What is egg binding?
Egg binding is an event that can occur in very young birds as well as older birds. It can happen to a virgin hen as easily as it might occur in a mature hen with several nests raised and fledged. In many ways it is inexplicable. Speculation suggests that the muscles of the hen are not strong enough to release the egg; the calcium laid over the egg is not thick enough (soft-shelled egg) or resistant enough to enable the muscles to contract around it and it stops its downward movement; the egg is too large to pass; the hen becomes too tired to lay the egg. The hen that is exhibiting egg binding is usually noticed because her entire demeanor will change. She will sit puffed up on the perch or on the floor and be indifferent to anyone approaching her. She will also be uncommonly agreeable to your presence and being handled by you. This in itself is indicative of significant problems and potentially pain: something they don’t often reveal. The vent area and lower rump will be swollen with e
If you expect the hen to lay an egg and you see her on the bottom of the cage in obvious distress or exhaustion, she probably has egg binding. The bird will die within a few hours without help. The best course of action is to seek a veterinarian’s help. I’ve gently felt the outside of the afflicted hens abdomen and been able to propel the lodged egg through the vent. But I have no medical training, so can not tell you to do the same thing. DO NOT HOLD THE HEN OVER A POT OF BOILING WATER! DO NOT ATTEMPT AN OLIVE OIL ENEMA! I’ve seen both of these idiocies offered as serious advice in published works.Egg binding can be caused by a lack of calcium, so be sure that a mineral grit and cuttlebone is available at all times. Vitamins are needed for calcium to be utilized by the bird’s system, so be sure that all aspects of nutrition are correct.
If you expect the hen to lay an egg and you see her on the bottom of the cage in obvious distress or exhaustion, she probably has egg binding. The bird will die within a few hours without help. The best course of action is to seek a veterinarian’s help. I’ve gently felt the outside of the afflicted hens abdomen and been able to propel the lodged egg through the vent. But I have no medical training, so can not tell you to do the same thing. DO NOT HOLD THE HEN OVER A POT OF BOILING WATER! DO NOT ATTEMPT AN OLIVE OIL ENEMA! I’ve seen both of these idiocies offered as serious advice in published works. Egg binding can be caused by a lack of calcium, so be sure that a mineral grit and cuttlebone is available at all times. Vitamins are needed for calcium to be utilized by the bird’s system, so be sure that all aspects of nutrition are correct.
