Suprelorin implant (Virbac) stops hens with egg peritonitis laying anymore

[bmaw]

Hello Joehilly,

I can provide you with my experience with the implant, with the pros and cons included.

Early this year, one of my adopted Red Stars, Sunshine, developed Egg Yolk Peritonitis. It came on out of the blue, but there are symptoms leading up to it that one can look out for. If you manage to catch it quickly enough, you CAN save your chook. The reason chooks die from E.Y.P. is because the egg yolks build up in the abdomen causing pressure to their lungs and internal organs.

Sunshine started by laying yolk-less eggs for about a week. If you cracked one open, it was egg white only. However, they eventually got smaller and smaller and soon, she stopped laying altogether. When I called my chickens for a special treat of mealworms they all ran to me, except Sunshine. She was walking up very slowly and even though mealworms is her favourite treat, she didn't seem to want to eat her usual share. Then she began standing around, remaining very still and quiet. She never wanted to sit down, scratch or preen, her appetite was decreasing and she was making poos that resembled the colour of raw, scrambled eggs. At night, she had trouble sitting down on her perch and was visibly gasping for air. During the day, when I did catch her sitting down, her whole body was shaking as she struggled to breathe. When I picked her up to investigate, I found that her entire abdomen was swollen. It felt like a balloon. Tight and hard and not giving way when gently pressed. My first thoughts were egg binding, so she went through the warm bath and olive oil treatment, but there was no improvement. Next stop was the vet.

The Vet was very sympathetic, however his experience with chickens was limited, so he wasn't sure if it was E.Y.P. or a tumour. However, he syringed her abdomen and got out an amazing amount of eggy liquid. Sunshine's breathing improved dramatically once the pressure of the eggy build-up was gone. He also presribed her a week's worth of antibiotics and we hoped it would do the trick.

The first few days she was moving about better, but eventually, she went downhill again. After five days we made an appointment with an Avian Vet, who specialises in birds and poultry. After an inspection, she came to the same conclusion as the other vet. Good case scenario, the diagnosis was E.Y.P. and treatable. The bad case scenario would have been a cancerous tumour and she would have died from it in a few months without surgery. Either way we had options. She would syringe out the liquid, and provide her with an implant that would effectively stop her laying. You can get a 6 month implant or a 1 year implant. Then when her strength improved in a month's time, we could also opt for surgery and they could remove her ovaries and/or tumour if possible. We found that option very expensive, not to mention we might not have a chicken at the end of it if she died from the procedure. So we agreed to the implant and it was inserted into her breast. The eggy fluids were syringed from her abdomen once more and we were to continue with the antibiotics that the other vet prescribed, until it was all finished.

We watched Sunshine like a hawk for the next few days and were increasingly panicked when we noticed her abdomen had slowly began to fill up again. We knew that the hormone implant would need at least a week to kick in and thought we might need to take her to get syringed one more time. Then after 3-4 days Sunshine laid another yolk-less egg.

After a week, Sunshine began to perk up. Her abdomen was slowly going down on its own, without any need for further appointments to the vet and syringing. She was still doing eggy poos, so she was slowly expelling it and she also stopped laying altogether. Then the poos slowly turned back into healthy, normal chicken poos, her appetite steadily increased and she even began running around again. She had no trouble sitting down and her breathing was back to normal. The implant had obviously worked!

It's now been 5 months and Sunshine is her perky little self. She is the oldest chook and yet she has somehow reverted into a little pullet. She sometimes has these little happy bursts and jumps up flapping in the air. When you call her she goes into roadrunner mode and will race the other chooks for first place. So far so good, touch wood.

There have been some cons though. Sunshine was originally second place in the pecking order. She is now last. It actually occurred about a month down the track after the implant had worked its magic. So she wasn't weak or ill at that stage. However the other chooks challenged her and Sunshine stepped down. Sunshine also went through a very heavy molt after the implant kicked in. She looked simply awful and we were concerned that she wouldn't grow back her feathers in time for winter. But thankfully, she has a lovely new feathered costume and it is even more beautiful then her last coat. Lastly, her comb and red ear lobes have shrunk down to almost nothing. Even though she is perky and happy and eating well, they have not improved with time. It is obviously a side-effect from the implant.

