Hi All,
Just thought it might help others who face this situation in the future, if I describe my experience on the forum. It is still an ongoing story so I will try and update it every day until we reach a conclusion, one way or the other.
I long suspected my Light Sussex/RIR cross hen, Benedict had ascites as she had fluid building up in her abdomen for the last 2-3 years, but it did not seem to bother her, it only increased very very gradually, and she was otherwise fit, well and happy. She always has a bit of a mucky bum as the poop drops onto the swollen area underneath her vent before hitting the ground so we just made sure we removed any large lumps of poop that got stuck in her feathers.
She is a wonderful hen, and my favourite, having raised 2 clutches of ducklings for us and been an amazing mum even though her hybrid strain is not supposed to go broody.
Bene's two sisters died about 2 years ago of internal laying and I found out that it was very common in breeds that are bred for egg production - something us humans are respsonsible for. Bene did not succumb at the same time and she is now 5 years old. She is a pet and much loved, very tame and just a sweetheart.
Yesterday I noticed that she was not 100% herself, sitting on the grass and looking a bit lethergic, although she was running around the rest of the day as usual. She has also not been laying every day, but has been laying recently, so I did not suspect internal laying. One of my hens laid a shell-less egg a couple of weeks ago, but I did not know who and did not think much of it. After seeing her look miserable, I thought perhaps the ascites had worsened and she was showing signs of liver and/or heart failure. When I picked her up, I noticed the swollen area was larger than before. Ascites is also called water belly and for good reason as the abdomen looks like a water balloon, it is warm and liquid filled and malleable, not hard or lumpy. I took her to the vet today to have the area drained, thinking that it would ease any pressure on her heart and make her feel a bit better. I did not expect a cure, just to make her more comfortable and hopefully extend her life another couple of years.
To my dismay, the vet drew egg yolk out of the syringe. It was watery so looked like it is mixed with the ascites fluid, but was bright yellow and definitely egg yolk. She could not feel any shell inside. Bene's heartbeat appeared normal, but she was a bit hot. The vet thought that infection had already started to set in, but was very early as Bene was quite perky and was eating and drinking fine. She was not listless or very obviously a sick chicken and I had only noticed her looking slightly under par because she is a pet and I know her behaviour. Since Bene laid an egg 2 days ago, the current internal egg that the vet found cannot have been festering inside her for longer than 1 day. It appeared as if we had 3 issues to deal with: the ascites (long term and incurable but not currently killing her), the internal laying (may be short term (just the 1 egg) and resolve itself, or may be a major reproductive system breakdown and incurable), and the infection (will either not set in properly or will kill her within a few days).
As I saw it, we had 3 options open to us:
1. euthanise her now and save her future suffering
2. do nothing, wait and see if it resolved on its own and just let nature take its course if it did not
3. give her some antibiotics and see if this got rid of the infection, and then see if her reproductive system resolved itself.
Having seen how poorly hens appear and how quickly hens can go downhill with internal laying, and that Bene was actually quite perky for an internally laying chicken with an infection, on the vet's advice we opted to give her antibiotics. The vet said that she she was a good weight (3.25kgs) and was eating and drinking and her eyes looked alert, that she may have a good chance. So, we will see what happens. She will either get very sick over the next couple of days and die, or she will get better from the infection. If the infection clears and she continues internally laying, then there is not really much hope for her in the long term as she will just get another infection as soon as the antibiotics finish. If she stops internally laying and her system returns to normal, even if a slim chance, then she will live a lot longer. This is how I see it anyway.
Bene is a pet and we felt we ought to give her the best chance. We will not however be considering surgery to remove her oviducts which I have read is another option. We feel that is just a step too far and too much major surgery to put a hen through. If the antibiotics do not work, and/or if she continues internally laying, then we will let nature take its course. We will know more in a few days. I will post updates. For info, she is on 2.5% Baytril administered orally, at 1.3ml twice a day.
If anyone has had a similar experience, or who can share more information about ascites, antibiotics or internal laying, (or correct me on any of the above information), particularly if you have had a hen with both conditions, please contribute to this thread.
Just thought it might help others who face this situation in the future, if I describe my experience on the forum. It is still an ongoing story so I will try and update it every day until we reach a conclusion, one way or the other.
