Geriatric Hen With Stuck Egg

[Huginn]

This is not a typical 'egg bound" hen. She had one egg in 2019 and one egg in 2020 and she has another one in the pipe right now, but she is not passing it. There are no eggs in the pipeline behind it and she does not seem to be in any real discomfort, but there is something obviously wrong as she has lost weight and her stools are not healthy.

The egg is sitting about 3/4 or my pinkie finger up inside her. I have tried squirting some oil up in there and a 20 minute warm bath to no avail. I am hesitant to try sucking the egg out and then breaking the shell down to extract it for a number of reasons, the main one being that it is so far up in the channel that I don';t think I can do it properly without leaving a huge amount of everything where it can provide a host for bacteria, making things worse.

 

[cherrynberry]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous

Do you provide oyster shells always?
How old is your hen?
Breed?

 

[Pollito Pelon]

Had a similar problem I decided to just give the hen time she lays very small eggs but she has then started laying bloody huge eggs 4 times the regular size. Not sure what caused the clog but time has help and patience. She seems to be doing well now.

 

[Aapomp831]

I would give her some crushed calcium tablets immediately; human kind will work. Break it up and offer it to her from your palm or put it in her mouth and hold the beak closed until she swallows. Then place her in a warm epsom salt bath and see if that helps loosen things up so she can pass the egg.

 

[azygous]

How old is your hen? I had a Wyandotte (SLW) until very recently that insisted on laying an egg every spring until she was twelve when she finally reached her expiration date.

Last year, she managed to lay a perfect egg, but all the others were collapsed before or just after they came out. The result of the collapsed eggs were vent prolapse and infection. I absolutely came to dread each spring when this would happen.

@Aapomp831 has given the advice I will give also. The calcium supplement will assist her with her contractions so she can hopefully expel the egg. It's probably the most important thing you can do to help her. I use this type of calcium as it works the fastest. One tablet per day. I just shove the whole tablet right into the beak. Chickens swallow it just fine.

Trying to collapse the egg is very risky. If yolk happens to linger inside her, it will start growing bacteria. You would need to give her an antibiotic if that happens.

 

[Huginn]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous

Do you provide oyster shells always?
How old is your hen?
Breed?

She always has ample supply of oyster shells in several locations.

She is 6 years old

Buff Orprington

 

[Huginn]

I have given her a calcium supplement by mouth that the vet gave me for another chicken awhile back. I also put calcium supplement in their water regularly as the bantam Cochins tend to have thin shells. They all get layer feed too so there SHOULD be ample calcium.

Yesterday afternoon I gave her a warm bath, though did not include Epsom salts.

She is very chipper today and is up and about like a spring chicken... but no egg.