need information about what I found after necropsy

Seatrout00 · Oct 30, 2012

I don't think you have any reason at all to feel bad about showing your hen mercy - to second guess your gut feeling and let her go on in pain would likely make you feel even worse, not to mention what it would due to the hen! If anything, I think you should feel comforted that your hen had the very best life and care and was shown mercy - and she has you to thank for that.

speckledhen · Oct 31, 2012

sinkorswim said:
I thank you.The 2 ideas that were given to me as far as diagnosis was Vent Gleet and Oviduct infection neither of which I had delt with before.The problem was is the treatment for both canceled each other out.In hind sight it seems both were probably correct.

I have enough knowledge (or lack there of) to drive me to know exactly what happened to my Crow,Making the decision to put her to sleep extremely difficult for me.I didn't know what I was dealing with,so I didn't know if it was something she could recover from.She prolapsed and I knew she could recover from that but each time she continued to strain,she started to bleed heavily.I am a certified Euthanasia Technician but I don't have access to sodium phenobarbital,the only other way I knew was ether.I breed and raise zebra finch and gouldian finch.To humanely euthanize them you put ether on a rag and place them in a small box.I didn't have enough ether or a box, for a bird her size.I had to improvise.

It tore me up to that but I had to do the necropsy,I had to know.I have a sister to her,I have 6 other chickens,the same age, that came from the same hatchery at the same time.I also have 7 teenagers that came from the same place.I need to know if its contagious or what to look for in other birds.So far what I have discovered is with the EYP if I could have drained the fluid she would still be alive and may have had a chance to fight,I also will probably encounter this again.

Although I have read this is from hatcheries it is not clear how.Over breeding,but how?Maybe that is not known.I guess it doesn't matter but when you live in city limits,you have to have a sexed chick-you just are not allowed a rooster.So that leads you to someone who sells hatchery chicks.Since none of us can have roosters it again leads us back to hatcheries.And since I am disabled and don't drive its really hard to convince someone to drive an hour out in the country and allow me to bring home chickens in their car.(I don't see the problem with that.I used to live in Michigan I have seen ponies and goats transported in cars so a chicken is no big deal.Ha.Ha,Ha!)
Thank you,
Christy

Christy, what I suggest is that you get breeds from the hatchery that are not the usual egg production types, if you can find them. I've had the LEAST problems out of my hatchery Brahma hens. Brahmas are not what most folks think of first for egg production, though my hatchery Brahmas were excellent layers for their first 3-4 years.

My Light Brahma lived to be 5 1/2 with no egg issues, though I feel she did die from cancer in the end. She was laying 4 weeks prior to that. And her "sister", the Buff Brahma, will be 6 years old in January and has never had any egg issues whatsoever. She doesn't lay that often, but when she does, she lays about 3 eggs per week for a few weeks, then quits for a few months. That's not too shabby for her age and genetics, in my experience.

I have only one other direct hatchery hen now, a Silver Phoenix, again, not one you'd think of first for egg production. Her eggs are very small for a Large Fowl hen (Phoenix are small bodied for a standard breed), but I hope she will not have issues. She is currently broody for the second time this year. I also feel that the ones who take long breaks to raise chicks have better chances to avoid reproductive malfunctions-their bodies get a good rest.

sinkorswim · Oct 31, 2012

Seatrout00 said:
I don't think you have any reason at all to feel bad about showing your hen mercy - to second guess your gut feeling and let her go on in pain would likely make you feel even worse, not to mention what it would due to the hen! If anything, I think you should feel comforted that your hen had the very best life and care and was shown mercy - and she has you to thank for that.

Thank you for the kind words.And you are probably right.Its just the "what if" always lingers.It was painful to loose her when she was so young.I feel helpless in the fact I couldn't "fix" her.
Thank you-
addicted2chickens

sinkorswim · Oct 31, 2012

speckledhen said:
Well,that means my 5 teenage cochins may be safe from suffering this same fate.That leaves 9 to worry about.Yesterday I found a shellless egg in the nesting box.By simple deduction it came from one of my americanas.So atleast now I know the signs to watch for.I may be looking for you in the near future for a tutorial on how to drain the fluid.Your short description in one of your posts is not where I would have started LOL!Fingers crossed!
Christy

speckledhen · Oct 31, 2012

sinkorswim said:
Well,that means my 5 teenage cochins may be safe from suffering this same fate.That leaves 9 to worry about.Yesterday I found a shellless egg in the nesting box.By simple deduction it came from one of my americanas.So atleast now I know the signs to watch for.I may be looking for you in the near future for a tutorial on how to drain the fluid.Your short description in one of your posts is not where I would have started LOL!Fingers crossed!
Christy

To be honest, draining is not a fix for the fluid retention associated with egg yolk peritonitis or internal laying. It's a temporary relief for the hen, less stress on the organs for a time, but the condition is chronic and the fluid/infection will return. How we drained her was rather intuitive-we just inserted the needle into the most rounded, enlarged part of the abdomen, down and away from the vent and as far from vital organs as we could deduce, with our knowledge of chicken anatomy. It's a tricky proposition if something is not where it should be in there and, as I said, not a cure for the condition.

Breeder quality birds are not immune to these malfunctions, though they do seem to get them to a much lesser degree than hatchery stock. Right now, I have a beautiful huge Buff Orpington hen from a breeder (not a propagator who simply breeds from hatchery stock) who is probably dying from whatever is going on in her body. Just removed a blob of egg white from the nest yesterday. A couple of months ago, her abdomen was the size of a bowling ball, though it has subsided now. We did not drain her and we made that decision because we know how this always turns out in the end. Either her body will work it out or she will die and that's pretty much that.

need information about what I found after necropsy

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