What Is an Egg-Bound Chicken?

Although chickens are relatively easy to raise and have few health problems, occasionally a laying hen will become egg bound. The term "egg bound" means exactly what it sounds like: An egg is bound up inside the chicken and doesn't come out. The hen is uncomfortable and stops laying completely. However, an egg-bound chicken can be treated and the condition is usually preventable.

  1. Egg Binding

    • Young hens begin laying eggs between 4 and 9 months of age, depending on the breed and environmental conditions. The ovary releases the yolk into the oviduct. As it travels down the oviduct, it is covered with a membrane and layers of albumin, the egg white. Just before the egg is laid, glands along the oviduct secrete the material that forms the eggshell around the yolk and white. The egg then passes through the vent as the hen lays the egg in the nest. In an egg bound chicken, the fully-formed egg fails to pass through the vent.

    Causes

    • Any one of a variety of different factors causes egg binding in chickens. The chicken may be genetically predisposed to egg binding. The egg may be too large too pass. Dehydration causes dryness in the oviduct which may prevent the egg from passing through the vent. Also, muscle contraction and retraction requires calcium. A calcium deficiency inhibits the muscles ability to move the egg through the oviduct and may contribute to egg binding. Finally, the hen may be weak from other conditions such as disease, poor nutrition or being overweight, any of which could lead to egg binding.

    Symptoms

    • An egg bound chicken continues to try to pass the bound egg and will visit the nest several times without laying an egg. She waddles like a penguin, standing upright with her tail feathers low to the ground. Pressing against her abdomen, you can feel the hard egg below the surface. She will also appear weak and sickly. If the bound egg is not removed, she could die within 48 hours.

    Treatment

    • A warm bath is often enough to relax the hen and to provide enough moisture to release the bound egg. Cover the hen with warm water between 90 and 102 degrees Fahrenheit for about a half hour. Another alternative treatment is to place the hen in a cage with a wire floor and set the cage over a tub of steaming water. The steam creates a warm, moist environment meant to relax the hen enough to lay the egg. Keep the cage temperature between 90 and 102 degrees Fahrenheit. If the bath or steam treatment do not relieve the problem, take the hen to a veterinarian. Handle an egg bound hen gently, guarding against breaking the bound egg. Do not attempt to break the egg. Small bits of shell left behind cause serious infections.