My Duck May Be Egg Bound

[AmandaVirus]

My 7 month old mallard has been egg bound for four days. The first day, she acted like she needed to lay one and went into her nest for a about an hour and a half, came out limping with her tail off to the side, didn't eat much or have much energy. She went back to the nest a couple more times trying to lay it. The next day she wasn't limping and ate some more, but still no egg. Today she is acting completely normally, eating fine, energetic, etc. She was in the bushes for a couple hours today and I was hoping to find an egg, but she wasn't successful. I've gave her warm baths and even oiled her cloaca. I can feel the egg in there, it seems a little larger than usual and it's right at the cloaca. I've even tried helping her as gently as I could push the egg out, but I was afraid of hurting her.

Should I wait it out and let her try on her own, or should I try to help somehow? This happened with her first egg, but I think it was in there for maybe up to six days!

 

[Amiga]

A vet would be best.

Give her extra calcium, keep up with the warm baths, and watch that she doesn't push so hard she prolapses. This is a big deal.

I use calcium gluconate, for her I would add a quarter teaspoon to a couple tablespoons of her favorite treat, then get two teaspoons per cup of water into her drinking water.

 

[AmandaVirus]

Thanks for the suggestions. I figured the vet would be best, but because she isn't acting like she's in pain I wanted to see if I could try something else.

What type of calcium gluconate do you use? When I looked it up I mostly saw tablets, and one that was for cattle... do I get it at a drug store? I have bone meal powder, do you think I could use that? It has 1620 mg calcium per teaspoon and some magnesium and phosphorus.

 

[Amiga]

I use the 23% liquid (for large animals) at the dosages ... Did I give dosages? On my phone and cannot easily check.

Some folks are concerned about products from bovine bones but if you are good with that I would go with the bone meal because you have it.

Or, you could clean up eggshells and powder them and give that to her. Some folks crush whole boiled eggs shell and all.

 

[AmandaVirus]

I gave her the bonemeal and went to the feed store, but they didn't have the calcium gluconate. The women that works there recommended me to see if I can feel it and move it around by putting my finger in there.

I tried but could only feel it through some thin skin/flesh. She is in the flower bed now.

 

[AmandaVirus]

No egg

 

[Amiga]

Calcium, hydrotherapy (time in a lukewarm bath deep enough to float in), TLC, keep watch.

Maybe a little KY jelly right around the cloaca for lubrication.

Prayers for you both.

 

[AmandaVirus]

Misty has still not laid the egg, but still no signs of pain/discomfort or anything being wrong! I was reading a bit more about egg binding and saw that vitamin D deficiency could cause it, she is an indoor duck and this never crossed my mind! I'm going to see if I can buy a lamp made for reptiles for some UVB. Or maybe a supplement.

 

[WildThang]

If you want to check the duck to see if she is egg bound, you might want to put on a rubber glove. Insert a finger into her vent 1 to two inches, see if you feel a hard egg. If you do, try Luke warm baths with massages, make sure to keep her comfortable, sense i belive i read it right she is a indoor duck. I would try keeping her in a bathroom for a little bit, put a small bit of hay or towels in a corner. Off to the side, without her diaper if she has one. To see if that encourages her to think she has a "Nest" If nothing else fails there is always a doctor in case the eggs went back into her bladder. I haven't herd of that happening to a bird, however it has happened to tortuous and other egg layers.

 

[AmandaVirus]

She finally laid it!

After I got an electrolyte/vitamin mix and added it to her water she started to do the tail bob thing, so I gave her extra calcium and filled the tub with warm water and let soak for an hour. I went to drain the tub and take her out and the egg was hanging out of her, it had a weird "tube" coming off of it and was a hard rubbery texture. She is feeling much better now, and I'm so relieved to see it out!