Eggbound??

[LindsaySinai]

My 1.5 yr old EE lays an egg almost everyday and I realized yesterday its been at least three, probably four, days since she'd laid an egg. She's spent a lot of time in her nest...I'm guessing trying her hardest to lay an egg. I noticed her ear lobes look really white(almost with a yellow tint) and I don't remember them looking like that before. Any suggestions??

 

[Transit]

Try touching her. Is she puffing up, pecking, making angry sounds?

 

[LindsaySinai]

I didn't touch her today and it's too late to go out there now but I did notice she was puffing up today. What does that mean? On sunday I realized she had an entire broken egg stuck in the feathers on her chest(I think in her process of spending way too much time in the nesting box trying to lay an egg that she broke one of the other girls eggs) and all the other hens were pecking at it so I soaked her in warm water until it came out and she was cleaned off. She didn't seem to mind being handled and once she got over the shock of being put in water she seemed to like it.

 

[Transit]

If she is puffing up and pecking she might just be trying to broody! I had a hen broody in a nest box before, whenever you made her get off, she got back on!
Tomarrow you should feel under her vent. If she is egg bound you will be able to see the bulge and feel the hardness of the egg.

If there is an egg, run a warm water bath for her and rinse warm water over her vent, this should make her become less tense and somewhat expand her skin. That, making the egg pass more smoothly and easy. You should blow dry her with warm air after that, you want her to be as calm as possible.
Inless she is very wild, she won't mind the bath or blow dry. (As long as it is warm!)

But if everything possible fails the VERY LAST thing you will have to do is crack the egg inside of her, this will hurt the hen make it very uncomfortable, but the egg has to get out one way or another.

I hope that helps.

 

[LindsaySinai]

So....I soaked her in warm water for over 20 mins, then wrapped her in a warm towel, then placed her in a dog kennel lined with hay, covered in towels, with a heat lamp. My friend works at a vet, they don't get many chickens but she knows what to do, checked her abdomen for a lump and felt nothing. She poked her finger up and around and still felt nothing. She has not laid an egg for at least 4 days so I know there's an issue...just not sure what to do from here???? My friend said her boss could do xrays but I would rather not go to that extreme.

 

[Transit]

If she isn't egg bound, isn't laying any eggs, and puffing up, she must be a broody!
Broodies stop laying eggs so they can sit on eggs for several weeks, they stay on the nest and puff up if threatend.
Some broodies may not peck and switch nests frequently if they aren't very determined to hatch any babies.
Put some fertilized eggs under her, if she stays on them, in three weeks you'll have little bities running around!

 

[LindsaySinai]

Sounds fun to try!! I've only hatched with an incubator before. Would I have to separate her from the other chickens for it to work? and how many eggs can you try at a time?

 

[Transit]

It depends.
More wild hens tend to like, enclosed, dark spaces and tame hens tend to like nesting boxes.
Try about ten eggs.