UPDATE: Sunny died this morning. She was still alive when I woke up. She was laying down. I checked again for a possible stuck egg. Nothing. She definitely felt warmer than yesterday. I went inside to mix up some electrolytes. I came back outside and my son who had been watching her said that she had begun to freak out and flop around. By the time I got to her, she was taking her last breaths. Then, my son remembered that a few days ago, my 5 year old had gotten the fire ant poison and put some near the hens coop (he must have seen me doing it a few weeks ago, and while I was careful to not let any get where they could reach it, he wasn't and my son said that he saw Sunny eat some before he was able to clean it up.) I don't know why he didn't tell me when it happened, although I don't know if there would have been anything I could have done about it. I feel awful. This is all my fault because I didn't put the ant poison back in the shed. Thanks for your help. I have a 3 year old Brahma hen who is exhibiting many signs of being egg bound. She keeps straining like she's trying to push out an egg, but only manages to get out a little watery diarrhea. She will not eat, drink, or walk around. I gave her an exam, but couldn't feel an egg. I gave her a warm bath, but nothing. I live in a small town, with no feed stores or anything like that open on a Sunday. I have feline vitamins and human vitamin pills here. No calcium, but I might have some D. I'll have to check. I have some electrolyte powder that I purchased at the feed store when we had a sick cat. I believe it was for all animals. If it's OK for chickens, should I give her some? I'm unsure as how to make her drink it without drowning her though. Should I give another bath? I'm at a loss as what else to do.
I would use a rubber glove, and feel inside her vent with one finger, 1-2 inches inside, to feel for a stuck egg. Do you have any Tums or egg shells you can grind up and feed to her, perhaps in some plain yogurt? Besides calcium deficiency, chickens can be egg bound due to dehydration, or too large of an egg to pass. Has she been laying eggs regularly? The cat electrolytes would be fine to use. How is she doing now?
