Chicken birth control???

[arlee453]

Birth control as in 'no baby chickens/fertile eggs' is easy - just keep the roo away.

But in your case what I think you are really talking about is keeping the hen from laying/producing eggs at all, so as not to aggrevate or cause further prolapsing.

There are only two ways I know to stop a hen from laying completely...

One is the chicken version of a hysterectomy - removal of the egg producing organs through surgery. Not a cheap option, but will work, and the ONLY cure for chronic prolapsing with egg laying OR internal laying. You'd have to find an avian vet and/or vet school, etc that would be willing to do the surgery - a 'regular' vet, and even many farm/livestock vets would probably not do the surgery due to the complexity, their lack of familiarity/skill in the procedure, and the dangers of anesthesia in birds.

The other is cheaper but maybe not what you were looking for - it's to euthanize the hen.

You might also want to consider contacting any avian vets in your area - other options they they know of for other bird species might work for chickens....

 

[Cuban Longtails]

You would need to remove her reproductive organs (Ovaries) to stop her from laying eggs for good.

 

[Sigma T]

Thanks for your helpful posts everyone!

I'll start looking into the surgery. I hoping that if she gets through this healing process, there won't be another prolapse. If there is, I'll have to determine whether it's worth it to try the hysterectomy and of course if I can find a vet willing to do it.

Thanks!
Stacey

 

[veganchicks]

Stacy, I know you posted this a while ago, but I wanted to share this with you. Yes, ask your vet about deslorelin. It's an implant chip. My local chicken rescue group used it on the hens. See this: http://www.veterinarywebinars.com/assets/Backyard_Poultry_Session_2_Study_Notes.pdf


You asked"
I just posted
Is there such a thing as chicken birth control?"

 

[veganchicks]

Ask your vet about deslorelin. It's an implant chip. Our local chicken rescue group, Chicken Run Rescue, uses it.

 

[Sonya9]

Ask your vet about deslorelin. It's an implant chip. Our local chicken rescue group, Chicken Run Rescue, uses it.

Wow...so that is real? I saw a chicken website where they said their chickens are given a drug to make them stop laying. I honestly thought maybe they "made that up" so they would only get good "pet owners" vs. people adopting just for egg production!

Does it stop laying forever or just stop it for a few months. Seems something that basically "killed" the ovaries would have to have some bad side effects.

I would have to think that it would severely lower the adoption rates though, but I know some groups have their own priorities. Is that primarily done to commercial layers that are expected to die young due to reproductive problems? Or to all breeds of chicken.

What about Caponizing the roo ? Isn't that done regularly. That would render him sterile I would presume.

I looked into this a while back when I had a young roo and didn't plan to have 10 hens for him. I called the local vet school and they told me that the long term survival after being caponized is NOT good. It is generally done to meat birds which means the bird doesn't live a terribly long time, apparently it is not something they would recommend for pet chickens.

 

[Michael Apple]

Ask your vet about deslorelin. It's an implant chip. Our local chicken rescue group, Chicken Run Rescue, uses it.

Are they rescuing chickens or performing experiments on them?

 

[Suzierd]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...tops-hens-with-egg-peritonitis-laying-anymore

A good thread to read.

 

[casportpony]

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

-Kathy

 

[Michael Apple]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...tops-hens-with-egg-peritonitis-laying-anymore

A good thread to read.

To me, and everything I've read about internal laying over time, and E.coli infections, suggests preventative methods and attentive breeding practices are more likely to resolve this problem than implants marketed to people. Sounds to me like wishful thinking and money is the motivator with these implants.

By and large, industry determines that chickens are only a source of meat and eggs. Production is all they are concerned with, not longevity. Nothing else matters so long as they profit. I hold responsible breeders of chickens in high regard. Without them, good genetics would be lost, and many breeds would be extinct. There's lots of terrible stock coming out of hatcheries these days.