FINCHforum

I had a zebra hen that had a clutch of four eggs. She was fine one evening but the next morning she was dead. She had a fully formed egg inside her. Could the egg have lodged inside her and caused her death? Does this happen often and is there some diet supplement missing?

Yes, the condition is known as "egg binding". The hen was lacking calcium, the egg she couldn't pass was probably a bit soft so she was unable to push it out.

Make certain all your hens have access to a calcium supplement 24/7. It can be in the form of liquid drops (added to the water), crushed up chicken egg shell, cuttlebone or oyster shell.

I've also heard that adding a small amount of wheatgerm oil to their food can help prevent egg binding as well.

Jeannette

In outdoor avairies especially, the weather can often be a factor in egg binding. The theory goes that, due to the cold, a laying hen is unable to properly stretch those all-important muscles, and so cannot pass the egg. I have often seen hens in this condition successfully pass a 'bound' egg after only a few minutes under a heat lamp.