Lethargy & weight loss - EYP? Help!

[TNchickenmama]

(Also posted a thread in New Intro's, since I am new!) Sorry for the double post...

I have a 2 year old Rhode Island Red, that I suspect has Egg Yolk Peritonitis. I found a soft egg shell, like a deflated balloon, about 5 days ago in nesting box. Then, I started to see the change in her behavior. For the last few days (3-4) she has been very lethargic, having trouble getting up after being knocked down, dirty/matted butt feathers, loss of appetite, weight loss. Her poop has a pale yellow substance in it, like cooked egg yolk. There are no visible signs of trauma or injury. No other birds with these symptoms.

I haven't done anything other than keep her separate at night, and give her extra love. She didn't even get out of her crate this morning.

She still has her head tucked under her wing sleeping. As far as vet care is concerned, I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to swing that. My birds are my birds (my husband has made that clear), so I'm afraid my only option other than homeopathic treatment is to put her down. I really don't want to do that if there's a chance she'll pull through; however, I don't want her to suffer if there's no chance that EYP can be recovered from without medicine.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

(Also posted a thread in New Intro's, since I am new!) Sorry for the double post...

I have a 2 year old Rhode Island Red, that I suspect has Egg Yolk Peritonitis. I found a soft egg shell, like a deflated balloon, about 5 days ago in nesting box. Then, I started to see the change in her behavior. For the last few days (3-4) she has been very lethargic, having trouble getting up after being knocked down, dirty/matted butt feathers, loss of appetite, weight loss. Her poop has a pale yellow substance in it, like cooked egg yolk. There are no visible signs of trauma or injury. No other birds with these symptoms.

I haven't done anything other than keep her separate at night, and give her extra love. She didn't even get out of her crate this morning.

She still has her head tucked under her wing sleeping. As far as vet care is concerned, I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to swing that. My birds are my birds (my husband has made that clear), so I'm afraid my only option other than homeopathic treatment is to put her down. I really don't want to do that if there's a chance she'll pull through; however, I don't want her to suffer if there's no chance that EYP can be recovered from without medicine.

Thanks for any advice.

Hi

Welcome To BYC

I'm so sorry to hear your girl is having trouble.

Does she have a bloated or swollen abdomen?

Unfortunately, the symptoms you describe do sound like EYP or something similar. Usually there is not a really good course of treatment, even if you have vet care available. Antibiotics can sometimes be given for very short-term relief, but it appears these are not that successful either. Supportive care is usually the course of treatment for EYP. Offer her some poultry vitamins and extra protein like egg, tuna, mackerel or meat.

I wish I had better answers for you

http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/backyard-poultry/egg-yolk-peritonitis/
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx

 

[TNchickenmama]

Thanks to all the responses with advice and support! Unfortunately, I found Henny had passed this morning.

I did a necropsy on her (which my husband thinks I'm "gross" for!) but I really didn't see what I thought I'd see with EYP. I did see some yolky-looking substance in her gut and some cooked-egg-yolk looking pieces. There was a large fluid filled sack, but her heart felt very hard compared to the rest of her. So, maybe it was her heart and not EYP? I'm attaching some pictures. If anyone has any ideas what it could have been other than EYP, please advise. Warning: graphic pics!


I had just started in this pic. Note the yellow substance under the membrane.


This is the "large fluid filled sac". Ascities?

Not sure what this is, but I wanted to show the yellow substance and those little cyst-like sacs.

Thanks again for all the tips and advice. I hated to lose Henny, but I'm glad she's not suffering any longer.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@casportpony and @Eggcessive any ideas?


I'm sorry for your loss

If I had to guess about the fluid filled sac, I would say Ascites. Symptoms can be very similar to EYP. "Cooked egg" pieces could be Salpingitis (Lash Egg), which again, can have similar symptoms to Ascites and EYP.

Thank you for sharing your photos, hopefully someone else will recognize what you found.