Egg Lodged

Jim K · Post by **Jim K** » Fri May 12, 2006 9:18 am

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?

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Fri May 12, 2006 11:42 am

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.

JeannetteD · Post by **JeannetteD** » Sat May 13, 2006 2:29 pm

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

Jeannette

MadHatter · Post by **MadHatter** » Wed May 24, 2006 3:58 am

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.