How do I prevent hens from becoming "egg-bound"

So sorry! You can't totally prevent it from happening, but you can provide a balanced diet and a good environment for your birds. A mineral imbalance/ deficiency can promote this problem, and then the hen's genetics plays a role. Mary

 

You may also be able to intervene when a hen first shows signs of having difficulty laying an egg. I've had good success using a heating pad slipped under the nesting material when a hen shows signs of taking much too long to lay her egg. You'll recognize the signs - a couple hours on the nest without producing an egg, restless and fussy, clucking non-stop.

I have a six-year old Black Cochin who has had trouble starting to lay at the beginning of the season, and now at the end of the season, she seems to be having the same trouble. She has spent time on the nest for the past three days not producing any egg. So I slipped a heating pad under her this morning and we'll see if it helps as it has in the past.

Other people use warm water soaks to help relax a hen who seems to be stuck laying. But I've found it's messy and time consuming to stand there holding the hen while she soaks. The heating pad allows me to stick her on it and then go do other stuff.