Egg bound SLW layed egg on day 5

[write2caroline]

1) What type of bird , age and weight. : Silver Laced Wyandotte, Hatched July 2009; 4 lbs - she is a good sized bird
2) What is the behavior, exactly.: Trying to push out an egg all day
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? Just today never seemed to have a problem before today
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?: No
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.: I think she has a hernia of tissue in her vent
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.: Big EGG
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. : Normal water, layena and scratch
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.: Normal and after I gave her a bath some poop came out and it seemed normal too
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?: Warm bath in my deep sink and EVOO in and around vent
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?: No vet
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. I can't due to issues with my computer
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use: Hay and deep litter

She's been laying for a year now.

She walked around most of the day trying to push out that egg - definately an egg. I saw and felt it.
She seems fine walking around but I just picked her up and while she is nolonger trying to push it out - It is still there.

What I have done - Warm bath earlier today and I oiled her vent up with olive oil.

I finally decided to break the egg. I can turn it and roll it around inside of her but It just does not want to come out. Well I could not seem to break the egg with a nail. I was hoping to break it and get it out of her. I did not want to try to crush the egg inside her but now I don't know what to do.

I am contemplating using a dry wall screw to penetrate the shell and try to break the egg

Any ideas?
5:21pm on Sat Feb 12

Caroline

 

[ejctm]

I would suggest at least a half hour soak in a warm bath and more olive oil. Keep doing this several times and it should eventually work.

I also wondered whether 2 spoons would work - like forceps delivery! would be reluctant to try this though!

Anything to avoid crushing and breaking the egg.

 

[write2caroline]

I have soaked her for another 30 - towelled and warmed her on a heating pad and am currently blowdrying her before adding some EVOO as Rachel Ray would say - (Extra Virgin Olive Oil - for those who don't watch rachel ray)

She is eating, I am just worried about another egg coming down the shoot and causing more problems. I did consider the spoon delivery of the egg but I am afraid of cutting her with the spoons. It may come to that. Her little cloaclia is tighter today and when I felt the egg she tightened up on my finger -ew yes that sounds gross. I think that means she isn't torn or prolapsed. I am starting to think she did not lay an egg on Friday. Someone has been laying enormous eggs and it could be this girl. They are full sized double yokers and HUGE. Like duck eggs or small goose eggs. She is currently not trying to bear down and push but she is in that stance.

The advice is not to break the egg. I will heed that advice and wait and see what happens. I still am thinking of using a dry wall screw to penetrate the egg and maybe help pull it out? My girls eggs have hard shells.

Keep ol' Betsy in kind thoughts. I sort of expected to find her dead this am - lost one of my younger pullets to being egg bound a couple of months ago but she was a new layer. Found her in the nest box. I think the other girls have been pecking at Betsy too - found a couple of new wounds on her so I triple antiboitic (w/o pain reliever) ointmented them and will do again when she is dried off. It is about 35 Degrees outside so I am keeping her in.

Thanks
Caroline

 

[Katy]

I know the standard advice is to not break the egg, but I did do that one time when I had tried everything else and nothing worked. I figured she was going to die anyway if the egg didn't come out so it was worth a shot. I did get the egg out after I made a hole large enough to drain the contents out and gently got ahold of the part of the egg that was visible and sticking out and gently crushing it as I pulled on it. She was fine for a time period after that (weeks) but eventually I culled her after she became egg bound again.

 

[write2caroline]

I kept up spa treatments bubble bath....oiling of her vent and she layed the egg! Now I am concerned she expects a bubble bath, blow dry and a daily pedicure!

Thanks to all who helped by responding: I really appreciated your wise words.

I am going to scramble that egg and feed it to her! I think she earned it!

Caroline

 

[ejctm]

Hurray!!!

Well done, little chicken!