post egg binding recovery expectations

[Suburban Chicken Herder]

Dear All,

Yesterday we realized that Harriet, a ~3 year old Cochin that we recently inherited, was egg bound when she went 2-3 days without an egg (very unusual) and that she was in and out of the nesting box, sitting for 30-90 minutes at a time with no egg (also very unusual). My wife managed to work the egg out after following TwoCrows excellent advice (warm bath, lubrication, coaxing and massaging--tried to get some calcium into her, too, but couldn't get her to eat/drink it). I know she's had at least one other instance of egg binding before we inherited her.

Today she is back in and out of her nesting box with no egg, but there is also no stuck egg that I can feel within a couple of inches of her cloaca. When she does come out of her box she drinks, seems to have reasonable appetite and to huff after our pullets to make sure they know their proper places. now she's resting in the sun nestled into the ground near her two older "sisters"

What should we expect her recovery from the egg binding to look like and what things should we be careful to look for (or not sweat)

Finally, thank you all for this site and your generous advice...we're new to chickens and your collective wisdom have been extremely helpful in setting up our little flock.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sometimes hens go in and out of the boxes. Sometimes they sit in them without producing an egg. Cochins especially are good at it because they go broody so often, could be she's at the start of becoming broody.

Are you sure she was actually egg bound? They generally get pretty sick looking. Could be she just likes feeling maternal. I've actually have never had an egg bound hen. I've seen some take a while to get a big one out, but never a totally stuck one. If she's acting normal I wouldn't worry about it. An egg bound hen will stand hunched up generally with eyes closed.

 

[Suburban Chicken Herder]

Thanks Oldhenlikesdogs...I'm sure she was egg bound before--over the course of a couple of days she became low energy, not eating, very little drinking and pretty clearly uncomfortable (droopy, ruffled feathers, hunched). At that point she was in and out of her nest box at pretty short intervals too. She had an egg that wasn't moving (over the course of most of the second day) and once it was finally cleared she had a great big loose poo (not like what I'm lead to believe broody poo looks like)

Now she goes to the nest box periodically through the day without laying but she's acting much more her usual self otherwise, so I am not really worried, more wondering how long it's likely to be before she fully recovers and whether she's likely to be susceptible to this again in the future.

Thank you for your thoughts--We haven't had a broody hen yet (like I said, we're new to this) but I'll keep it in mind

 

[rebrascora]

Egg binding can be related to diet particularly with heavy birds like cochins. How recently did you acquire her and what do you feed your flock? If her diet is not balanced, she may become repeatedly egg bound or even prolapse. This may well be a problem that you have inherited and will take time to sort out if she is carrying too much fat.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks Oldhenlikesdogs...I'm sure she was egg bound before--over the course of a couple of days she became low energy, not eating, very little drinking and pretty clearly uncomfortable (droopy, ruffled feathers, hunched). At that point she was in and out of her nest box at pretty short intervals too. She had an egg that wasn't moving (over the course of most of the second day) and once it was finally cleared she had a great big loose poo (not like what I'm lead to believe broody poo looks like)

Now she goes to the nest box periodically through the day without laying but she's acting much more her usual self otherwise, so I am not really worried, more wondering how long it's likely to be before she fully recovers and whether she's likely to be susceptible to this again in the future.

Thank you for your thoughts--We haven't had a broody hen yet (like I said, we're new to this) but I'll keep it in mind

Hopefully it was a one time thing. Keep a separate bowl of oyster shells for the calcium needs. Calcium will keep the muscles in good shape so passing eggs can be easier. Generally cochins lay smaller eggs for their size. Was the stuck egg a double yolk?

 

[Suburban Chicken Herder]

Rebrascora: We inherited her a few months ago. She gets Conway layer food but she likes to snitch our pullet's Conway grower food when she can (see below)

Oldhenlikesdogs: It wasn't a double yolk, but it was a bit larger than usual. I had already put oyster shell out when I noticed that the egg shells seemed thinner than they had been. I have recently moved it so that it's right next to the hen's food and the two laying hens do seem to be eating more of it. The egg shells are also back to being stronger.

Happily, she seems to be back to normal now--full of energy and laying on a regular basis again (~4/wk). Now that she's up and around again, she gets plenty of exercise scratching in their run (~12 ft x 60 ft) or chasing after our pullets (which I hope will tail off soon so that we can co-house them).

I think part of the problem may have been that we were giving them too many treats (we've cut way back) and part of the problem may have been that our two older hens share a run with half a dozen pullets and Harriett (the couchin) seems to like the pullet's grower food more than her layer food. We've since put the grower food in a coop with a smaller door that discourages her entry but still leaves it available to the pullets. (keeping the pullets out of the layer food is another issue, though)

Thank you both for your considerations, SCH

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Too many treats can mess up their diet. It is always much easier to overdo goodies than it is to only give a bit. We all love to see our birds come running to see what we have.

Glad she's doing better.

Brittle or weak eggshells can also be caused by stress or from panting in the heat. Oyster shells are a cheap insurance policy against many problems.