I think I have an egg-bound hen. The bird was nesting on the floor of the coop this evening and when I went to place her on the roost I found her stomach to be really distended and feeling like it was filled with fluid.

Shoudl I get some fingers greased up and try to retrieve egg/s?

Any advise is much appreciated!

Sos. Well, I stuck a greased finger in her vent as far as it would go but felt nothing. I now have been trying to massage her abdomen and I doo feel what I think is an egg or two (yikes).

Still clueless as to what to do!! Help

I was reading in Gail Damerow's Chicken Health Hanbook that you should lubricate your forefinger with mineral oil or KY Jelly and insert it into the vent. With your other hand push gently against the hens abdomen to force the egg toward the vent. If you can see the egg, but it is too big to pass through thevent, puncture the shell and remove it in peices.(With great care not to let a sharp shard injure the hen)Rinse the cloaca with hydrogen peroxide.
I know nothing about this but coppied it straight from the book!
It says that some cloacal tissue may come out and to issolate her till the musscle tone is back to normal.It also says that unless you can get things moving again the hen will die!
Good Luck
Chick13

Thank you so much for copying that for me Chick 13! Can you believe the hen has not laid that egg yet!?

The egg does, however, seem closer to the vent than two days ago but still it is not out. I think I will lube her up again tonight and that is about it as I am afraid to puncture the egg as I understand that if the shards don't all come out the hen may die at any rate.

Thanks Chick 13 and Cjeanr for all your help!!

Alexandra, Still hoping all will be well. Yes, I read Gail Damerows book, but would NEVER advocate breaking the egg, as the yolk will never drain out properly, and infection will take place quickly and the hen will die! Can you be sure you are finding the oviduct to lubricate and not the intestine?? Best chance is that she will pass it in another day! Wish you the best! CJR

Cjeanr-

No, the hen has not yet passed this darn egg and is now more "bloated". I referred to your suggested egg site which was interesting and am now trying again to follow your instructions on lubrication and the proper side of the oviduct. When one looks down the "chickens back"....does this mean when I am holding the chicken, looking straight at the vent with the chickens head furthest away? Then is the oviduct on the left?

I have inserted acouple "shots" of k-y jelly into the hen tonight again(not too far in) hoping that it will work it's way down to where it needs to go. I think I will go back again before the night is over to give her one more lube...on the left side. Thanks again..will keep you posted.

Here's a possibility that was posted to an email list that I'm on:

"my method for egg-bound hens is to put them in a sink filled with warm (chicken body temp) water and hold her there. The two times I've had to do it, the egg has emerged within 5 minutes. A friend of mine had this problem frequently and told me that "my" method worked for her every time.

This is worth writing in a margin in the CHICKEN HEALTH HANDBOOK. Thanks for the information. CJR

tonight was the first time we signed on here and really got into the story about the hen that couldnt pass the egg, we to have chickens and found it to be so cool how every one tried to help this hen and give advice about it, to all of you GOOD JOB!!!!!!!!!

i"m new to this site and it's now may 1st. so what happened? did the hen pass the egg? i'll never sleep tonight! i just bought 6 chicks and am building the coop. i'm trying to read everything i can on how to care for my girls. this story is a cliff-hanger. please tell me what happened!

by the way, what is the life expectancy for a chicken?

A chicken can live to be 25 years old!

I have a "kitchen chicken". Her name is Poulette, named after my best friend Paulette. Poulette was hatched with a congenital defect called pendulous crop ( or sour crop). Her crop doesn't have muscle tone, this causes it to hang in front of her filled with food. The food has a hard time getting into her gizzard because the muscles can't push it up to the gizzard. She's not allowed to ingest shavings or grass.She can't live with the other chickens in the coop, so she lives in a large dog kennel in our kitchen.

Well, 2 years ago she couldn't pass her eggs. She bloated and I took her to my vet. He grew up on a poultry farm and was a professor at the University of Minnesota in Veterinary medicine. He said that this was caused by Poulette not getting enough calcium in her diet. Her shells were too soft for her muscles to be able to push the eggs out. Think of a balloon filled with water. He immediately performed surgery on Poulette. He gave her the chicken equivalent to a Hysterectomy. According to my vet, she would have died had she not had the eggs removed. They would have caused an infection which would have led to her death.
I guess this happens in pet Parrots and other tame birds.

Poulette is doing great. I hope you could help your hen.