. She is usually able to get the egg(s) laid overnight if I supplement her with calcium and make sure she has a few big drinks of water before I go to bed. I hope you hen was able to pass both eggs if that was the issue

It is not uncommon to have more than one egg backed up causing egg binding. You are right to immediately want to give a calcium supplement during the signs of this crisis. If possible, aim for a human calcium citrate plus d3 vitamin for Phoebe, 400-600mg. Pull her wattles down somewhat gently and pop the pill right into her beak, let the wattles go and she should swallow the whole pill no problem. Tums will work in a pinch. Even if she wasn’t actively egg bound, a one time supplement of calcium should not cause any issues. It would be good in the case of seeing a shell-less egg having been laid, even.

Hopefully this is a one time glitch. Does she have free choice oyster shell supplemented to take as she pleases? With Rav it does not matter how much calcium I supplement, she seems to have a shell gland issue and consistently lays thin shelled eggs and becomes egg bound. I hope that is not that case with Phoebe.