Possible Egg bound hen

[CDS85]

im not 100% sure my hen was or is egg bound. My husband found her in the courier of the coop laying an egg or he saw one under her. He went to pet her and her head fell forward and she didn't move after that. He came and got me. When I got there she was barely breathing. Very lethargic. There was in fact an egg under her but it didn't have a shell. She was very wet on the underside of her. After moving her completely we found the soft flexible shell behind her. When I saw her bottom it looked like yoke but I wasn't sure. It wasn't a lot. We took her to the house and got her into warm water until it started getting cold. I refreshed the water and added Epsom salt. I'm not sure what else to do. What can I do. She does seem to be breathing better but still she is very lethargic. We just lost one to the dog I would rather not loose another so soon after. Help please! Any suggestions would be appreciated. What can I feed her and after this second bath should I keep her in warm water for most of the day or then take her out? In at a loss as to what to do.

 

[Bigwig]

Make sure she has calcium available. That is the only thing I can think of at the moment that might help. Hopefully someone else will be more helpful.

Good Luck!!

 

[TwoCrows]

Is she low in the pecking order? Sometimes the higher in the flock birds will bully the lower ranking birds away from water and food. This not only causes weakness, starvation and dehydration, but will cause them to lay shell less eggs. If yolk has a hard time moving out of the bird, it can cause them to become sick.

If you think this is the case, keep her inside for a day or two and get food and water into her. But do get her back into the flock as soon as possible. Scrambled eggs, warm grits or oatmeal are all favorites. Rice and beans, even cooked meats.

Then you will need to add more food and water stations so the lower ranking birds can get sustenance. They can't guard ALL the feeders. And make sure you have enough room in your coop and run....5 square foot per bird in the coop and 10 square foot per bird in the run. Birds can be brutal with each other and it is up to you to give them enough room, food and water and places to escape the others.

If this continues to be a problem even after you have remedied the situation, she could have some sort of glitch in her laying system to which you may need to add some human calcium to her diet. I have some old hens that lay shell less eggs. I use Caltrate, 1/2 a pill a day, the pieces put in raisins so they don't even know they are being medicated. When you start to see too much calcium bumps on the egg shells, you can cut back or eliminate the pills all together.

Good luck and I hope she is going to be ok!!

 

[CDS85]

Thank you guys for your suggestions. I will keep all of this in mind for the next time something like this happens. Our girl died earlier. I wasn't able to post again till now. By time we got to her she just barely fluttered her eyes when I put her in the warm water but then seemed better just never woke back up.

 

[TwoCrows]

I am so sorry you lost another bird.

It is very important this time of year when chickens are all cooped up together that they all have access to water and food. Even if you have to put food and water up off the floor for the lower ranking birds...as on some shelf or something. When birds are cramped in and bored, they pick on each other and the lower ranking birds suffer if they can't eat or drink.

Also, water freezes so easily in the winter. Chickens drink a LOT of water. A full day without water because it is frozen and they can have all kinds of health issues. Use heated water bases or bring out warm water every few hours so they always have water to drink.