Egg bound please help

[Tillyschickens]

I have a chicken which is showing all signs of being egg bound so I gave her a warm bath ( without Epsom salts as I don't have any does this affect her?) I also gave her some milk as it's high in calcium but she's still not passed an egg and is still not eating. What else can I do???? Please help

 

[Cerci]

How old is your hen? Has she laid any weird eggs before this happened?

 

[DobieLover]

I have a chicken which is showing all signs of being egg bound so I gave her a warm bath ( without Epsom salts as I don't have any does this affect her?) I also gave her some milk as it's high in calcium but she's still not passed an egg and is still not eating. What else can I do???? Please help

Did you insert a finger inside her vent to feel for an egg? Is she straining? Is she in a penguin stance?
The milk is not going to help. You need to give her a calcium tablet. They aren't very expensive. You can get any generic brand from WalMart, CVS, Target, etc. Sometimes the hen will just eat it right out of your hand. Other times you need to pop it in her beak and she'll swallow it.

 

[Tillyschickens]

Did you insert a finger inside her vent to feel for an egg? Is she straining? Is she in a penguin stance?
The milk is not going to help. You need to give her a calcium tablet. They aren't very expensive. You can get any generic brand from WalMart, CVS, Target, etc. Sometimes the hen will just eat it right out of your hand. Other times you need to pop it in her beak and she'll swallow it.

I've just crushed up a calcium tablet I'm gonna put it in some water and give to her I can't feel an egg but she's standing penguin like and it looks like she's pushing

 

[DobieLover]

I've just crushed up a calcium tablet I'm gonna put it in some water and give to her I can't feel an egg but she's standing penguin like and it looks like she's pushing

Just give her the tablet. She would have to drink all the water to get the dose of calcium.
She needs calcium to help with the muscle contractions.

 

[Tillyschickens]

How old is your hen? Has she laid any weird eggs before this happened?

She's 2 we have been getting a few soft sheep eggs every now and again so I crushed up their oysters shell as they weren't eating it whole. I never expected her to become egg bound

Just give her the tablet. She would have to drink all the water to get the dose of calcium.
She needs calcium to help with the muscle contractions.

I tried I that way before so I crushed it up and put a drop of water in then syringe fed her the water. She's taken all of it now. I also gave her another bath. She's up walking around now which she wasn't doing before. I haven't seen any egg come out but she's passing faeces now which she wasn't doing before

 

[Cerci]

Check out her abdomen. Is it swollen? Do you feel an unusual mass in that area? If there is no sign of an offending egg, and that coupled with her history (age and dodgy egg laying) I'd be suspicious of egg yolk peritonitis. This condition requires antibiotics at best. Vet intervention or euthanasia worse case scenario.

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is your hen? Soft or shell-less eggs can be hard to pass. Instead of more baths you can try putting her in a warm and humid room, such as a batroom after running a shower, or place her on a warm towel with a heat pad on low. Egg binding can also look like a reproductive problem.

There can be several causes of egg binding. Overweight, low calcium level, vent damage from past trauma, and dehydration are some of those. Sometimes the shell gland in the oviduct is not working well, and infectious bronchitis or other reproductive infection. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[Tillyschickens]

it's not s

Check out her abdomen. Is it swollen? Do you feel an unusual mass in that area? If there is no sign of an offending egg, and that coupled with her history (age and dodgy egg laying) I'd be suspicious of egg yolk peritonitis. This condition requires antibiotics at best. Vet intervention or euthanasia worse case scenario.

I wouldn't say it's swollen but it is slightly puffy. Is 2 old for a chicken she's been laying eggs none stop for two years with the odd miss. If it worsens I'll call the vet but they don't deal with chickens so it may be difficult finding one

 

[Tillyschickens]

How old is your hen? Soft or shell-less eggs can be hard to pass. Instead of more baths you can try putting her in a warm and humid room, such as a batroom after running a shower, or place her on a warm towel with a heat pad on low. Egg binding can also look like a reproductive problem.

There can be several causes of egg binding. Overweight, low calcium level, vent damage from past trauma, and dehydration are some of those. Sometimes the shell gland in the oviduct is not working well, and infectious bronchitis or other reproductive infection. Let us know how she gets along.

Thank you so much for this information. She's not overweight she's quite small for a chicken but not underweight either. I'm not sure about trauma because we got them young and they have always been really healthy and happy chickens I can send a picture of what she looks like she's standing low and constantly pushing . She's not keen on staying in the coop so I might have to shut her in with a heat pad. She's still slightly wet from bathing her