Egg bound???

[MYNSBTR]

One of our Australorps has been in the box since yesterday. She was in there after dark last night as well, which is not normal for any of our girls. I saw her backside and it looks like there is a big buldge above her vent and under her tail feathers. Could this be egg bound? I am pretty sure she laid an egg yesterday, but I could be wrong. IF it is egg bound, what do I do? And how can I be sure it is. The buldge is hard and pretty much looks like an egg. I checked out the other australorp and felt her in the same area and she was squishy, whereas this one is hard. Any advise would be great! Thanks

 

[K-12 Chickens]

Try putting her in a warm bath that rises above her vent for about 30 minutes(if the water gets cold refill with warm water). The warmness of the bath should open up her insides and allow the egg to slide out easily. Make sure your hen is eating and drinking well, also.
Good luck with your hen and I hope she gets better!

 

[MYNSBTR]

Thanks! I will try that. I couldn't really tell if she was eating or not, so I went out there and threw some scratch in the run...she came running out and was eating it...so that's a good sign, but when I go to catch her, she takes off and I feel like a moron running around trying to catch her...lol I'll go back out now and give that a shot...let's hope she doesn't try to jump out of the water! Fingers crossed for me please! lol

 

[K-12 Chickens]

Chickens tend to get very calm when placed in warm water so she shouldn't struggle.

Could you post an update after the bath?

 

[Little Red Hen]

I too am currently nursing an egg bound hen. I placed her in my bathtub w/ warm water, which she truly enjoyed,however she has not passed the offending egg. I phoned a friend who is a chicken vet, and since the egg is huge and very thick walled, (and surgical intervention is not an option), he recommended that I break the egg, which I did. She sat in the warm tub again but still hadn't passed anything, so I dried her off and she is now nestled in towels. She will not drink on her own, so I have been syringing water carefully into her. I'm hoping and praying that she'll pull throuh, but it does not look good. Send some good clucks our way, along w/ any advice.

 

[MYNSBTR]

Well, the good thing is that she LOVED the bath and blow dry! lol She got out of the bath, I snuggled with her in a towel afterwards, then blew her dry. I put her outside with the rest of the girls, she ran outside, then right back into the box. She's still there now. I don't know what to do. I am thinking it might NOT be an egg. Everyone is starting to lose feathers on their back right near their tail. I don't know if it's molting, or maybe there's something going on out there.

 

[K-12 Chickens]

I'm not really sure if you could try to feel around inside your hen to see if it is an egg? Hopefully someone will post here with experience on that. As for your hens losing feathers, they could be pecking each other. You could try spraying Blue Kote(can be found at feed stores, is spray on and makes anything its sprayed on a blueish-purple. Good for covering up red areas.)on any your hens bare spots.

 

[MYNSBTR]

Well, I was feeling around the other hens, and they all seem to have the same bump on the back of their tail feathers...so I am assuming it's not an egg. Hers might have been a little more obvious cause it's bald. Maybe it was an egg because I swear it was a little bigger, and it's passed. She seems to be fine...she eats, she comes out of the box, she takes a dust bath (when I kinda coax her out) but as far as drinking and pooping, I am not too sure. She obviously comes out on her own, because there were 2 eggs in the box under her when I got her out just a little bit ago. I know they both weren't hers, because one was an easter egger's. Could she just be broody? She's 1 year old (on Monday, I think) and I am wondering if all of a sudden she could be broody??? I don't know.

 

[K-12 Chickens]

Does she make angry sounds or puff up when you coax her out of the nest box?

 

[MYNSBTR]

No, not really. She makes noises, but not angry, nor does she go to peck me. She might puff up a little bit