Egg bound ... retention

[GreensyChickie]

Hi all,

Had our first egg bound experience yesterday....

There are two nesting boxes in the coop, and an automatic door leading to a run for the mornings. Due to foxes in the area I don't let them out until 8am, however some days this can be a bit later.

My 3 chooks are stubborn and won't lay until they are let out into the backyard. One of them became egg bound yesterday. We bathed her, checked the vent, put olive oil and Vaseline on it, then put her in the garage.

By midnight she had laid an egg, along with a soft broken egg.

This morning she has had a poop, is eating, and back with her friends. She is definitely not 100%.

I have two questions:
1. How long is recovery, will more eggs get stuck?
2. How do I promote laying in the coop? If we aren't home and they have to stay longer in the coop, for their safety, I would want them to be able to pass eggs while in the coop!

Thanks,
Natalie

 

[Alexandra Runner]

Hello! Recovery period is different for different birds, but I've found that popping a Calcium plus D3 pill (from Walmart) into their beaks is a good way to speed recovery. My Wyandotte Bailey went through a stage when she laid loads of soft-shells, until I started feeding her the calcium, even though I had oyster shell available at all times in the coop. Do you keep oyster shell out? Where are your nesting boxes? If they're in the yard, you might try moving them to you coop. My girls usually lay in the boxes, even if I move them.

 

[coach723]

They really don't purposefully retain eggs. When it's time to lay, they lay. They may prefer to do it outside, but they aren't going to hold it in if they can't get there. There may be something about the nest boxes that is putting them off, sometimes what we think is awesome, they don't like. They may want more privacy, or the size may not be what they want. Hard to say. Some birds like privacy curtains (leave a space in the middle so they know there is something on the other side, they can be dumb). You can also put fake eggs or golf balls in the nest boxes. Some birds like to use a 'used' box and seeing the other 'eggs' already in there is all it takes to get them to use it. I have golf balls in all my boxes, otherwise they all focus on just a couple of them, causing traffic jams.
How old are your birds, and how long have they been laying? For the one that got bound, I would give her the calcium mentioned once a day until she lays normally. It also helps with contractions. If one egg was delayed then another egg can be in the pipe at the same time, causing the second soon after. A soft shelled egg is very hard for them to pass (nothing for their muscles to push against) and can make them feel very unwell. They usually perk up once it's passed. That egg may have delayed the normal egg. If they are new layers, it may just be a glitch in the system that will rectify itself with time, if it persists then she may have a problem. Either way, the calcium should help.

 

[GreensyChickie]

Hello! Recovery period is different for different birds, but I've found that popping a Calcium plus D3 pill (from Walmart) into their beaks is a good way to speed recovery. My Wyandotte Bailey went through a stage when she laid loads of soft-shells, until I started feeding her the calcium, even though I had oyster shell available at all times in the coop. Do you keep oyster shell out? Where are your nesting boxes? If they're in the yard, you might try moving them to you coop. My girls usually lay in the boxes, even if I move them.

Thanks... there's no Walmart in Australia, is the calcium d3 just a human pill? Are you able to tell me the dosage, then I can find the equivalent here

I did move the yard box into the coop about a month ago, they didn't ever use it again!

I had shell grit out for them, I will get some oyster grit today.

Thank you!

 

[coach723]

The calcium D3 is a common human supplement, Citracal is a common name brand here, there are many generics. Dose can vary, usually 400 to 600 mg, depending on the size of the bird. You aren't going to be using it long term, so being exact isn't very critical, I usually give one tablet of the regular dose size, or two of the petites (smaller, easier for humans to swallow). Just put in her beak and push it back, she'll swallow it. They can swallow a mouse, a frog, a lizard, they can easily swallow even a large pill or capsule.

 

[Alexandra Runner]

Thanks... there's no Walmart in Australia, is the calcium d3 just a human pill? Are you able to tell me the dosage, then I can find the equivalent here

I did move the yard box into the coop about a month ago, they didn't ever use it again!

I had shell grit out for them, I will get some oyster grit today.

Thank you!

Whoops! I didn't notice you were located in Greensborough, haha!