[andrewandkaren]

Could anyone explain what being egg bound actually means.

[hotterotter]

Its when a hen gets an stuck in her cloaca (basically the equivalent of her vagina), she'll be trying to lay an egg for hours with no success, walking funny and generally looking subdued. If not sorted out she'll die.

I've sorted out a few egg bounds and its never been too hard and I've never lost one. what you do is: while someone else holds her using 2 fingers lube up her vent (I used veg oil) and cloaca as far as the egg - give her an hour to lay the egg if still egg bound sit her in hot water (about 42 degrees) for a few minutes. That's always been sufficient to get my hens unbound but theoretically next step would be to break the egg and remove EVERY piece of shell otherwise she'll die. Or you could take her to a vet if your hens are pets rather than livestock