Seems to be egg bound but no egg

[Shellie1234]

I have an 18 month ISA brown , 2 days ago I noticed she was in her box for a long time, She free range during day, she seemed to be trying to lay , later she had passed a very small egg. Doing same thing next day, I suspected egg bind, did an internall check but no egg seems to be stuck, I gave her a squirt of olive oil into her vent and about 10 mins later she did a HUGE poo, it was solid and a little dry. Its now coming up to 3rd day and she still seems to not be able to lay athough trying to. Ive done the warn bath, given her calcium. She is quite well, eating and drinking and pooing. But is trying to pass , her vent seems to be continually in the egg expelling look. Any ideas??

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Tiny eggs may be produced in young hens starting to lay fairly often, but in older hens can be a result of a small piece of tissue breaking loose in the oviduct, and causing an egg to be manufactured early. Her next egg could be larger, or she may lay another tiny egg. You can check her again for a stuck egg at intervals, but I would just leave her alone if you are not feeling something. Vents may contract even when they are not getting ready to lay an egg. I would give her some chick vitamins since vitamin D is also needed for egg laying. Here is an interesting article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

 

[Shellie1234]

Thanks Eggcessive for your reply. Still doing the same behaviour and now on day 4. Your advice has made me a lot happier as I was at a loss of what to do. I didn't mention in my post that this started the day after a week of high temps, Sunday being the hottest at 43 degrees Celsius, If your in the US that's around 110F I think, I am in sub tropical Qld Australia, could this be a factor in the problem.

She is still eating , pooping and generally very well so I guess its a waiting game to see what happens.

 

[Eggcessive]

Wow, that is warm! I don't know if the hot weather could be a problem. Chickens can get very dehydrated in those temperatures. I place multiple tubs of water in shaded spots, and change them twice a day. My chickens range from 3-6 years, and I just got a tiny egg from one this week. Many of them have a tiny yolk while some don't. I hope that she gets back on track soon.

 

[Shellie1234]

I had a look inside that tiny egg she had laid, it has a very messy yolk with a normal white but there appeared to be what looks like a pea sized white fleshy looking thing in the middle , your idea on what may have happened could be spot on. I keep a lot of water bowls around the yard and we are in the rainforest so they always seek out the coolest spots when it hot.