[purplebat]

while we were off line, we found one of our hens dead in the nesting box, another poultry man said she was egg-bound, is there anything else that could have caused it?
if she was egg bound is there anything i can do to stop this happening again? I'm feeding them mixed corn, layers pellets, plenty of greens and oyster shell, what am i doing wrong?

[muntjac]

layers pellets are in my book the reason for egg bound birds  .ok i may be wrong but i havent had an egg bound bird with my feeding regime but other pals who feed layers do . what i suggest you do is  check the amount of layers pellets your feeding . remember layers pellets are like little bombs of corn and nutrients ina smaller shell than normal barley or wheat and it is easy to over feed with them . feeding corn as well as the layers is like leaving the fridge door open with choccy bars on a plate . fattening  :shock: so think am i feeding to much food to my birds first .halve the layers pellest , and feed more corn ,put apple cider vinegar in the water  and give PLENTY  of greens even grass that the lawn mower chops up is fine .i use the grass from the council grass cutters to feed my rabbits cos i know the grass is dog free .does your green grocer have waste cabbage leaves etc .if so get a hold of them and feed  that as well tie the stalks up and hang em someplace the birds can get at them .hopes this helps  

[purplebat]

we have only just started to feed the pellets about a week ago, could it have had much effect in that time? I will start with the cider vinegar, I did mean to but forgot  :oops:  could you remind me again how much to use?

[muntjac]

can i just point out that to find out if a bird is really egg bound you have to feel its cleft . this is between its but and its sternum bone .turn the bird over and feel from its anus and you will feel 2 bones these  are the pelvis  with a gap inbetween .this gap expands to alllow the passage of the egg .now press down from this point to the end of the sternum bone ( the keel bone) and you may feel a egg in there . if this doesnt  show .take a knife and lay the bird on its back  as you would in preparing it for cooking , carfeully insert the knife inside the cleft of the pelvis and cut through .put your fingers inside and pull up and back splitting the skin completly ( if you are doing this in prep for the kitchen you will not go through the cleft but to one side ) now feel inside and remove the guts and gizzard .you will now feel if the bird was egg bound THE BIRD CAN ONLY BE EGG BOUND IF THE SHELL IS ON THE EGG . if its soft thenthe bird was not egg bound and probably died of some other means .check for other signs

[agapanthus]

So sorry to hear about your hen Purplebat I know it breaks my heart when I lose one.

[purplebat]

thank you; I haven't actually had the chickens for that long, that's why I feel maybe I've done something wrong :cry:

[muntjac]

you havent done anything wrong batty . you didnt know and i cant tell you for sure if its egg bound  ,chickens die just because there awkward little *  so dont bat ur self up over it .in a gallon of water put half  a cup of cider vinegar  in each water container weekly .if you have chickens one of the most commonest mistakes is just to not  have enough water in the  coop  i have some 40  2 or 1 gallon gallon galvanised drinkers in my pens for approx 200 birds both inside and out if you have 2 hens have a 3 drinkers .they cannot get water from anywhere else  and if they get dry they will suffer and they also cannot produce eggs ,an egg is nearly 100 % water if memory serves .....so it takes a lot to produce it .plus it has a calcium cover ,without calcium in sufficient quantities the bird will lay soft or thin shelled eggs even  in cases turning to thier own bones to make it and then ending up with fragile bones etc ,so we use oestra this is crushed oyster shell .pure calcium almost they eat that then  the poultry grit they eat helps to crush this down and then they take it in to make eggs etc

[muntjac]

i actually think ur probably over feeding . three birds need  a cup 4 oz of layers pellets a day and a cup 4 oz of corn / barley / wheat and greens no more than that and thats between them not each

[purplebat]

thank you munty for making me feel a little better; shall pay more attention to amounts that I'm feeding in future; I know you learn by experience but I don't reckon the poor hen will understand that :cry:

[WG.]

 but I don't reckon the poor hen will understand that :cry:

Yeah it will.  It'll be in Chook Heaven by now and the contract there states that they only need to lay one egg per week.  

[MontyTom]

I had one die yesterday (maran) and I think she was egg bound.  Annoying isn't it!

[purplebat]

sorry about your hen MT, hope all your others are ok; fingers crossed mine are fine; eggs every day at the mo, (following Munty's advice)