Trouble passing an egg - Eggbound

[Chickroo]

Has anyone had experience with a hen having trouble not passing an egg easily? What causes this, diet? What have you done to help the hen and avoid this from happening again?

 

[azygous]

I had an Ameraucana (EE) last year who became egg-bound. She normally lays huge eggs, and this time, as it turned out, two eggs were backed up together in the chute.

I noticed she had been on the nest earlier without results, and she was moping around with her tail down - a sign of being in pain. So I filled a tub with warm water and held her in it for around thirty minutes. I dried her off, smeared some vaseline around her vent, and placed her in a pet crate in a quiet place. Within an hour she had laid a regular egg, and closely following that, passed a shell-less egg.

She was happy and normal after that, and it hasn't happened again.

 

[Chickroo]

Wow....thanks for the info..... Putting my girls in a bath of warm water seems challenging! But you have to do what you have to do. Any idea why this phenom occurs?

 

[azygous]

Once they get over the initial surprise of being dunked into water, they usually quickly decide they enjoy the warm spa treatment.

I have no idea why they get egg bound other than just having an egg decide to clog the chute for some reason, probably a genetic predisposition for it. Some get it once and never have the problem recur, while some go on to get infected egg parts and end up never laying again or worse.

 

[Chickroo]

Thanks so much....
new to raising chickens and have heard of this happening... Just want to be prepared.