Egg Bound Pullet

[K-12 Chickens]

I noticed earlier today that one of my pullets (all are laying; though I am not sure on this one) was crammed in a corner of the porch and squatting. When I gently pushed her away (normally she would not let me touch her), she wanted to cram herself in the corner again and squat. I picked her up and her abdomen felt swollen on one side (hard and roundish). I brought her inside and she continued to squat and push. However, after I put her in a warm bath for a while and then dried her off, she acted as if nothing was wrong and has stopped attempting to push. I tried again with another bath recently (while massaging the swollen area) and nothing happened. She is eating, drinking and occasionally clucking. I can still feel a bulge on her one side.

 

[K-12 Chickens]

UPDATE: Just about an hour ago, I noticed she was squatting again.

 

[twoscrambled]

I want to help you, but have never had to deal with that problem. I wonder if you may give her some olive oil...doesn't seem like it would hurt ... don't give up.. hope she does well

 

[K-12 Chickens]

I gave her another warm soak about two or so hours ago and I could feel her pushing. Hopefully that's a good sign!

 

[aggiemae]

There are lots of useful threads on this topic here. Once, when warm baths weren't helping, I oiled up a hens vent. I used a clean dry bottle from hair dye with a soft tip and warmed up a few ounces of olive oil. It's an old midwife trick. It was really messy, but it seemed better than not doing anything and even if it doesn't work I don't think it could hurt.

BTW, She did get the egg out but it happened to her a few other times so I always needed to keep an ear out for her being distressed.

As for the bath, I did they maybe four or five more times (ALL with this same hen) The water needs to be fairly deep and warmer that you would think and it seems to work better if she could stand up in the water than when I dangled her, which is what I did the first time.

 

[K-12 Chickens]

I soaked her again this morning and still nothing. I can feel the egg and it seems huge! I've also been massaging the abdomen and it feels slightly swollen (she made faint grunts as if trying to push). I tried to lube up her vent with coconut oil, but I'm not completely sure how far to reach in.
What should I do if the egg is too big to pass? Her vent looks quite wide to me, though.
This pullet was the runt and developed more slowly than the others; could her reproductive tract have developed slowly too?
As far as behavior, Lucy acts perked up, eats/drinks and poops small amounts occasionally, though she acts less perky when she's in the crate.
I can post a picture of her soon to show where I'm feeling the egg, if it helps.

 

[soler]

have you tried supplementing her with a strong dose of calcium? you can crush a tablet and dissolve it and force feed it with a feeding syringe or add it to some mash/yogurt. Also, add some vitamin D. I would do this immediately. The longer it stays there, the more likely things go wrong.

check this link
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/07/chicken-egg-binding-causes-symptoms.html

 

[K-12 Chickens]

How much calcium and vitamin D would be sufficient? Could I crush oyster shell and mix it in with yogurt?

 

[soler]

I am not sure if delivery is the same with oyster shell, since you want fast absorption here. Maybe yes. You can just use any calcium tablets for people if you have any in the house. I would give her one full tablet/capsule of calcium right away, and then make sure once a day for a week or so to get her levels back up. I would give say 1/4 of D tablet. D is fat soluble so you need to be more careful not to overdose. Calcium is more key here than the D. And many calcium supplements already have the D in it, and not in massive amounts.

 

[K-12 Chickens]

We went and picked up some calcium tablets that also contain vitamin D. A few minutes ago, we crushed up the tablet and mixed it in with some yogurt. I sprinkled a few seeds on the top to show her what it was and she began eating some. However, after a minute or so, she lost interest, so I took some bread, tore it into little pieces and wiped them in the yogurt. She ate a few pieces, but then lost interest again. So, we took a syringe and got the rest down her by squirting small amounts in her beak.
Hoping for the best!