There are a few important facts I would like to mention about the implant and E.Y.P. that the Avian Vet mentioned:

1. The implant may or may not work with all chooks. Some chooks may be resistant to it and even after it's inserted, it might not take effect.
2. A 6 month implant or a one year implant may or may not last the full duration. Every chook is different, so implants may last longer or shorter than indicated.
3. After the implant course is complete, your chook may or may not start laying normally. If she doesn't lay normally, a new implant is required or surgery. If she does lay normally, monitor her carefully because she may relapse into E.Y.P. down the track if you don't pay attention.
4. Do not attempt to syringe your chicken yourself. You may puncture an organ and the chicken will die in a few hours time. It's best to leave it to an experienced vet. Even they can cause an unintentional puncture, they admitted that much to us.
5. If the Vet doesn't prescribe antibiotics then be sure to ask for some, to ensure no infection sets in after syringing out the eggy fluids from the chicken's abdomen. There is such a thing as sterile E.Y.P. which Sunshine had and Septic E.Y.P. Once a chicken has Septic E.Y.P. they go downhill very fast, so it's best to prevent it with a course of antibiotics.

I really hope that this information helps. As for pricing I'm in Australia, so it might vary depending on where you are and which vet you visit. Avian Vets cost more, but they are experts in chickens. I paid around $300 to the Avian vet which included a consultation fee of just over $100. The rest was the cost of syringing and the implant itself.

Cheers,
Gold Coaster

I have a 2.5 yo buff orpington who laid enormous eggs October-December 2021, then a raw egg, with scrambled looking egg in December of 2021. She saw a vet, got an antibiotic injection, and clear X-ray. The next day, she went to the vet hospital, treated with an oral antibiotic and I was told she'd be fine. In February 2022 she began laying lash eggs about 1/month then it escalated in size and number in September to weekly. The tip of her comb would sometimes turn purple. Her abdomen was slightly swollen and hard but the vet school couldn't extract anything via syringe. She got on Oxytetacycline and Meloxicam and emptied a bunch of lash eggs that week. In October, she got a Suprelorin implant and had a rough 2 weeks adjusting but she quit laying lash eggs soon after. She got better until the last 2 weeks when she began drinking more water, i'd see liquid excretions on her roosting tray along with her stool, she began losing feathers around her vent and i can see her abdomen is red. The last 4 days she'd had trouble walking up the roost, like her bottom is heavy and it definitely feels more swollen and rock hard. She's eating better than she has in months, and doing normal chicken things, but still has a flat chest and doesn't sit in the yard anymore. Idk what is in her belly, but I was told the implant would not stop her from passing the lash eggs if they were in there. Im bringing her back to the vet school tomorrow. Wondering what antibiotic worked for your girl and if you used any other supplements.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a 2.5 yo buff orpington who laid enormous eggs October-December 2021, then a raw egg, with scrambled looking egg in December of 2021. She saw a vet, got an antibiotic injection, and clear X-ray. The next day, she went to the vet hospital, treated with an oral antibiotic and I was told she'd be fine. In February 2022 she began laying lash eggs about 1/month then it escalated in size and number in September to weekly. The tip of her comb would sometimes turn purple. Her abdomen was slightly swollen and hard but the vet school couldn't extract anything via syringe. She got on Oxytetacycline and Meloxicam and emptied a bunch of lash eggs that week. In October, she got a Suprelorin implant and had a rough 2 weeks adjusting but she quit laying lash eggs soon after. She got better until the last 2 weeks when she began drinking more water, i'd see liquid excretions on her roosting tray along with her stool, she began losing feathers around her vent and i can see her abdomen is red. The last 4 days she'd had trouble walking up the roost, like her bottom is heavy and it definitely feels more swollen and rock hard. She's eating better than she has in months, and doing normal chicken things, but still has a flat chest and doesn't sit in the yard anymore. Idk what is in her belly, but I was told the implant would not stop her from passing the lash eggs if they were in there. Im bringing her back to the vet school tomorrow. Wondering what antibiotic worked for your girl and if you used any other supplements.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...rd-swollen-abdomen-help.1154760/post-26352139