Chicken birth control???

[Nambroth]

Implants are sometimes used to stop egg layin in "pet" birds when egg laying becomes life threatening.

-Kathy

Deslorelin is also used in loved pet parrots when hens lay to the point of impacting their health negatively. Vets only tend to give it as a last resort before surgery, as organ removal can be very risky in parrots.
Generally, vets give these drugs as last resorts, and only when the health of the bird is in question.

And, they can work- but not in every situation. I have friends that have had cockatiels and one with an old cockatoo live much longer with this medical aid, but a veterinary exam to determine causes of laying too much is needed. For example, a hormonal imbalance vs. reproductive tract irregularities vs. ovarian tumors, etc. It all matters.

 

[casportpony]

I can see doing it for a parrot, but a chicken? Maybe if one was super attached with a bunch of disposable income.

FWIW, I have heard that the "spay" surgery for birds is ~$1500.

-Kathy

 

[Nambroth]

I can see doing it for a parrot, but a chicken? Maybe if one was super attached with a bunch of disposable income.

FWIW, I have heard that the "spay" surgery for birds is ~$1500.

-Kathy

It matters on the hen, and the person, and how deep their pockets are! I am not one to judge if someone is very attached to their chicken vs. their parrot. If one has a hen they are very fond of and her problem is hormonal and the implant is apt to work, I can't rightly judge them any more than someone saving their other pets. The implant isn't too expensive, depending on your vet. I'd never think poorly of someone doing it if the bird was a proper candidate, nor would I think poorly of someone that chose not to do so. It's very personal.

You are right, the cost for a hysterectomy in a chicken is very high. My vet told me my options when I took my hen in reproductive distress in. She explained that it would cost $1000 just to put her on the operating table, because of the cost of procedure and time involved, even if she ended up having to euth on the operating table. This vet has successfully done hysterectomies in hens before, but she only suggests it if the bird is a good candidate. After a sonogram (thankfully inexpensive) we determined my hen was full of tumors and was not internally laying, and we opted to euthanize as there were no realistic treatment options and I couldn't see her suffering to her end. It turns out that she had ovarian cancer and so the decision was the right one to make, so for me, getting the whole picture and educating myself led to the kindest decision.

Am I a nutjob for spending the money to do the ultrasound to make a better decision? I don't know-- probably, I am, to some! But I can sleep better knowing I did my best for that hen, and that the kindest thing was to let her go, and I did love her, and miss her. Would I have done the implant if she was a good candidate for it? I probably might have tried it, as long as it did not cause her distress (I recall it being about the same cost as a necropsy, so...). I researched it before we went to the vet, though, so I was armed with some knowledge about it. I have kept parrots my whole life, too, so I had that background as well.
Would I have done the surgery if my hen was a good candidate for that? Well, I regret I probably couldn't have afforded it. Not that my animals hold a specific dollar value to me, but I must be realistic about my financial situation, too. I am also not sure that I would have wanted to put her through it.

 

[casportpony]

Well said.

-Kathy

 

[seminolewind]

They have a hormone that prevents egg formation. The injection last a few months.
They also have a stitch (purse stitch?) that keeps the prolapse in but doesn't close the vent off.

 

[enola]

Limiting the amount of day light would help. This may involve her becoming a house chicken, but, it would certainly be less invasive than major surgery and much much cheaper.

 

[Nambroth]

Limiting the amount of day light would help. This may involve her becoming a house chicken, but, it would certainly be less invasive than major surgery and much much cheaper.

Yes, reducing hormonal triggers can be helpful for some birds. For parrots, we try to make sure that photoperiod (amount of daylight the bird gets, either via natural light or artificial light) is reduced. In parrots, usually the recommendation is approximately 10-12 hours of darkness per night... admittedly I do not know what the ideal amount for chickens would be, but that would be a good place to start. Parrots often see their people as their "mates" and receive "affectionate petting" (for some parrots, this can be benign head-scratching and the like!) the wrong way and it triggers them further. In chickens this is probably much less of an issue unless you find your hen squatting for you often; in this case it's best to ignore the behavior. Limiting exposure to potential nesting spots can also help, but we all know that some hens are so stubborn they will try to nest anywhere!