Chicken Help

[Emily's mom]

I do not know much about sick chickens, but I do think that she is egg bound.

Is there anything that I can do to help her....I probed her and it feels like 2 eggs side by side, I sat her in a warm tub of epsom salts, and rubbed her belly.

Any ideas would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Sterling]

Hi Cheryl. I know this can be alarming. I had a little banty hen years ago that used to do this on a consistant basis. What I used to do was with plastic surgical gloves....(non powdered kind , or if you don't have any, wash your hands real good before inserting finger) I'd take my index finger and lather it up with either vaseline or KY-Jelly and gently lube the perimeter of her vent. When I could feel the egg I'd be very careful about not breaking it as that can cause more problems for the little hen. Usually this lubing of her vent made it easier to pass the eggs through. She would get all fluffed up and not want to move much when this would happen. I'd never remove the eggs physically myself, but helped her along with the lubrication. Hope that helps some.

P.S. When inserting the finger to lube, what you want to do is feel your way around the circle of the inside of the vent. Around the whole perimeter.

Edited to add this link:

http://www.poultryhelp.com/eggbound.html

 

[PaintedMeadows]

I agree with Sterling. How long did you soak her in the warm water? I have read alot on this because I thought I had an eggbound chicken and then I had one where the egg broke inside her. Anyways, you can soak them in the water for as long as the water stays warm. Very soothing for them. Bring her inside and put her in a warm dark place after her bath. Away from the rest of the chickens. And be sure to lube her really good since that will help as well. How long has it been since she laid an egg? Good luck. Backyard chickens is a great forum to get a ton of information. Here is the link to the forum Backyard Chickens Forum Good luck and keep us updated. Oh, and what breed is she? I am just curious. ;0)

 

[Emily's mom]

Thanks for the input, this is the third day that she has been acting different, we only soaked her for about 20 minutes, she is now living in the bathtub, will she keep making eggs and they will all be backed up, is there a solution or should we end her uncomfortable situation.....

 

[Sterling]

I can't speak for others in this situation and in all the years I've raised and bred chckens I only had this one little banty have this happen. I took it to be as a "thing" for her and everytime I'd see her bunched up and just there...I'd take her and lube her up. She'd usually lay the egg soon thereafter and go on her merry way. She was a very content little girl and such a darling little personality. Just one of those things that I felt came with the territory. She went on to live a very good life, giving us beautiful little peeps.

Did you try to lube her yet in conjunction with the warm baths?

 

[Emily's mom]

I've tried all I can think of.....I hate to see her in such a state, she is eating a little and a small amount of water.

How long can she go on?

 

[PaintedMeadows]

I do know of a woman who carefully broke the egg she could feel and slowly removed it with lots of lube and the hen went on to lay normally afterward. Are you sure you can feel shell and that she isn't an internal layer? She should quite releasing eggs while she is in distress. Sorry she is still suffering. You can give her a little bit of baby aspirin in her water to help her relax a bit. I think at this stage I would try breaking the egg if she can't pass it herself. I think you have nothing to loose. i would try it before I helped her move on to the rainbow bridge. Chickens are pretty resilient. I am treating one that has a hole in her back the size of a quarter and she is still laying, eating and drinking while walking around with a duct tape saddle! lol Good luck with her. Poor little sweetie.

 

[Emily's mom]

I'm sorry to say that she's moved on to rainbow bridge, I could not stand the fact that I could not help her.

Does anyone know of a very good book about raising chickens?

 

[candycar]

I'm so sorry you lost her.

I don't have a suggestion for a book, but, as already mentioned - backyardchickens.com and forum are a great source of info and support. Kind of like here! Very nice people, and the forum is broken down into many many catagories depending on what you need. I use them instead of a book, and have learned more than I thought there was about chickens!

 

[Sterling]

Awww I'm so sorry you lost her!

 

[PaintedMeadows]

I'm really sorry you lost her. Storey's book line has a good book on raising chickens but backyardchickens.com is the bestest!! They have way more information than the books at all the experiences you can imagine and more. I have saved a few of my chickens with their help. Again, sorry about your girl.