Older Bantam is Egg Bound, how serious is this??

[Fraunie]

I've searched through and read in the forum about how to relieve her pain, so I am going to try either a warm bath or lube or heating pad (or all 3!)

When I opened the coop today, they have free range during the day in a large corral, Fleck was on the ground with wings slightly open and she was shaking a lot. She came out slow, hardly walking much, just about 10 ft outside of coop and is obviously bearing down, still shaking and in obvious pain (I inherited her only a month ago and I my heart is breaking!) I picked her up and you can see her butt is swollen a little and I can see a grayish egg inside. She doesn't lay, I think she is about 5 years old? The prevous owner of the home couldn't remember, this is just whatn I have figured out by her colroing and type, mostly white spangled OEGB, has been the best guess.

What else can I do? Does this resolve on its own, how diligent do I need to be? Is it/can it be fatal??

 

[Hannah159]

Egg binding occurs when a too large egg gets stuck just inside the vent. It can be extremely serious condition , especially if the bird goes into shock. If the hen does not remain bright and alert, take measures to keep her warm. The first thing to do is to make sure she is truly egg bound. If she is straining to release an egg, and you see the end of the egg near the opening, then you know for certain. If you can't see the egg, you can verify egg binding by lubricating a finger with K-Y Jelly or other water-based lubricant and gently inserting it into the vent until you feel the hard egg shell with the end of you finger. Don't attempt to stretch the vent, as you may tear her delicate tissue. Sometimes lubricating the vent area, and as much of the egg as you can not reach with a finger,will aid its passage. Gently squirting in warm water (not hot) saline solution wound wash, or soapy water, may help get things moving. Warming up the vent area may relax the muscles enough to release the egg. If the hen is tame enough not to be frightened by being handled, moisten an old towel, warm in the microwave ( make sure its not hot), and apply it to her bottom. Reheat the towel as needed to keep it warm, or better yet use two towels and warm them alternately, to maintain moist heat. An alternative warming method is to put warm, not hot, water in a bucket or basin and stand the hen in it with the water reaching just above the vent. After warming the hen's bottom for 15 minutes, give her a rest, and if she doesn't release the egg, try again. If warmth therapy still doesn't work, maybe you can dislodge the egg. Again lubricate the vent and egg with K-Y Jelly and/or warm soapy water. Gently insert your lubricated finger to help maneuver the egg, while with your other push gently against the bottom and try to work the egg out. Be careful here- you dont want to break the egg, which can cause internal injury. If all fails, you may need to collapse the shell to remove the egg. This maneuver is tricky and can injure the hen unless you work slowly and carefully. First suck out the contents of the egg by piercing the shell with a needle at the end of a syringe. Use a large-bore needle, 18 or lower guage, or emptying the shell will take forever. Once the shell is empty is empty of its yolk and white, try to collapse it while keeping the shards together. This part is the trickiest, as you must take great care to avoid injuring the hen with sharp shard. For this reason, dont squeeze the hen's abdomen to crush the shell, or at least on or two fingers on the inside and the other hand gently pressing from the outside. Using lots of warm saline or soapy water as a lubricant, carefully remove as much of the shell as possible, then rinse away the remaining pieces with squirts of saline gentle enough not to wash the shell bits deeper. Dont worry about getting the last little bit; once the egg is out, the hen is better off left to rest, and any bits left behind should come out on its own. If tissues protrudes through the vent, treat the hen as you would for prolapse.


Hope this helps!
Hannah

 

[Fraunie]

Whew, thank you Hannah,

She passed it, with little help from me. I went out to check on her again and she was at least eating. By the time I gathered the necessary items she appeared normal and was actively avoiding me. I hunted around and found a shell/membrane that looked like an old thick latex glove...egg shaped. No yolk, just some clear liquid around it. It looked sort of peely and scaly on the outside. Her butt looks normal now and she seems fine.

Thanks for your speedy response!

Fraun