Egg Bound Chicken - How Long to Recover?

[McChickenFarm]

Hello! I have a three year old Buff Orpington who I noticed had a floppy, pale comb and was lethargic. I brought her inside and gave her an epsom salt bath, she ended up passing a small soft shelled egg. She is still breathing heavily, is lethargic and has no interest in food/treats..how long does it usually take for a hen to bounce back from being egg bound? Is it possible there is another egg she needs to pass? I felt around her vent area gently but could not feel anything. We will keep her inside tonight and see how she does in the morning. Thanks!

 

[Debbie292d]

I would give her one of your Calcium +D pills. Try give it to her whole by opening her beak and setting it in her mouth. That will cause contractions so if she's got another egg also bound, she should expel it. If she doesn't, it won't hurt her.

I hope she improves!

 

[McChickenFarm]

Hi again, an update on our Buff. She hasn’t passed another egg but is still lethargic, little interest in food or water and moves pretty slowly. Her comb is still flopped over and changes from pale to red during the day. When she’s laying down she does seem to breathe heavier. I noticed she is closing one eye and scratching at it. I can’t see anything in/around it. Still has small watery droppings.

Unfortunately when she was outside yesterday, the girl at the top of the pecking order attacked her but we intervened before anything bad happened..which is sad because all she wants to do is hang with her flock!

Any ideas on what I could try next to help her? I’ve given her Nutri-Drench and electrolytes in her water. She will pick at some cooked eggs, mealworms and grapes but that’s about it. Thanks in advance!

 

[alinas2010]

Hi again, an update on our Buff. She hasn’t passed another egg but is still lethargic, little interest in food or water and moves pretty slowly. Her comb is still flopped over and changes from pale to red during the day. When she’s laying down she does seem to breathe heavier. I noticed she is closing one eye and scratching at it. I can’t see anything in/around it. Still has small watery droppings.

Unfortunately when she was outside yesterday, the girl at the top of the pecking order attacked her but we intervened before anything bad happened..which is sad because all she wants to do is hang with her flock!

Any ideas on what I could try next to help her? I’ve given her Nutri-Drench and electrolytes in her water. She will pick at some cooked eggs, mealworms and grapes but that’s about it. Thanks in advance!

I’m sorry she isn’t feeling well still. Try giving the calcium plus d3 again today. Ideally after an egg binding incident keep giving for about 5-7 days afterwards. It’s good you’re keeping her hydrated. A warm epsom salt soak may help if you think she’d be up for it.

Is her crop emptying overnight? You mentioned eye trouble possibly. Do you see any discharge or bubbles in her eye? How about her breathing, how does it sound?

 

[McChickenFarm]

I’m sorry she isn’t feeling well still. Try giving the calcium plus d3 again today. Ideally after an egg binding incident keep giving for about 5-7 days afterwards. It’s good you’re keeping her hydrated. A warm epsom salt soak may help if you think she’d be up for it.

Is her crop emptying overnight? You mentioned eye trouble possibly. Do you see any discharge or bubbles in her eye? How about her breathing, how does it sound?

Thank you! I will give her more of the calcium and continue for the next few days. I’ll also give her another soak, she does not seem to mind those!

Her crop feels doughy the last few days. Shes not eating a lot but I’ll check tonight & again in the morning to see if there’s a difference. No bubbles or discharge from her eye. Breathing sounds normal, no raspy or crackling.

 

[alinas2010]

Thank you! I will give her more of the calcium and continue for the next few days. I’ll also give her another soak, she does not seem to mind those!

Her crop feels doughy the last few days. Shes not eating a lot but I’ll check tonight & again in the morning to see if there’s a difference. No bubbles or discharge from her eye. Breathing sounds normal, no raspy or crackling.

Yes, definitely check her crop first thing in the morning. It should be flat.

You were saying her comb becomes a little pale and she breathes heavy…does she have a distended abdomen? Do you have some pictures of her you could share? It could help us to see her face

Also be sure to do a very thorough check for lice or mites. They can suck the life out of chickens and cause similar symptoms pretty quickly.

 

[McChickenFarm]

Yes, definitely check her crop first thing in the morning. It should be flat.

You were saying her comb becomes a little pale and she breathes heavy…does she have a distended abdomen? Do you have some pictures of her you could share? It could help us to see her face

Also be sure to do a very thorough check for lice or mites. They can suck the life out of chickens and cause similar symptoms pretty quickly.

No distended abdomen. We lost a girl last month to ascites, so I’m familiar with how her abdomen looked.

Here’s a couple pictures of her this afternoon. Checked for mites/lice but didn’t see anything. But put some DE on her to be safe.

Hopefully with the addition of the calcium the next few days she will be better! Thank you for your advice.

 

[alinas2010]

No distended abdomen. We lost a girl last month to ascites, so I’m familiar with how her abdomen looked.

Here’s a couple pictures of her this afternoon. Checked for mites/lice but didn’t see anything. But put some DE on her to be safe.

Hopefully with the addition of the calcium the next few days she will be better! Thank you for your advice.

Aw pretty girl. I hope things turn around for her. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[McChickenFarm]

Aw pretty girl. I hope things turn around for her. Let us know how she gets along.

Good Morning! Checked her crop this morning and it was small but did feel doughy..I’ll research more into that but if you have any experience/thoughts I would love to hear them! Thank you.

 

[alinas2010]

Well darn, that’s not great to wake up to. I have a little crop experience but not a great amount. You may find this article helpful:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Is there a smell coming from her mouth? You could start by trying a bit of chopped up chunks of coconut oil and crop massaging to try to get things moving. Mine usually haven’t had any arguments pecking at frozen pieces of coconut oil when Ive offered it. Is she perked up at all?