Egg bound

[lasfam]

Why do chickens get egg bound? Is it common? My hens are only five months old so have not starting laying yet, I am just curious if this is something that I should keep an eye on?

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

Egg binding happens for a few reasons and most of them can be prevented.

Dehydration is a common cause...should they run out of water for a long period of time. The oviduct becomes dry and the eggs stick.

Not enough calcium...the shell needs to be nice and hard for it to properly travel from the Uterus out the the vent. If the shell is soft or broken, it can stick.

Calcium is also needed for the hens contractions to push that egg down the Oviduct. Without sufficient calcium, she can't push as well.

Egg binding can be genetic too....her momma became egg bound a lot. Very large eggs can get stuck, along with laying too many eggs in one day. (yes they can lay more than one egg in a 24 hour period. Not all that common, but it does happen) Young early layers can be susceptible if they don't have sufficient calcium or their bodies are not ready for laying. Some of the production breeds that lay early and hard can susceptible to egg binding. And of course with egg binding can come prolapse...when she pushes so hard her insides comes out.

So it is best to keep them in water at all times, keep oystershell on the side for those that need extra calcium, don't over do the protein so they are releasing more than one yolk at a time, get young pullets on layer feed when they are close to laying, keep them healthy so they put on a hard shell, and if one starts to lay thin shelled eggs, you can add some human Caltrate at the rate of a 1/2 pill daily for a week or so until they are topped off with enough calcium.

 

[TwoCrows]

Also, keep the treats down to 10% or less of the diet. They need to consume their layer feed which is well balanced with all the proper vitamins and minerals to process the calcium so they CAN turn it into shell material.

 

[lasfam]

Do I need to start feeding them the lIng feed before they start laying, or after they lay their first egg?

 

[TwoCrows]

I like to start with the layer feed when they start squatting for you. Usually at the first squat, the first egg is getting ready to come down the pipe. You can get them all on layer feed about a week before they are due to be laying. What breeds are you raising? Some start laying at 5 months, others at 6 months. It won't hurt to get them on layer a week or two before they are set to lay. Gets the extra needed calcium loaded into their bodies for that first egg.

 

[lasfam]

I have two Americanas and two Black Giant Roo, (that were supposed to be hens) do I need to keep the hens and the Roos food separate?

 

[TwoCrows]

I have two Americanas and two Black Giant Roo, (that were supposed to be hens) do I need to keep the hens and the Roos food separate?

If these are still chicks, (under the age of 6 months), they can all stay on chick starter.

As adult birds, some people will feed the entire flock Layer feed, Roosters included. Others will feed a "Flock Raiser" type feed and keep oyster shell on the side for the layers. (There is way less calcium in Flock Raiser feeds and it can be fed to chicks and adults alike) Too much calcium can be hard on roosters since they don't need the extra calcium however many roosters have learned to adapt to it over their breeding and aren't too effected by the extra calcium in the layer feed.

I personally feel it's better to feed a Flock Raiser type feed when keeping Roosters and keep the calcium on the side, but it is totally your call. Many roosters live perfectly fine lives on Layer feed too. Roosters need some sort of poultry feed and can't live on grains alone. So make sure your Roo's eat some sort of formulated poultry feed.