So I've got this hen, she's probably 15 months old. About 6 months ago, I noticed she had a slight bulge below her vent, almost between her legs. It felt squishy. She was fine otherwise, and I couldn't afford to get her to the vet, so just opted to watch her closely. A few months passed, the bulge got a bit larger, and she began to lose her feathers on the bulge. She was still eating, drinking, laying regularly, so I still opted to just keep a close eye on her.
Yesterday, I had a chick that I felt I absolutely had to take to the avian vet, so I took the opportunity to take the hen with the bulge, too.
Vet said she had a hernia! I never knew a chicken could get one. She indicated that in production strains, or pullets that begin to lay early, this is common. It cannot be fixed. My vet said when they tear, they "usually tear a hole the size of Texas..." but that it shouldn't be much of an issue for her, and that so long as she continued to eat and drink well, and have no problems laying, she could end up living another few years before something happens that I'd need to dispatch her for.
I recall that with this hatch, I was still in the mindset of "switch hem to layer feed when they turn 18 weeks old." Since then, I have changed my thinking, and have even begun using a feed that delays maturity in layers. It's fed from 12 weeks until they lay, and THEN you switch to layer feed. I hope that with this change, I will spare future pullets from issues such as this.
There's no way to know for certain if beginning her on layer feed at 18 weeks was the cause, but in my mind, it sure didn't help. I'm just putting it out there, because so many folks are more than willing to push the layer feed...that may not be the best way to go. Of course, everyone has their comfort level, but I just wanted to share an experience with you. I feel badly for this girl, and every few days I need to clean her back end up because her poop collects on the bulge. And some day, she'll need to be dispatched because most likely, her intestines that are in the bulge will flop over themselves and cause blockage...and death. Sigh.
Yesterday, I had a chick that I felt I absolutely had to take to the avian vet, so I took the opportunity to take the hen with the bulge, too.
Vet said she had a hernia! I never knew a chicken could get one. She indicated that in production strains, or pullets that begin to lay early, this is common. It cannot be fixed. My vet said when they tear, they "usually tear a hole the size of Texas..." but that it shouldn't be much of an issue for her, and that so long as she continued to eat and drink well, and have no problems laying, she could end up living another few years before something happens that I'd need to dispatch her for.
I recall that with this hatch, I was still in the mindset of "switch hem to layer feed when they turn 18 weeks old." Since then, I have changed my thinking, and have even begun using a feed that delays maturity in layers. It's fed from 12 weeks until they lay, and THEN you switch to layer feed. I hope that with this change, I will spare future pullets from issues such as this.
There's no way to know for certain if beginning her on layer feed at 18 weeks was the cause, but in my mind, it sure didn't help. I'm just putting it out there, because so many folks are more than willing to push the layer feed...that may not be the best way to go. Of course, everyone has their comfort level, but I just wanted to share an experience with you. I feel badly for this girl, and every few days I need to clean her back end up because her poop collects on the bulge. And some day, she'll need to be dispatched because most likely, her intestines that are in the bulge will flop over themselves and cause blockage...and death. Sigh.
