Trouble with egg bound chickens

[SalChickenOwner]

Hey all,

I keep having trouble with egg bound chickens, I've had 3 die this way, 3rd just now. I give them and help them with everything in the book during these times but nothing works. This time I got the egg out quickly and she was recovering fine, she was just slowly gasping for air and had her eyes open but eventually she started doing the death dance looking thing. I'm stressed out I dont know why this keeps happening. Ive changed their diet, meal worms, soilder worms, fruits and veggies, average chicken store feed, grit, electrolytes, and egg shells. I just needs some tips and info. Thanks

 

[Eggcessive]

How old are they and what breeds? Have you noticed any extra large eggs or any vent pecking or damage? They need to be eating layer feed or at least all flock feed with access to crushed oyster shell. If symptoms of egg bound, give a human calcium citrate with d 300-600 mg orally. Sorry for your losses.

 

[StinkyAcres]

What is the "average chicken store feed"?

I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that eggshells alone do not provide enough calcium and should not be used as a substitution for crushed oyster shells. Maybe someone here can tell me if this is true or not.

 

[SalChickenOwner]

How old are they and what breeds? Have you noticed any extra large eggs or any vent pecking or damage? They need to be eating layer feed or at least all flock feed with access to crushed oyster shell. If symptoms of egg bound, give a human calcium citrate with d 300-600 mg orally. Sorry for your losses.

They are around 1, i have noticed their eggs are a bit bigger than I'd like for their size nothing too insane though. I'm not sure of their breed they are really small but I'll include a picture. As for the oyster shell I'll buy them a pack if the Amazon version is fine. Ive heard tums is good for calcium is that true? Thank you for your words

 

[SalChickenOwner]

How old are they and what breeds? Have you noticed any extra large eggs or any vent pecking or damage? They need to be eating layer feed or at least all flock feed with access to crushed oyster shell. If symptoms of egg bound, give a human calcium citrate with d 300-600 mg orally. Sorry for your losses.

 

[SalChickenOwner]

What is the "average chicken store feed"?

I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that eggshells alone do not provide enough calcium and should not be used as a substitution for crushed oyster shells. Maybe someone here can tell me if this is true or not.

I'm not sure of the exact name but I'll include a picture. I will be giving them oyster shells now thank you

 

[Eggcessive]

She looks like an OEG bantam. You could use just 1/2 a Tums or 1/2 calcium tablet. If you haven’t got either, get the calcium with vitamin D.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-C...MI8Mzpg4bejAMVAjcIBR0UABR6EAQYASABEgIP-vD_BwE

 

[SalChickenOwner]

She looks like an OEG bantam. You could use just 1/2 a .tums or calcium tablet.

So even with oyster shells i should still provide tums?

 

[Susan Skylark]

How are you diagnosing that they are egg bound and it is the cause of death? How many hens do you have or rather what percentage of your hens have suffered this issue in the past year? Have you ever watched the old medical drama House? Everything was lupus until it wasn’t, it is the same with chickens: it is always either egg bound or coccidiosis, except it very often isn’t, and sadly apple cider vinegar in the water isn’t a cure all. You need to know what the problem is before you can solve it. If you have a 30% annual egg bound hen problem that seems alarmingly high, could be a freak genetic thing if all birds are related, maybe a weird dietary phenomenon rarely encountered (unlikely), but the incidence rate, unless you have 200 hens seems way too high, could you have had one bird that had it, possibly two but I’m guessing you had other issues in play. Low blood calcium is the primary cause (exacerbated by larger eggs certainly), it doesn’t necessarily mean the dietary calcium is low but it’s complicated by dietary, absorption, metabolism and life stage issues. Calcium is needed for muscle contraction, thus no contractions to push out eggs. In cattle it is called milk fever and is also associated with uterine prolapse (and vent prolapse in birds!). Cows are given iv calcium to counteract the immediate issues but heart attack is a possible side effect as too much calcium in the blood also causes it’s own issues. They actually decrease the amount of calcium in a near term cow’s diet which seems counter intuitive as she needs extra calcium for birth and milk production, but what this does is it makes sure the cow’s body is geared up to both absorb dietary calcium efficiently and also release calcium effectively from the bones when the sudden demand of labor and lactation need a huge boost. Too much dietary calcium makes the body inefficient (out of practice) for such demands and the sudden drop in blood calcium can stop labor, lead to uterine prolapse, and eventually death if untreated. If this is truly an egg bound epidemic, maybe your dietary calcium levels are too high, you’ll need to take into account all feed and treats etc and do some math, aim for whatever the recommended levels are for chickens (3.5% in quail). Also start considering other options or alternative diagnoses, is this really an issue or something else entirely you’ve simply labeled as such. Animals suffering from hypocalcemia are prone to heart issues immediately afterwards, as the heart is also a muscle, so heart attack is certainly possible in this case, but hard to say on other two without knowing details. Sorry this is so long winded and complicated but getting a diagnosis and formulating a treatment plan is a lot more complicated than typing symptoms into google, hope you figure things out!

 

[Debbie292d]

So even with oyster shells i should still provide tums?

For an eggbound hen, yes. If you don't have one having issues, just put out a container of oyster shell for them. If they need it, they'll eat it.