Possible egg bound hen help!

[Skyoaks413]

I have a two year old hen who lays very large eggs even though she is my tiniest hen...I noticed some yolk in the coop yesterday and she is clearly not feeling well today. I didn't see any shell and she's straining to poop but only tiny bits of yellowish liquid are coming out she seems blocked. She has had soft shelled and broken eggs in the past but always seems to pass the whole thing. What do I do?

 

[Little Fuzzy]

Get her into the sink in a warm bath, use a towel under her so she doesn't slip around, just massage around there till she relaxes and see if she will pass the egg. But if the egg is already broken inside her, I'm not sure, more experienced chicken people will surely respond to you.

 

[jpalmatier83]

I'm not the experienced chicken person Little Fuzzy referred to, but my understanding is that breaking a shell inside an eggbound chicken is a last resort. I understand you're there by default, but what I've read says that the shell pieces will have to be removed manually and very carefully to avoid further injuring the chicken.

Hopefully the bump back up on the thread gets you some more expert advice.

 

[Ladychick13]

My first egg ever caused a prolapse in my hen and she almost was pecked to death. My avian vet gave her a shot and a 50/50 chance of survival.. She lived but never had normal eggs and eventually liquid eggs that will cause egg peritonitis and organ damage. Being my favorite hen I had a hormone implant put in and she doesn't lay eggs. This is a serious condition. It can be costly and avian vets are hard to find. Wish I had better news.Hope this helps. It can begin with an egg bound condition.

 

[Skyoaks413]

Thank you everyone for your replies...I found this in the nesting box with her just now, gross pic alert*
Is that the shell of the egg? She seems better now, put electrolytes and probiotics in the water to help out. Hope that was it!

 

[jpalmatier83]

Fingers crossed!

 

[Skyoaks413]

My first egg ever caused a prolapse in my hen and she almost was pecked to death. My avian vet gave her a shot and a 50/50 chance of survival.. She lived but never had normal eggs and eventually liquid eggs that will cause egg peritonitis and organ damage.  Being my favorite hen I had a hormone implant put in and she doesn't lay eggs.  This is a serious condition. It can be costly and avian vets are hard to find. Wish I had better news.Hope this helps. It can begin with an egg bound condition.

That's terrible! My hen has had this happen a few times before, she lays huge eggs and she is very little I think that's part of the issue. They seem to break inside and luckily so far she's eventually passed each broken egg...I'm hoping it doesn't progress as time goes on

 

[Skyoaks413]

Fingers crossed!

Thank you!

 

[Skyoaks413]

I'm not the experienced chicken person Little Fuzzy referred to, but my understanding is that breaking a shell inside an eggbound chicken is a last resort. I understand you're there by default, but what I've read says that the shell pieces will have to be removed manually and very carefully to avoid further injuring the chicken.

Hopefully the bump back up on the thread gets you some more expert advice.

Thank you, yes I've heard the same thing about the dangers of the egg breaking inside...it's happened to my hen a few times now and she always seems to get the broken shell out in one piece. Hoping it never gets to the point to cause complications! Fishing egg shells out by hand is not what I'd prefer to be doing lol!

 

[Skyoaks413]

Get her into the sink in a warm bath, use a towel under her so she doesn't slip around, just massage around there till she relaxes and see if she will pass the egg. But if the egg is already broken inside her, I'm not sure, more experienced chicken people will surely respond to you. 

Thank you! She passed the broken egg on her own thank goodness but I'll get her in the sink if there's a next time for sure!