What did I just see? Egg bound?

[GonzoTheGreat]

I let the chickens out today to roam the yard and they all came out like normal and headed to pick over the landscaping beds. After a few minutes I noticed one of the Leghorns had stopped roaming and was standing still. She was closing her eyes and would look like she was sleeping. I walked over to see how she would react and she did walk away (like they usually do) but just walked under the cover of some large evergreens. I didn't pursue because I didn't want to lose her in there.

So for the last couple hours she has sat there doing nothing but closing her eyes. She moved very little. I brought water over, tried throwing some scratch/food near her...no reaction

Just now the rest of the flock came by and was suddenly interested in her. Three of them were fighting to get under her, and I see one walk away with something dangling from their beak. She came around the corner of the evergreen and she is eating this thing that looked like an undeveloped egg shell. She gulped it up pretty quick, so I didn't have much time to see it.

After that, the formerly sedentary Leghorn started heading back to the coop and she made a bee line for the nesting box. I left her there and came in to post this.

So did she have a problem and the other chickens "solved" it for her?

A couple other notes: I have no idea how old she is, I took over this flock when I bought a house. So I am also a novice. She is molting at the moment as well. With the cold weather, all of the birds have stopped laying except one, which I think is one of the two Leghorns, so I have no clues on health from that angle either. Appreciate any thoughts.

 

[GonzoTheGreat]

I let the chickens out today to roam the yard and they all came out like normal and headed to pick over the landscaping beds. After a few minutes I noticed one of the Leghorns had stopped roaming and was standing still. She was closing her eyes and would look like she was sleeping. I walked over to see how she would react and she did walk away (like they usually do) but just walked under the cover of some large evergreens. I didn't pursue because I didn't want to lose her in there.

So for the last couple hours she has sat there doing nothing but closing her eyes. She moved very little. I brought water over, tried throwing some scratch/food near her...no reaction

Just now the rest of the flock came by and was suddenly interested in her. Three of them were fighting to get under her, and I see one walk away with something dangling from their beak. She came around the corner of the evergreen and she is eating this thing that looked like an undeveloped egg shell. She gulped it up pretty quick, so I didn't have much time to see it.

After that, the formerly sedentary Leghorn started heading back to the coop and she made a bee line for the nesting box. I left her there and came in to post this.

So did she have a problem and the other chickens "solved" it for her?

A couple other notes: I have no idea how old she is, I took over this flock when I bought a house. So I am also a novice. She is molting at the moment as well. With the cold weather, all of the birds have stopped laying except one, which I think is one of the two Leghorns, so I have no clues on health from that angle either. Appreciate any thoughts.

And she is still in the coop. Another note, it looks wet on the ground where she was "attacked" by the others. Looks like some poop from her as well. Not much though.

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

What you described sounds like she may have been partially egg-bound, but it was resolved. I have read high-quantity layers like leghorns are more susceptible to becoming egg-bound.

It would be good to keep an eye on her and to research methods for treating egg-bound hens, like warm baths, so you can be prepared if it happens again.

Being egg-bound is painful and deadly. I’m glad she recovered.

Are they getting too much protein in their diet? That can contribute to being egg-bound.

 

[GonzoTheGreat]

And she otherwise looks normal to my amatuer eye. Besides the feathers growing back.

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

Wings spread, isolating herself, eyes closed, maybe panting, squatting, can be signs of egg-bound (or heat stress, but usually eyes aren’t closed for that).

 

[GonzoTheGreat]

What you described sounds like she may have been partially egg-bound, but it was resolved. I have read high-quantity layers like leghorns are more susceptible to becoming egg-bound.

It would be good to keep an eye on her and to research methods for treating egg-bound hens, like warm baths, so you can be prepared if it happens again.

Being egg-bound is painful and deadly. I’m glad she recovered.

Are they getting too much protein in their diet? That can contribute to being egg-bound.

Thanks for the reply. Hopefully she is better. Still on the nest at the moment.

I guess I'm not sure how much is too much protein. I feed them layer pellets - nature's best organic 16%. We give them treats from time to time - corn scratch, fruit, veggies. So they shouldn't be getting much extra protein besides what they find in the yard. We did just add a bird feeder in the yard with black oil sunflowers that they clean up under.

 

[GonzoTheGreat]

Wings spread, isolating herself, eyes closed, maybe panting, squatting, can be signs of egg-bound (or heat stress, but usually eyes aren’t closed for that).

It was about 65 degrees today so heat shouldn't be a concern.

She never sat down but was kinda squatted I guess and looked "fluffed".

 

[Eggcessive]

It could be that she was eggbound with a shell-less egg, which are more difficult to pass, and she laid it. Sometimes they can lay only a membrane, or have an egg break inside, and usually those all will attract others who will scarf up the goodies. When they have these blips, it may be the start of a problem, such as salpingitis, an inflammation of the oviduct, or impacted oviduct. But it may just be that she is molting, and she is stopping laying or starting back up. I would probably give this hen some Tums or 1/2 a calcium tablet for a couple of days, just to make sure that she expels any remnants of the egg, and to harden any shells. They need crushed oyster shell available to take when they are laying.

 

[GonzoTheGreat]

It could be that she was eggbound with a shell-less egg, which are more difficult to pass, and she laid it. Sometimes they can lay only a membrane, or have an egg break inside, and usually those all will attract others who will scarf up the goodies. When they have these blips, it may be the start of a problem, such as salpingitis, an inflammation of the oviduct, or impacted oviduct. But it may just be that she is molting, and she is stopping laying or starting back up. I would probably give this hen some Tums or 1/2 a calcium tablet for a couple of days, just to make sure that she expels any remnants of the egg, and to harden any shells. They need crushed oyster shell available to take when they are laying.

It is tough to tell who is laying what, but if she is the one layer I've had since the temps got cold, her shell is a bit weak. I just put some crushed oyster back in the coop. I had some outside of it too. Any recommendation for how to give her a Tum? She is still on the nest.

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

Sounds like she’s not getting too much protein.
My chickens will try anything once, so just try to offer Tums, and if she doesn’t take it, maybe mix it with a treat she likes? My girls love it when I add a bit of water to their feed in a separate dish, and then sprinkle some mealworms on it.