Treating Egg Bound Hens

What does it mean to be egg bound?
Egg bound or egg binding is when a hen is unable to pass an egg. This is a life threatening condition and needs to be treated immediately, if the egg does not pass withing 24-48 it is likely your hen will perish.
Symptoms include: Waddling like a penguin, straining, lack of defecation, lethargy, droopy wings, inactivity, or a general appearance of being unwell.


Treatment:
Isolate your hen from the rest of the flock.
You will want to start with a warm epsom salt soak (for around 20 minutes) to help her relax those muscles and encourage the egg to pass using gentle massage (you do not want to break the egg inside her)
Dry your hen gently and lubricate her vent with vaseline or even vegetable oil or ky jelly.
Keep her calm, relaxed, and in a stress free environment.
Offer her a calcium supplement, oyster shell, crushed tums, or 1cc of liquid calcium.
Repeat the soak until the egg passes.


Prevention:
Feed a good-quality layer feed
Offer crushed eggshell or oyster shell free-choice so each hen can eat as much or as little as she needs
Stick to healthy treats like fresh greens and vegetables and limit them to 10% of overall diet
Provide chickens plenty of room to exercise
Avoid supplemental lighting in your coop