Hen eggbound?

[Noobchick]

(Questions below pictures.) Our best layer, Scarlett, a RIR, has been laying one egg a day since she started laying, taking only two days off. That changed two days ago, when she laid a fart egg.

Fart egg 2 days ago
http://db.tt/EizDjd6c

Inside fart egg
http://db.tt/77TpqCJA

I chaulked it up to just one of those things. But today, she tried to lay an egg and didn't. I checked on the chickens this AM and she was in the nesting box, so I know she was trying. When I checked on them this afternoon though, no egg from her. I thought maybe they kicked it out of the nesting box (as they sometimes do) so checked the whole floor of the coop but there was no egg.

She seems ok so far: eating, drinking and pecking around. I can definitely feel an egg in her when i checked her and I also saw some yellowish stuff in and around her vent. It didn't look like egg yolk to me but I don't know what else it could be.

Vent just now
http://db.tt/4wWCCTOX

My questions are this:
1. Should I be concerned about her??
2. If so, how should I proceed?
3. Any ideas on what the yellowish stuff could be?

This is the first issue with laying I've had so I'm on new ground and would really appreciate people's help.

 

[nurse_turtle]

I haven't dealt with egg bound chickens before, but I had 2 egg bound button quail today. I placed my girls in a bath of warm water high enough to cover their vents and left them there for 15-20 minutes. When I returned, there was lots of poop but no eggs. So, one at a time, I picked them up, flipped them over and began to manually press so gently around their vent area where I could feel the egg. I pushed gently each time she took a breath in. Eventually both eggs were delivered and I had to gently push one girl's oviduct/rectum back in. So far, they seem okay but one girl is definitely looking a bit better than the other.

Soak your girl in a warm bath and gently massage her tummy around where you feel the egg. After a few minutes in the water, you could try to press around the egg to try to help her dispel it.

 

[Noobchick]

So I am right in thinking she's eggbound even though she's not acting sick? She's walking normally too. So strange, because I figured she'd be actig weird if she was egg bound.

 

[Noobchick]

I just tried giving her a steam bath, as outlined in the Keeping Chickens for Dummies book by Gail Demerov. (I think thats how you spell her name.) I'm tryig this first because the thought of having to keep her in a bath and then dry her off sounds stressful for her and me.

I put her in a very big plastic tub, put a pan of steamy water underneath her (not hot enough to burn her) and covered the top partially with a towel to keep the steam in. Directions in the book say to keep her like this and rotate the water so that it stays steamy.

After about 15 minutes, she started panting and kept panting even after I took the towel completely off and fanned the barhroom door a lot. Was obviously too hot.

She's better now but I guess she's bath-bound afterall.

I really wish someone was on who could tell me for sure if it sounds like shes eggbound. I don't know of any other reason why she would have been in the nesting box but didn't lay. If she had been going broody, I assume she would've stayed in the nesting box??

 

[Noobchick]

I've put her in again and brought her out once she gets hot. She's obviously working really hard to pass an egg. I don't know what else I can do for her. My poor baby.

 

[Noobchick]

No egg last night or early this AM. She's in the nesting box now. Hoping for an egg when I check on her next.

Ive done more research and it sounds like she wouldn't be able to walk if she was eggbound? Is that correct? She can walk fine. Doesn't look like she's penguin walking either. But if she's trying to lay but isn't laying, what else can it be??

 

[wastintime202]

I had one doing almost the same thing..I gave her some oatmeal and the next day she layed her egg..It was huge.