Keeping Chickens Newsletter

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When she finally passed the egg it had another membrane forming on the outside of it so we are guessing she is the one that laid the egg inside the egg, and that it might have happened again. Hope you all enjoy! Stefanne, St. Petersburg, FL

James Rousseaux : I have been reading your newsletter since I started keeping chooks about 6 months ago and I have found it to be a fantastic source of information. I wanted to pass on a lesson for new players that I learned the hard way. It is regarding a problem when a chicken becomes "Egg Bound".

We have flock of 7 wonderful girls all different breeds. Australorp, Brown Barnevelder, Silver Laved Barnevelder, Cochin, Buff Orphington, Brahma and a Columbian Wyandotte Bantam. Our Brown Laced Barnevelder had just started laying about 2 weeks ago. She laid 1 good egg but then laid 2 very soft shell eggs that broke and she stopped laying. She didn't lay for about a week and then I found her dead in the Laying box.

The night before she died I went to the coop in the afternoon like I do every day. She is normally a very shy girl and runs away if I get near. However on this day when I opened the door she was standing in the door and didn't move. I was able to stroke her back a couple of times and then she wandered away. This was very strange. I should have known something was wrong by her behavior. (Mental note) Sadly when I came home the next day I found her in the Laying box dead.

Symptoms of an egg bound chook:
Lethargic (like my shy chook who didn't run away)
Weepy eyes
Not eating or drinking much
Swollen abdomen
Spending a lot of time in the laying box. (Attempting to lay her eggs but can't)
Egg Whites leaking from her vent. Vent may also be red and swollen.
What have I learned?

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