Issues with chickens being eggbound

[heldaa]

We had 6 chickens now only 5
I just today had a chicken die on us one of our Buffs, we believe she was egg bound, my husband checked for broken pieces but there were none, yolk color was leaking form her, however I did research and was going to put her in a warm bath and watch her, it litterally took 5min to look up info- we went to get her and she hand died. 3 mos ago we believe we our first chicken, a Rhode Island died due to same thing, we give them oyster shells, is there something else I should worry about.

She was not even lethargic or sick that long with the recent one and the Rhode Island the same.

 

[TwoCrows]

First off, welcome to BYC!

Some chickens are just prone to becoming egg bound. They say that chicks born during April or later has less a chance of becoming egg bound, as they don't really get to laying till late in the year and being so young, they haven't developed enough to handle heavy egg laying so early in life.

Sometimes it is older chickens that become egg bound and there can be many factors causing it. Their over all health, the quality of food they are receiving and how much exercise they are getting each day.

If your girls are on a good layer feed, you are offering free choice oyster shell, they get plenty of sunshine and exercise each day, you are doing all you can do. Keep an eye on all your girls and if you suspect one of them may be egg bound, you can put on a surgical glove with some KY jelly on it and go feeling for the egg in the vent. Many times you can push the egg in the right direction, (egg bound is usually the egg turned sideways, but not always) and righting the egg will get it to move. If it is higher up in the canal, many times you can actually work the egg from the outside of the chicken into the vent area. Sometimes just massaging KY into the vent area will get the egg to move.

Also, make sure to give them lots of healthy veggies and fruits. The layer pellets are great for them, but if they are not free ranging, make sure to give them other healthy things to eat to keep them as healthy as possible. My girls are now coming in to laying age, and I do think about them becoming egg bound, but if you are doing all you can, then you have to leave it up to your hens.

Good luck with your chickens, and