I long suspected my Light Sussex/RIR cross hen, Benedict had ascites as she had fluid building up in her abdomen for the last 2-3 years, but it did not seem to bother her, it only increased very very gradually, and she was otherwise fit, well and happy. She always has a bit of a mucky bum as the poop drops onto the swollen area underneath her vent before hitting the ground so we just made sure we removed any large lumps of poop that got stuck in her feathers.
She is a wonderful hen, and my favourite, having raised 2 clutches of ducklings for us and been an amazing mum even though her hybrid strain is not supposed to go broody.
Bene's two sisters died about 2 years ago of internal laying and I found out that it was very common in breeds that are bred for egg production - something us humans are respsonsible for. Bene did not succumb at the same time and she is now 5 years old. She is a pet and much loved, very tame and just a sweetheart.
Yesterday I noticed that she was not 100% herself, sitting on the grass and looking a bit lethergic, although she was running around the rest of the day as usual. She has also not been laying every day, but has been laying recently, so I did not suspect internal laying. One of my hens laid a shell-less egg a couple of weeks ago, but I did not know who and did not think much of it. After seeing her look miserable, I thought perhaps the ascites had worsened and she was showing signs of liver and/or heart failure. When I picked her up, I noticed the swollen area was larger than before. Ascites is also called water belly and for good reason as the abdomen looks like a water balloon, it is warm and liquid filled and malleable, not hard or lumpy. I took her to the vet today to have the area drained, thinking that it would ease any pressure on her heart and make her feel a bit better. I did not expect a cure, just to make her more comfortable and hopefully extend her life another couple of years.
To my dismay, the vet drew egg yolk out of the syringe. It was watery so looked like it is mixed with the ascites fluid, but was bright yellow and definitely egg yolk. She could not feel any shell inside. Bene's heartbeat appeared normal, but she was a bit hot. The vet thought that infection had already started to set in, but was very early as Bene was quite perky and was eating and drinking fine. She was not listless or very obviously a sick chicken and I had only noticed her looking slightly under par because she is a pet and I know her behaviour. Since Bene laid an egg 2 days ago, the current internal egg that the vet found cannot have been festering inside her for longer than 1 day. It appeared as if we had 3 issues to deal with: the ascites (long term and incurable but not currently killing her), the internal laying (may be short term (just the 1 egg) and resolve itself, or may be a major reproductive system breakdown and incurable), and the infection (will either not set in properly or will kill her within a few days).
As I saw it, we had 3 options open to us:
1. euthanise her now and save her future suffering
2. do nothing, wait and see if it resolved on its own and just let nature take its course if it did not
3. give her some antibiotics and see if this got rid of the infection, and then see if her reproductive system resolved itself.
Having seen how poorly hens appear and how quickly hens can go downhill with internal laying, and that Bene was actually quite perky for an internally laying chicken with an infection, on the vet's advice we opted to give her antibiotics. The vet said that she she was a good weight (3.25kgs) and was eating and drinking and her eyes looked alert, that she may have a good chance. So, we will see what happens. She will either get very sick over the next couple of days and die, or she will get better from the infection. If the infection clears and she continues internally laying, then there is not really much hope for her in the long term as she will just get another infection as soon as the antibiotics finish. If she stops internally laying and her system returns to normal, even if a slim chance, then she will live a lot longer. This is how I see it anyway.
Bene is a pet and we felt we ought to give her the best chance. We will not however be considering surgery to remove her oviducts which I have read is another option. We feel that is just a step too far and too much major surgery to put a hen through. If the antibiotics do not work, and/or if she continues internally laying, then we will let nature take its course. We will know more in a few days. I will post updates. For info, she is on 2.5% Baytril administered orally, at 1.3ml twice a day.
If anyone has had a similar experience, or who can share more information about ascites, antibiotics or internal laying, (or correct me on any of the above information), particularly if you have had a hen with both conditions, please contribute to this thread.
Strange how my Gracie and Bene have laid shell-less eggs but Buttercup-Tamtam's girl doesn't lay at all. I think she just went from laying to no laying. I say we all just keep working on this!! I have my 2 girls on the milk thistle and the draining is helping Buttercup. Hopefully the antibiotic works for Bene!
