Eggbound?

[kneelandchicks]

We have a 1 1/2 year old Italian leghorn (our best layer by far) who stopped laying about 1 1/2 weeks ago and today we found a bizarre looking yellow mass hanging from her vent. It was egg yolk in color but rubbery hard, weird looking. Any ideas what this might be? The only thing we can think of is egg bound. Thanks

 

[lambchicks]

Originally Posted by Nefertiti

Hardly an 'expert', but here goes.....
Some of symptoms of an egg bound hen are reduced appetite, enlarged/ hardening of body, and a rather peculiar sitting stance.
We warm her body with heated moist towels( or even a rather warm bath- an old cooler works great-) Pour about a Tbls. or so of warmed olive oil into the vent. -That can be a little tricky. I normally have to wrap a towel around the bird so it won't flap it's wings in my face while I try to lay her on her back.
If the hen was bound, and eggs are removed, give her a couple of days off (ease up on high protien feed/ no extra light if you use them) to give her system a chance to 'reset'


Found this in another thread. Hope it helps.

 

[kneelandchicks]

Thanks for the reply lambchicks. I went out this morning and she is all peppy and chasing after food. My wife pulled out the bizarre looking yellow blob and hopefully she is better now.

 

[CityHens]

KneelandChicks, I would love an update on your leghorn. I had a similar thing happen with my 10 month old Golden Buff. She too was my best layer (6 a week) and leader. I found a large yellowish mass that looked like fatty tissue surrounding a yolk in the next box. She didn't lay again til 7 days later when she laid a shell less egg. It's been 6 days since the shell less egg and still nothing. She eats, drinks, and runs around just fine. She has free choice of oyster shells for calcium. Her abdomen is much larger than the other girls and her stool is a little runny. Did the warm bath help your girl? Do you or anyone else have advice? This is my first time raising chickens. Thank you! ~C

 

[scorpa]

Had an eggbound chicken today (Lois), never had to deal with it before.

I looked it up on the internet and decided to soak her in warm water for 15 mins.

Afterwards, wrapped her in a towel and held her for 15 mins to increase the warmth, and out came the soft shell of a previous day's egg followed by another soft shelled egg.

Wrapped her back in the towel and kept her in isolation for an hour by which time she'd perked up no end.

Fed her some corn and mealworm and put her back with the rest of the brood.

Hope it's that straightforward next time!