SO FOLKS, ESTROGEN IS NO JOKE IN A HEN.
And when they say give her a suprelorin implant, it FIRST SPIKES ESTROGEN BEFORE SUPPRESSING. There is another implant, forget the name, it doesnt do it like that, it acts to shut down ovary activity straight up in a different manner.
HOW TO SLOW DOWN EXCESS ESTROGEN IN A HEN OR BIRD
These are
supports, especially if a bird has signs of clotting, lethargy, seizures, or hormonal imbalance:
1.
Vitamin E (Natural Anti-Estrogen + Blood Thinner)
**Dose:
*Hens/small birds:
25–50 IU/day
*Form: Use
d-alpha-tocopherol (natural form), not synthetic dl-alpha.
*Caution: High doses + bleeding risk? Pair with tiny dose selenium only if confirmed deficient, or back off.
2. DIM (Di-indolylmethane) – from cruciferous greens
*
Action: Helps
clear spent estrogen via liver
***Sources: Kale, bok choy, pak choy, collards, mustard greens (birds with high estrogen may show signs like eating a lot of grass or other greens to try and counter high estrogen out of instinct).
==>>Tip: Steam (boiling reduces all nutrient content. Steaming is much better) and chop fine. NO BIG pieces. Add to soft foods, or use alone. Not too much if the bird is weak—small pinch once/day.
3. Turmeric (Curcumin)
**Jesse's tip here:
I DO NOT LIKE using Vit E and turmeric together. If your hen is a likely bleeding risk, (inflamed already, recent history of blood on egg shell), then be very careful in dosing and only USE ONE of vit E or turmeric. NEVER both. One should be enough, but if you sense she need more help, pair it up with the other, so using vit E and turmeric together-- and do not dose those together, keep dosing of E separate from dosing of turmeric. The idea is to give her a nice easy stream of anti-coagulants to keep her going along fine.
**Action:
Liver detox, mild anti-estrogen, mild blood thinner, anti-inflammatory
***Dose:
*Hens:
1/8 tsp once/day, mixed in mash
PRO TIP: to activate curcumin, the helpful part of turmeric, add to oil, add heat. Crystals in that is the curcumin itself. So you can make a small batch, gently heat in oil, stir, test with spoon, feel the tiny crunch of the crystals arriving. Best oil is low-PUFA (no soy, no canola, no mixed vegetable oil). Best mixed with olive oil or coconut oil. Now, add piperine. That's in blakc pepper. A quarter teaspoon of
black pepper per 1.5 tspn turmeric will ACTIVATE the curcumin (turmeric) a lot better than just relying on curcumin alone. Some estimates are like a hundred (others a thousand) times more potent. Best taken with a bit of
black pepper and
fat (oil) to absorb properly. At that point, using potentiated curcumin, drop vit E, unless you decide she needs that additional step of help.
4. Milk Thistle (Silymarin)
*WHY:
Helps liver detox the paths that will clear excess hormones, estrogen
***
Dose:
**
Safe starter dose:
20–40 mg silymarin per day
That’s about
1/8 to 1/6 of a 250 mg pill, or roughly the size of a small pea’s worth of powder if that's all you can get.
5. Hydration and Electrolytes
Aim to help flush your hen's system, she will thank you for it. Flush system, especially liver/kidneys, if estrogen buildup is suspected. Panting, yellow poop, or closed eyes can hint at toxin load or clot risk, or recent min-stroke from excess estrogen.
Final Notes
*Aim is not to block all estrogen. But to shed the excess. Estrogen is still good, it’s vital for how hens make bone, feathers, eggs.
**What you want is to balance
and clear the overload from liver backup, ovarian cysts, or chemical exposure (e.g., from plastics, feed contaminants, or implants like Suprelorin).
**
HIGH RISK: If using Suprelorin IMPLANT, vets will never tell you that it first
spikes estrogen, then suppresses. You find one that does tell you, ol' Jesse will send you his hat with his boots.
That spike can cause mini strokes if bird is already weak or depleted.
FOLKS, THIS IS MANAGEABLE. you just have to know HOW. No need to avoid the breeds that have risk of repro issues, which also happen to be some of the most nicest breeds for personality and temperament. They travel well without fuss and they get on well with other pets. So you just need to be informed, and then you need to be geared up with the right supplements to roll out with your hen:
But the FIVE main breeds with these issues are:
1. ISA Brown (and most commercial sex-links). Risk level: Extremely high
Why: Engineered for nonstop egg production (often 300+ eggs/year), which overstimulates the ovaries and rapidly depletes calcium, vitamin A, and other critical nutrients
Common issues: Internal laying, reproductive tumors, egg binding, strokes, fatigue, EYP (egg yolk peritonitis, which Delta Dawn had all these and we fought like a devil to get her back time after time... But this latest stroke thing, granma missed it. I missed it... and the black cut that runs deep in my heart after losing my best friend, my sister, my queen, my Delta Dawn will remind me day after day of the mistakes I made in not seeing it quicker. I should have started with the key of all her issues. I was a fool. This idiot learned the worst and hardest way anyone can learn. For you DD, we will help others....)
2.
Leghorn (White or Brown, it don't matter). Risk level: High
Why: High-production heritage breed; modern strains lay nearly daily
Common issues: Repro fatigue, prolapse, soft eggs, osteoporosis (caused by vitamin A drain and Calcium depletion, as body tries to self correct with drawing calcium from bones), strokes in heat or under stress
Note: some being flighty and thin-bodied these crits can hide sickness until it's late.
3.
Golden Comet / Red Star / Cinnamon Queen. Risk level: High
Why: Hybrid layers like ISA Brown; same nonstop reproductive push
Common issues: Early reproductive burnout, sudden collapse, egg yolk peritonitis
****Lifespan: Often under 3or 4 years without medical management or reduced laying.
4.
Rhode Island Red (hatchery lines).
Risk level: Medium–High
Why: Older breed, but hatcheries bred them for higher lay rates than intended
Common issues: Can develop ovarian cysts, EYP, and liver issues under poor nutrition or long-term stress
Note: Nuggety and heavier-bodied, they are good pretenders and often mask problems longer, you will miss them if not careful.
5.
Sussex (especially hybrids or "production Sussex") Risk level: Medium
Why Problems: Big-bodied, prone to
fatty liver, and
estrogen dominance under poor feed or confinement
*
Common issues: Liver hemorrhage, comb darkening, stasis-like symptoms, reproductive collapse.
Jess and gramma J learned the hard way. There is no loss like losing a part of your soul, a gentle creature that gave you so much more than all the forums of the world could hold if trying to write it all out.
May you all do better, love longer, cope smarter, do finer. Take our lessons, print them out, Jesse here cares less about copyright. Anything I have you might find useful, consider you own it too, it's yours.
. 
