Egg Bound? Please Help!

[Ginhay-Roper]

I have an Ameraucana who just got over her mites about a month ago. After she was better she started molting so she stopped laying. Now she is done molting and went in to lay an egg yesterday but I never found one. She keeps going back into the nesting box but still hasn't laid an egg. She is also walking weirdly. I think that she might be egg bound and have given her a warm epsom salt bath but she still hasn't gotten the egg out. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to help her?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have an Ameraucana who just got over her mites about a month ago. After she was better she started molting so she stopped laying. Now she is done molting and went in to lay an egg yesterday but I never found one. She keeps going back into the nesting box but still hasn't laid an egg. She is also walking weirdly. I think that she might be egg bound and have given her a warm epsom salt bath but she still hasn't gotten the egg out. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to help her?

Welcome To BYC!

Can you feel inside her vent about 1-2" to feel for an egg?

I would make sure she's drinking well and give her some extra calcium. You can give 1 Caltrate or 1 Tums.
Is she lethargic or does she have a discharge from the vent?

 

[Ginhay-Roper]

Welcome To BYC!

Can you feel inside her vent about 1-2" to feel for an egg?

I would make sure she's drinking well and give her some extra calcium. You can give 1 Caltrate or 1 Tums.
Is she lethargic or does she have a discharge from the vent?

I didn't feel an egg so I guess that she is not egg bound. I think that she was actually dehydrated because I gave her some electrolyte water and then she looked to be all better. The water system we use is the chicken nipples and she doesn't seem to like them, I'll have to figure out a new water system for her. Thanks for your help Wyorp Rock!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I didn't feel an egg so I guess that she is not egg bound. I think that she was actually dehydrated because I gave her some electrolyte water and then she looked to be all better. The water system we use is the chicken nipples and she doesn't seem to like them, I'll have to figure out a new water system for her. Thanks for your help Wyorp Rock!

I'm glad that she's doing better.
Yes, if she's not drinking well, then dehydration can cause a lot of problems.

Are your other birds struggling with the nipple water system too?

 

[Ginhay-Roper]

I'm glad that she's doing better.
Yes, if she's not drinking well, then dehydration can cause a lot of problems.

Are your other birds struggling with the nipple water system too?

They don't seem to be, I see them drink from it regularly. This one chicken has always struggled with it but everything I found was that she will just figure it out but she hasn't yet. I was hoping that my other girls would teach her but that hasn't happened yet either.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They don't seem to be, I see them drink from it regularly. This one chicken has always struggled with it but everything I found was that she will just figure it out but she hasn't yet. I was hoping that my other girls would teach her but that hasn't happened yet either.

You may need to provide an open station for her. I've never used nipple waterers so couldn't tell you anything about them, but if she's struggling with it and not getting enough to drink, then that's not too good either.
I prefer to just use those black rubber bowls. I suppose it depends on weather/climate too, but in winter I just empty all the water bowls at night then refill the next morning. Water does freeze during the day if it's really cold, but it's easy to just dump or stomp on the bowls they are tough LOL Easy to clean as well. Everyone does things differently for sure.

 

[Ginhay-Roper]

You may need to provide an open station for her. I've never used nipple waterers so couldn't tell you anything about them, but if she's struggling with it and not getting enough to drink, then that's not too good either.
I prefer to just use those black rubber bowls. I suppose it depends on weather/climate too, but in winter I just empty all the water bowls at night then refill the next morning. Water does freeze during the day if it's really cold, but it's easy to just dump or stomp on the bowls they are tough LOL Easy to clean as well. Everyone does things differently for sure.

I should try that, I think that would help her a lot. It's getting cold here so I might get a heated open waterer. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I should try that, I think that would help her a lot. It's getting cold here so I might get a heated open waterer. Thank you so much for your help!

A lot of people use those heated dog bowls, you may want to look into that.
I'm usually around most days so just check water often. Only draw back I don't really like about the open bowls is when the hens dig around they fling straw and/or dirt and it gets in the bowls, so I may need to change a bowl more than one time a day depending on how busy they've been LOL I keep 2 bowls for the hens, roosters have hanging cups but those need to be checked too. More work I suppose, but I like for them to have fresh clean water - they like to drink from puddles

 

[Sally PB]

The water system we use is the chicken nipples and she doesn't seem to like them, I'll have to figure out a new water system for her.

I just put in horizontal nipples. My chickens are used to an open waterer, and even though the pullets *seemed* to have figured out the hn, my cockerel doesn't get it. Today he seemed a bit lethargic, so I put the open waterer back in, and sure enough, he went over and drank a bunch. And then the girls did too.

I really wanted to use the hn... an open bowl collects bedding and dirt, the vertical nipples drip and get everything wet, the cup style of hn gets dirty too. I will probably put the hn waterer inside the coop, and use the tough black bowls from TSC out in the run. What I do for my birdies!