Chicken Hysterectomy

On October 23rd my little Wendy Chicken had a hysterectomy. For quite a while she could not lay any eggs with shells. The only thing that would come out were yolks - sometimes a couple at a time. And they were usually broken so it would just ooze out. The other chickens would stand around her waiting for what came out. She also kept prolapsing over and over. I would think she was past it and she would look ok and then it would happen again. Eventually she had such a hard time just getting a poo out. I found a Board Certified Avian Specialist a half hour away and took her there. (This was after exhausting all of the things I knew how to do). The vet agreed that surgery was a good idea. He wasn't sure why she started having problems (she did lay eggs prior to this). He didn't see anything really weird but she did have another really huge yolk just outside the ovary. She was chased by a hawk not too long before these problems started. The hawk only got some of her feathers but I guess she could have gotten hurt internally and I didn't know. I never saw a scratch on her. Anyway, she is doing really well now. It's so great to see her poo with no pain or effort. She's happy to be back with the other girls. I can't believe how fast she recovered - so far with no complications. I'd love to hear from anyone else that may have experience with this.



Happy Thanksgiving!

Jill

Aw how sweet of you to get her in and get her seen to - I have never heard of a chicken having a hysterectomy. I bet she's a happy little camper now - she's very cute!

I am glad you shared this story so others can know it is possible for a chicken to have a hysterectomy. I would have never thought of that solution. It is not in any of my books in the sections re eggbound hens.

I love this place!

Getting your chicken a hysterectomy? Who knew? Now that's love!

wow she's pretty & lucky to have you asa mom, I'm glad she can have an easier life now!!

That's great news!
Glad it was successful.

Jillylam--your hen is so lucky to have a specialist nearby. May I ask, how much did it cost? Is her incision site bandaged?

I had a hen that prolapsed and "purse-string" sutures placed in her vent for a few days. The vet mentioned the possibility of a hysterectomy, but he and his partners hadn't performed one on a chicken before. By the time we got home after the sutures were removed, she prolapsed again. My neighbor kindly put my hen out of her misery for me. It turned out she had a mass and she might have been saved by a hysterectomy.

Wendy is a beautiful girl! Congratulations on the successful sugery.

Thanks for all your kind notes. She's a silly little chicken and I've gotten so attached to her.

Hencackle: I'm so sorry to hear that your hen didn't do well with that procedure. I might have tried something like that with Wendy but I knew it wouldn't solve her no-shell problem and the various egg parts would just keep getting backed up in there. I paid $350 for the surgery. The incision was under her leg which is a great spot since it's tucked out of the way and no one else could pick on it. The stitches were disolving ones so I didn't have to take her back to the vet. He told me she was on her feet and moving around within an hour. I'm amazed at chicken-recovery.

Hi, I read your article about how your chicken had a hysterectomy. Just recently I took my pet female chicken, Whitey, who is 3 year and 9 months to the vet with a high temperature, limp, and not eating. When taking here to the vet he found she had egg yolk peritonitis (when a egg develops in an inappropriate location) somewhat like an ectopic pregnancy. So for he started to drain the yolk as it was growing bacteria from the intestine as its like agar. However the only thing will stop this form happening again is to have a hysterectomy. I read your chicken had a hysterectomy, can you please tell me every thing you know.

From Brisbane, Australia

Hi mheid8 and welcome to BYC. I'm so sorry Whitey is having trouble. Wendy Chicken has been doing great since her hysterectomy. Every now and then she goes into the nest box for a few minutes then comes back out. I guess she still gets the urge to lay. If I remember correctly, the vet told me that it's possible that the other ovary (the one not usually used) can kick in and produce eggs. He said if this happens it is usually just absorbed in the body but it can cause a problem. He hasn't seen it happen with the ones he has performed. I've been crossing my fingers that this doesn't happen with her and I don't think it will since she seems to be in the best health she's ever been. Wendy had some sort of problem in the area where the shell is put on the egg. Usually just runny stuff would come out. I had done everything to make sure she had enough calcium. The vet agreed that it was possibly due to the hawk attack but really couldn't tell. Her recovery was really fast. I gave her an antibiotic after surgery and that was it. She was back flying over the fences in two weeks. I hope this helps you a little. Please keep us updated on how Whitey is doing.