Is my chook egg bound?

[Jamesp989]

Hi everyone.

Sorry I know this probably gets asked all the time. But my lovely bluebell chook hasn't laid in a few days and I've noticed she's still alert and will run away from me as usual but she's not as bright and active as she normally is. Preferring to sit down or just stand still

She's got a tiny bit of discharge but nothing compared to vent gleet no smell either (one of my girls had it before! Wont forget that smell!). Her fluffy butt is fine and doesn't look inflamed or prolapsed.

I'm just wondered if she's egg bound? I've given her a bath and put her in a carrier with some hay, food and water. But if it'd something else I haven't thought of be good to hear your thoughts.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Is she eating/drinking and pooping?
If she is, then she doesn't have an egg stuck low enough to cause a blockage (binding). Since she's not laid in a couple of days and is acting a bit droopy, then she may be having some difficulty passing an egg (usually soft shelled). Possible she's laid internally, but let's see if she will pass an egg.

The soak/bath is fine as long as she's not lethargic or stressed, sometimes a soak can send them over the edge. Sounds like she did fine with it though.
I'd give her extra calcium. You can give 1 Tablet Calcium Citrate with D3 once a day for several days. See that she's eating/drinking well.

 

[Jamesp989]

Hi Thanks! She picked at some mealworms I gave the girls this morning but I'll be able to see while she's in the carrier if she eats and drinks. No poops yet but she did pass a bit of white discharge maybe during her soak.

I'm gonna give her a feel tomorrow if she doesn't lay overnight. See if I can feel the egg

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If she's not pooped, then I would feel inside the vent now to see if there's an egg.

The calcium is important, so I would get that into her asap. Calcium can help with contractions to help expel an egg, you want the quick uptake of Calcium Citrate for this, not something slow to be digested over a long period of time like OS.

 

[Jamesp989]

Just gone to go and check and she has pooped not much and it's very runny and looks a little green?

 

[BugStalker]

Here's what I've learned, until someone more knowledgeable replies.

Just gone to go and check and she has pooped not much and it's very runny and looks a little green?

Green typically means they aren't eating enough, unless they have eaten a lot of green plants. They can have small droppings, but typically it means not eating enough, as well. I tend to think another way of saying that could be slow digestion, which could possibly be caused by a stuck egg, but she also could have stopped laying because her digestion was too slow to provide enough nutrients. I have found cocoanut oil/yogurt in the feed often helps a bird with slow digestion, in case of gut flora issues, but there could be another root cause that it won't help.

Runny means she drank a lot, in most cases, but it can be other things. A stuck egg is one possibility, but so is unbalanced gut flora. Regardless, she should have plenty of drinking water available, in case it's dehydrating her.

I would give calcium, just in case.

Please keep us posted.

 

[Jamesp989]

Here's what I've learned, until someone more knowledgeable replies.



Green typically means they aren't eating enough, unless they have eaten a lot of green plants. They can have small droppings, but typically it means not eating enough, as well. I tend to think another way of saying that could be slow digestion, which could possibly be caused by a stuck egg, but she also could have stopped laying because her digestion was too slow to provide enough nutrients. I have found cocoanut oil/yogurt in the feed often helps a bird with slow digestion, in case of gut flora issues, but there could be another root cause that it won't help.

Runny means she drank a lot, in most cases, but it can be other things. A stuck egg is one possibility, but so is unbalanced gut flora. Regardless, she should have plenty of drinking water available, in case it's dehydrating her.

I would give calcium, just in case.

Please keep us posted.

I will! It's very possible cause I did feed them a lot of salad greens and weeds whilst I was gardening (made sure they were chicken safe!) The others don't have green poo though. From what I can see anyway they have spent all day digging away.

I'll let you know how she is tomorrow. She was still quite bright in the carrier just sitting down to rest for the evening. But didn't appear lethargic or droopy.

 

[Jamesp989]

Sorry forgot to update this. She's back to normal. Hasn't laid an egg since though sadly but she's back to her old self at least.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry forgot to update this. She's back to normal. Hasn't laid an egg since though sadly but she's back to her old self at least.

Thank you for the update.
I'm glad she's doing better.