Possibly egg bound chicken?

[Jujubeans2008]

We have a very lethargic chicken that has not laid an egg today. She's hardly walking and looks like she is trying to pass an egg. She is not doing "the penguin walk" but does seem to be straining to push something out. We are going to give her a warm soaking and put her in a dark room over night, what else can we do?

Update: My husband just stuck his finger in her vent. A good amount of liquidy white diarrhea came out, but he felt no egg. Thoughts?

Update #2: She passed a soft shell egg this morning, and is acting normal again.

 

[Eggcessive]

Has she been laying eggs recently? Sometimes it is hard to tell what is wrong. Give her some water with vitamins and electrolytes, such as SaveAChick. Offer some chopped egg, tuna, or liver in addition to her feed. Feel of her crop to see if it is empty, full, hard or soft. Is she thinner than usual in her breast area, or is there any swelling in her lower belly? There can be reproductive issues, such as egg yolk peritonitis, internal laying, cancer of the oviduct, and others that affect chickens. Keep her inside in a crate or box to watch her food and water intake, and to see her droppings and any eggs she may lay. Keep us posted on how she is doing.

 

[Jujubeans2008]

Thank you!
She passed a soft-shelled egg this morning, and she's acting like her normal self now. She has been laying for about a year.
This was our first egg-bound chicken, but my husband and I googled and found a thread on backyard chickens about egg bound chickens. We put our hen in a warm bath with epson salt, and lavender. She soaked for 45 minutes, and enjoyed it immensely. Then while I was running to the store to get some calcium (30 minutes away), my husband was home holding her and massaging her abdomen in a dark room. I came home with calcium, rubber gloves, vaseline, and preperation h. We couldn't feel her egg in her vent, it was still in her abdomen. We put preperation h in her vent, and syringed her some calcium then left her in our bathroom on a towel over night, in the dark. When we woke up, she had passed the egg.

 

[Eggcessive]

That is good news indeed. She may need a little more calcium in her diet, besides her layer feed, to help form strong shells. My hens eagerly take crushed egg shells better than crushed oyster shell that I leave out for them free choice. Some chickens can also have a problem absorbing calcium, or a defective shell gland. I have a couple who always lay thin shelled eggs, and hens that do that can often develop infections of the reproductive tract, such as egg yolk peritonitis later on.

 

[Jujubeans2008]

I think it has something to do with her diet. We are integrating our chicks and our ducklings in with our fully grown hen. They are on the transition feed (I'm not sure what it is called), not the regular layers feed. We have oyster shell out there, but I'm not sure if she is eating it or not. So, we will try and leave some crushed egg shell out there for them too. If that doesn't work, we will supplement her everyday until we are back on the layers feed. Thank you!