egg bound hen

[stanlypolecat]

i have yet another problem with a speakeled hen she,s been fine up to today.
now she,s very slugish off her grub and thats not at all like her. she came to me as a rescue not sure how old she is is there any treatment for this problem

[RichmondHens]

Are you sure she is egg bound? Is she in and out of the nest box but not actually laying anything? Is she looking like she is straining? She may be off colour for another reason altogether. If she has only looked poorly today then I would observe her for a couple more days and she how she is then.

[stanlypolecat]

not sure but its the only thing i can think of not eating and straining looks very unwell altogethernot in and out of nest box shes just standing in one spot or laying down

[Suechooks]

not sure but its the only thing i can think of not eating and straining looks very unwell altogethernot in and out of nest box shes just standing in one spot or laying down

If she's straining you could try the warm bath treatment as if dshe's an older hen she could be trying to lay a soft-shelled egg. \put a few inches of warm water in a large (washing-up size) bowl and stand her in it then gently press on her back till she sinks her back end into the water. Keep her there as long as you can without distressing her. I use a cool hair dryer afterwards if they'll stay still long enough as that helps relax the muscles and they can drop the egg.
It won't do her any harm anyway even if she's not egg-bound.
Otherwise do as RH suggests and observe or maybe get some antibiotic from your vet if there's a chance it may be an infection.

[vicky]

Try to warm bath first, I did this with one of mine and she loved it! The hairdryer went down well too!
Mine turned out not to be eggbound so had to go to the vets (about £20) for antibiotics

[frias]

Two of my older ex-batts have a real problem and only lay softies. They both seem to enjoy the warm baths, although I haven't tried the hair dryer but wrap them in a towel and enjoy a cuddle ( I enjoy the cuddle not so sure about them) My vet also allows me to have Baytril antibiotic at home and they have this if needed 0.5ml per day for 7 days.

[stanlypolecat]

thanks to all that replyed opend up the cot today and shes running round like nothing was wrong and eating like it,s going out of fashion .Looks like she,s back to hear old self .FINGERS CROSSED

[RichmondHens]

Glad to hear it. Sometimes they will have an off day or two here and there, with no real explanation, and recover again just as quickly.

[Suechooks]

Wonderful - they do have a habit of getting us worried don't they!

[frias]

Pleased to hear that. Never had any other animals that were such a worry as chickens. They are worth it though.

[stanlypolecat]

yep sure do got 16 to worrie about and five ducks got a pond they wont go in to
think they seen a rat
god i hate them rats i mean