Another Update - Belle has not passed her egg. We spent most of today with warm baths, more calcium, and finally one big attempt at manual removal. My husband could get the egg almost to the end, but the prolapse seems to be causing big problems, since he says it seems the path to the outside is quite messed up, and he just can't tell what way he should be directing the egg to get it out. We are frustrated and feel like breaking the egg will only cause her demise sooner. It just doesn't seem like she's going to be able to pass everything if the egg breaks....then we'll just have a prolapsed/infected/eggbound hen on our hands.
I keep remembering how weird I thought it was that she sat broody for SOOO long on an empty nest. Could this problem have started way back then? (She came off her broody stage when I gave her chicks about 5 weeks ago.) I know they supposedly die pretty quickly when eggbound - but she is still alert, and trying to push the darn thing out. And we're on AT LEAST Day 4 since I noticed the prolapse.
The other thing is, my husband says it really feels like something fibrous is attached to a part of the egg, because he can't completely encircle it with his finger, and if he doesn't hold it in place on the outside as he tries to move it down on the inside, that Belle 'sucks it back up' at the end of her push.
Does it sound like this situation is going to require vet care or being put down?
I'm heartbroken. We've tried everything I can find or read to do for eggbound hens, except breaking it, and we're just not making any progress.
