Egg Bound-How much calcium is too much?

[chrys64moore]

Okay, so I'll start off by saying that I'm only 99.9% sure she's egg bound...she stopped laying a few days ago, stopped pooping last night, sitting on the floor of the cage, still eating and drinking a little. Tried to give her some Tums last night in some yogurt, but she's not interested. Started giving warm baths this morning, can't tell if there's and egg in there or not, got some calcium tablets this afternoon. After struggling with her trying to give it to her in some water orally (she's an amazingly strong little booger), I crushed up two 600 mg tablets and sprinkled it on some corn and mashed up watermelon, thinking that between the two she might get enough. An hour later, she passed an *enormous* dropping with a lot of mucusy-goopy looking white matter. She perked up and ate and drank some and tried to make a break for it. I mixed up some more calcium/yogurt gack, which she looked at suspiciously. So three questions: 1.) she has always had a gurgle when she breathes which becomes more noticeable when she's stressed, and she's gurgling away like a coffee maker right now. I have treated her for resp. symptoms in the past with both baytril and tylan/duramycin, but I can't use either with the calcium. Should I stop the calcium and start the meds instead, considering that there is still no egg? 2.) she has layed very thin-shelled eggs in the past, could the white poop-stuff be egg shell? It doesn't look like regular white poop-stuff, much more solid-looking. And 3.) how much calcium is too much? How often should I give her a dose (600mg)? She has always been crazy-strong, so the finger-up-the-butt thing is intimidating...

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds to me like she has had enough calcium for a long time. You shouldn't give the calcium and baths unless you have felt the egg in there in the vent. I would just hold her down, and do the exam--it just takes about 5 seconds--go in 1-2 inches until you meet gentle resistance. Sometimes you can feel tumors according to some who had done this a lot. If I had an egg bound hen I would give a Tums, or 1/2 calcium tablet.

 

[chrys64moore]

Okay, thanks...it's so funny, because all of the websites I visited yesterday and this morning said something like, " If you suspect your hen is egg bound, act fast and give calcium and baths or it will die!", but then I search through all of the egg bound threads on BYC and almost all say not to give calcium and baths unless you are absolutely sure it's egg bound. Personally, I trust you guys more, and I will do more searching on this website instead of others!

 

[ten chicks]

Okay, thanks...it's so funny, because all of the websites I visited yesterday and this morning said something like, " If you suspect your hen is egg bound, act fast and give calcium and baths or it will die!", but then I search through all of the egg bound threads on BYC and almost all say not to give calcium and baths unless you are absolutely sure it's egg bound. Personally, I trust you guys more, and I will do more searching on this website instead of others!

If i ever suspect any bird is egg bound i absolutely give calcium. Calcium works by stimulating/assists muscles to contract which helps with egg binding(expels egg).

You may not always feel an egg,it could be stuck further up tract.

 

[Michael Apple]

Vitamin D3 is important to utilize calcium. Try this: http://www.justbirdstuff.com/Calciboost-Liquid-Calcium-Supplement-p-16147.html

 

[Eggcessive]

I just meant to not keep giving more doses of calcium--the first dose was fine, but it probably wouldn't be prudent to keep giving more after the 1200 mg, plus you were giving yogurt which contains more. If people use human calcium they sometimes contain vitamin D also. How is your chicken doing today?

 

[chrys64moore]

Thank you, everyone who responded---she's looking alert, ate a little bit, but no egg. Got two people to help hold her (seriously, a Polish hen that needs two people to hold her still) and felt around a little, but couldn't feel an egg. Not sure what else is going on. I'll just have to watch her today and see if I see anything else. I appreciate the advice regarding the calcium and D3---I guess I just wasn't really sure if giving the calcium without knowing for sure that it was a stuck egg was a bad thing or not. I'm really curious about this---she had always been the top chicken in the flock until last week, and then suddenly it seemed that the rest of the flock turned on her. I pulled her out after they had drawn blood, and that's when I realized that I hadn't seen an egg in a couple of days. Maybe the chickens sensed she was sick and had stopped laying and went after her---or maybe the chickens going after her made her stop laying? The ol' which-came-first-situation...she's always been a little wheezy, but she sounds fine today. She's been with that same flock since day one, and she's the only one that exhibits symptoms when she's stressed. None of the others ever seem sick (although I know it could be CRD and everyone has it).

 

[chrys64moore]

While I'm thinking about it, I wanted to post a follow up to this thread---two days (and no eggs) later, pretty much ALL of her feathers fell out at the same time...a very dramatic molt, I must say. Looked like a down comforter exploded. Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[Eggcessive]

While I'm thinking about it, I wanted to post a follow up to this thread---two days (and no eggs) later, pretty much ALL of her feathers fell out at the same time...a very dramatic molt, I must say. Looked like a down comforter exploded. Thanks for everyone's help!

That explains her feeling bad, and the flock attacking her. Apparently, some chickens feel really lousy with a molt, while other act normal and are hardly noticed. My head rooster was challenged while he was weak from molting, and was dethroned by several younger roosters last year. After separating the young roosters and getting rid of a few, head rooster eventually resumed his place at the top. The 2 youngers that eventually came back into the flock have great respect for him again.