Egg bound??

[Samarai Jenn]

I think two of my hens are egg bound...This is one thing I don't know alot about...How can you tell if they're egg bound?

 

[vickiemontana]

I'm waiting along with you for help on this too. I have a RIR that was laying, actually first to lay, a little white egg everyday for about three weeks, then stopped. Otherwise, she seems fine. Whats up?

 

[Samarai Jenn]

I'm not sure, I was following her around the yard earlier, and she wasn't going to the bathroom or anything, so i lifted her up and examined her rear and it was all pasty...I'm so confused! And she was my best layer and everything, I don't wanna lose her.

 

[gritsar]

One way to check for egg bound is to lift the chicken up and feel around low in the pelvic area for a mass.
Vickie, you could check for egg bound too, but it's more likely that your hen has stopped laying due to the change of seasons and the decrease in daylight the winter season brings. New hens are also pretty erratic in their egg laying. I have one new laying hen that layed a total of two eggs before she quit for the season. She's perfectly healthy and not egg bound, she just decided to take the rest of the winter off.

 

[Samarai Jenn]

She had a mass, so I put her down, then I picked her up again later, and it was gone, I was watching her in between the time I picked her up and set her down, so I know she didn't lay any eggs or anything...

 

[gritsar]

Gee, samtheman with that description and the pasty bum you noted I'm not well versed enough in chicken illness to know what to tell you. Try doing a search here on BYC on internal laying. I know speckledhen and some others are having that problem. Good luck to you and your hen.

 

[vickiemontana]

Thanks, boy I thought I had this sort of figured out. The younguns are just started laying so were excited at getting 6 eggs a day, but his one is still acting the same but we don't get our little white egg anymore. Big brown ones from the Buff Brahmas. We only have two RIR and think one is going rooster. She/he is making weird noises and walks like she/he has broken legs. Get around fine, but doesn't lay either. Of course we call her broken leg. SAM, sure hope you don't have a bad problem either. Hopefully it's just the weather change for both of us.

 

[Samarai Jenn]

She could be old though, She's almost 2. It could be the weather, or it could be her time to go.

Hopefully its just the weather. She's the first one I've seen with this, thankfully none of the other hens are getting sick or old...

 

[Samarai Jenn]

This is my baby, Rosie, and her man Larry. It was taken earlier this year...