egg bound????

nic · **Posted:** Tue Nov 04, 2008 1:43 pm

soooo....i know its somewhere on this forum, but i cant find it. i need advise on the best way to treat my hen for suspect egg bound...edness?! she sat on the nest thismorning for hours with no result, and i observed her straining with the tail down, when i felt her abdomen it was swollen and tight, she has been very quiet, i gave her a warm bath with a small amount of lavender oil as i did read once that the warm water helps to relax the "rear end", a short time after getting out, she expelled a very runny poo which looked more like egg white, i think i can feel the outline of an egg in her abdomen, i havnt performed any "internal" proceedures as i understand this can make it worse. so has anyone got any ideas? she is inside with me in a box at present, still very quiet..

nic · **Posted:** Tue Nov 04, 2008 4:24 pm

hen is still very subdued, her breathing is very heavy and laboured, like she is constantly trying to push maybe? occasionally she shifts around and has done a couple of small watery poos with no colour in them. got water in there but shes not interested, she did have a bit earlier, but i am worried she may dehydrate. help!!

greenaus · **Posted:** Tue Nov 04, 2008 4:41 pm

I searched the forum earlier and while there were results for egg bound, none of the posts ended up being about an egg-bound hen. In each case the diagnosis was different.

But, to be sure...and to perhaps resolve your problem click on Search, type egg bound into the search box, select Search for all terms, click on the Posts radio button to view the results as posts and submit the form.

Good luck.

nic · **Posted:** Tue Nov 04, 2008 5:00 pm

no, i did the search(wish i had thought of that earlier) but nothing directly relating to an egg bound hen, i caught 2 of my other girls a little while ago and felt their bellies just to get an idea, and they were tiny compared to hers, i read on here ages ago that either paprika or cayenne pepper were good for bringing a hen on to lay? would it be worth trying this to see if it helps to force the blockage out? that sounds really brutal, doesnt it?! any input would be greatly appreciated

Peter16 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 04, 2008 5:57 pm

i have read something about holding them over steam to relax the vent area.
seeing as though i have nothing better to do now, I will scroll through the poultry health pages and see if i find anything.

Peter16 · **Posted:** Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:05 pm

nothing...
So i did something im not proud of and found this

Quote:

we have just sorted our Rhode Island chook's egg bound troubles out with a wheat filled heat pack covered with a towel and molasses in the drinking water, 1 tablespoon to 2 litres of water.

This is good,

Quote:

(a) Egg bound
A fowl is termed egg bound when an egg is lodged in the oviduct and cannot be expelled by the bird. This can be caused by over large eggs or by fatigue of the muscles nominally used in laying an egg.

The egg can be removed by inserting a lubricated finger into the cloaca and using the other hand to squeeze the egg out, if this fails the egg should be broken with a sharp object and all the pieces of shell removed.

Holding the bird over a pan of hot water may relax the muscles of the oviduct and facilitate the removal of the egg.

After the egg is removed the bird should be allowed to recover in a separate coop, to prevent other birds from pecking the cloaca. This procedure can only be carried out with small flocks. In a large flock an egg bound bird should be culled.

even better

Quote:

Sit her in a tub of warm soapy water
Make sure the vent is submerged for about 30 minutes, this may seem like a long time, but you have to relax the vent area and make is subtle for the egg to pass through, it really does help the hen, 85% of the time this will be all that you will need to do for her and the egg will pass out with a little push from her
You can rub some lubricant around the vent area if you think that may help too, KY jelly, petroleum jelly, Vaseline or Olive Oil all work fine.
Make sure you isolate her from the other hens, or they will peck at her vent causing more damage

Put her into an isolation cage, put plenty of news paper down first and then put heated towels down they will act like a heat pad for her, no drafts when she is wet or she will catch a chill
You can heat up towels in your microwave, works a treat
If you have a heat pad that would be even better, put plenty of towels over it or it will get messy
Leave her for a little while to see if she passes the egg, if not, repeat the warm water and soap again

Some people just use the heating pads, this sometimes seems to relax the muscles and allow the egg to slip out

If this doesn’t work, you may have to resort to removing the egg manually, not a nice task, and she will complain about what you are doing bitterly, you will need two people to do this task

Using KY jelly, Petroleum jelly or Vaseline, insert your finger in the vent
With your other hand you can press gently on her abdomen moving the egg down the oviduct towards the cloaca
Once you can see the egg, if it won’t pass, then rupture the egg and gently remove all the shell
Some have suggested you use a sharp instrument, I would not recommend this at all it could result in causing the hen internal injuries
The shell of the egg will be very sharp when broken and could also damage the chicken internally
Once you have broken the shell, make sure you remove every particle carefully
The cloaca should then be washed with a weak warm water/salt solution, this is to make sure all the egg contents and shell has been removed from inside the hen, if it isn’t it could cause bacteria to start growing inside her, and then you’ve got an even bigger problem to solve

Once the egg has ejected you will want to keep an eye on her for a while
There may be another egg backed up in her oviduct system, especially if she lays an egg every day or every other day

Sometimes they absorb the egg, but this is very unlikely and very unusual
If you can’t find the egg and it has gone from the hen, more than likely she has eaten it shell and all

If it has ruptured inside her, you should look for small pieces of shell, or evidence of any cuts around the vent area
Just remember while your looking and sticking your finger in places she would prefer you didn’t, the egg shells can be quite sharp and may cut you and her
If you do find any cuts around her cloaca, rinse with hydrogen peroxide
Watch her for listlessness, dull eyes, and signs of fever
Infection can come on pretty quick

Keep a close eye on her, this could happen again to her and she will need immediate action to fix the problem

for further reading see: http://fowlfacts.proboards40.com/index. ... hread=1192
Hope this helped and good luck!

nic · **Posted:** Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:29 pm

WOW!! thats awesome, although i had her in the bath for a good half hour today, i will definately repeat that, thankyou peter16, oh, and tried the steam thing but obviously would be easier with the bath, plus she really did relax in there today, thanks again! im off to go put a hen in the pot!.....not the cooking pot!....

Peter16 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:30 pm

how did she go Nic ?

nic · **Posted:** Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:20 pm

im sad to say i lost her, i was reluctant to remove the blockage physically, and she died during the night. i can see the upside to having show and pet hens, is that it is easy to pick them up regularly to check for problems, i dont do this with my girls, i see them nearly all day, every day, and mostly rely upon their general appearance to see if there are any problems, and as she looked fine outwardly right up till tuesday morning, and was getting around fine, i didnt realise there was a problem that probably developed over a period of time, and would have come to my attention sooner upon closer inspection. i will just add that my reluctance to remove the blockage isnt because i dont want to get my hands dirty, i was more worried about the internal debris and injuries she would have sustained. next time this happens, i wont hesitate to "get phsical", but only after the water bath method fails ofcourse, thankyou very much for the information you provided peter16, even if it came from the ends of the earth! i hope it comes in useful for another newbie in the same boat, cheers, nic

AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

egg bound????

Who is on the Forum