Please help--Lost 2 chickens in the last week--Eggbound?

[tonymary7]

We started out with 6 chickens- born 4/25/12. 2 each of Americaunas, RIR and Black Australorps. They have all been healthy to this point-with one exception- only 2-6 eggs per week. I don't believe the Americaunas are laying at all because we've only seen one egg in the coop and it was half gone and blue. Monday when I got home from work, one of the Australorps was laying underneath the waterer in the run, dead and stiff. Her vent looked like it had exploded. We thought it was because she was eggbound and the other hens pecked at her backside. Tonight, we found one of the RIR hens dead in the coop with an egg stuck in her vent. Not sure what or why this is happening.....We feed them a good organic feed and fresh water. We clean the coop every Saturday and put fresh hay in their laying boxes and pine chips on the coop floor. If anyone has seen this happen to their flock, please let me know if there is anything we can do??? We don't want to lose any more of our ladies..

 

[kreagerm]

So sorry for your loss

, I wish I had some advice for you.

 

[tonymary7]

Thank you. I told myself not to get attached to them, but you know how that goes.......they all have the cutest original personalities. Our only RIR is now being very aggressive towards the other hens. she continue picking at them to the point that she slept in her coop alone and they huddled together outside in their run.........Starting to wonder if she's the problem.

 

[Smoochie]

She sounds really bossy. She could be stressed by the death of her coop mates but I would still give her a timeout in a crate with water, food and bedding for a few nights as she can't be kicking the others out of the coop.

 

[artravler]

Hello- Sorry about your losses. Sometimes chickens get eggbound. It could be any number of reasons. Usually it's due to pullets laying abnormally large eggs. An egg gets stuck in the pullets plumbing,causing later eggs to accumulate behind the stuck egg. You can insert a lubricated finger in the vent,while pushing on the hen's abdomen with the other hand. If the egg can't pass through the vent, you may have to break the egg in the hen and carefully remove the shell. If any tissue, protrudes from the vent, apply some Preperation H, and isolate the bird.