Hen is egg bound. Feedback would be appreciated.

[Sundevill11]

I know there have been numerous posts on hens being egg bound. In this specific case our 2 year old Rhode Island Red hen has been trying to pass an egg since this morning. We've let her soak in Epsom salt for 30 minutes (twice), given her Nutradrench (calcium) and have massaged the vent with lubricating jelly. She has yet to pass it. She is walking around normally and eating. Of course I'm concerned about her inability to poop and was wondering what the heck I do next?

 

[TwentyOneChickens]

I know there have been numerous posts on hens being egg bound. In this specific case our 2 year old Rhode Island Red hen has been trying to pass an egg since this morning. We've let her soak in Epsom salt for 30 minutes (twice), given her Nutradrench (calcium) and have massaged the vent with lubricating jelly. She has yet to pass it. She is walking around normally and eating. Of course I'm concerned about her inability to poop and was wondering what the heck I do next?

Are you sure that she is eggbound? Put a glove on and put lubricating jelly on it, stick your finger a few inches up her vent, and if you don't feel it, it might be another problem.

 

[Sundevill11]

100% sure its an egg. I saw it. How long should I wait before I consider extracting the yolk from the shell with a syringe?

 

[TwentyOneChickens]

100% sure its an egg. I saw it. How long should I wait before I consider extracting the yolk from the shell with a syringe?

How did you see it? If it's close to her vent, you could attempt helping her out.

 

[Sundevill11]

 

[Sundevill11]

I've been trying since noon. Its 5:15pm.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you given any calcium yet? A human calcium tablet, Tums, or finely crushed/ground egg shell fed in some cooked egg or yogurt would be good. I would place her on a moist towel on a heating pad set to low, instead of repeated baths. Lubricate the vent with vegetable oil and try to slip a finger around the egg to get it out. The egg must be huge. Is there any vet or animal hospital that you could go to? Avian vets have ways of extracting stuck eggs by piecing the egg, and vacuuming out contents. I have not had this experience before, but something may need to be done before long to save her. There can be risks involved including infection and damaging tissue. I really hope that you can save her.

 

[Sundevill11]

We gave her multiple doses of Nutradrench for a calcium boost and tried all means of assisting her. Late yesterday we made the decision to use a syringe and extract the yolk. Once the yolk was out, the shell broke apart and it was carefully removed piece by piece. We did not notice any significant blood which meant to me that her insides were not heavily damaged from the shell. After all of the shell was removed we gave her a warm water/saline enima to flush out the remaining contents. She spent the night in quarantine (large crate in the garage). She is now pooping again and moving a little slower, obviously from the trauma of us trying to assist her in passing the egg. She's eating and drinking but not scarfing down food as she normally would.

Once a hen has been egg bound is she now susceptible or prone to future occurrences?

 

[TwentyOneChickens]

We gave her multiple doses of Nutradrench for a calcium boost and tried all means of assisting her. Late yesterday we made the decision to use a syringe and extract the yolk. Once the yolk was out, the shell broke apart and it was carefully removed piece by piece. We did not notice any significant blood which meant to me that her insides were not heavily damaged from the shell. After all of the shell was removed we gave her a warm water/saline enima to flush out the remaining contents. She spent the night in quarantine (large crate in the garage). She is now pooping again and moving a little slower, obviously from the trauma of us trying to assist her in passing the egg. She's eating and drinking but not scarfing down food as she normally would.

Once a hen has been egg bound is she now susceptible or prone to future occurrences?

I'm glad she made it

Unfortunately, hens can be eggbound whether they have been eggbound before or not :/

I just suggest giving her a human calcium tablet once a day for a few days after this just to make sure her shells are back to normal.

 

[Eggcessive]

So glad that you got the stuck egg out. We do ‘t like to recommend that, but I would have done the same, since she was eggbound so long. I don’t know how much calcium carbonate NutriDrench contains, but if it happens again or her shells are not hard, I would use human calcium, Tums, or a crushed hard egg shell ground finely in some cooked egg. Egg binding or laying overly large eggs can damage the vent, being overweight and low calcium levels can also add to it. Here are some good articles about egg binding:
https://www.backyardchickencoops.co...re/egg-binding-what-is-it-and-how-to-treat-it

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...tem/egg-bound-or-impacted-oviducts-in-poultry