chicken hysterectomy -- live in Urbana, IL, want a vet recommendation

[GoldenSilverLaced]

I have a hen, Dunch, who has been laying soft eggs for 6 months now. We have tried everything we know of -- calcium, vitamin D3, protein, other supplements -- with no change. She does not have any other problems except for the soft eggs. On Monday night she strained for over 5 hours, including in a warm tub with massages. It has only gotten worse over time and I am at the end of my rope. I don't want her to suffer, but she is also a beloved pet and as she is healthy otherwise (and recovers very well and very quickly after each soft egg) I do not want to cull her.

I have searched on the forum for chicken hysterectomies, and have found a bit of info:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2078450
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/PennysSurgery/PennysSurgery.html

What I'd like to know is -- who was Penny the hen's vet who performed the hysterectomy? I can't find any info about that. I too live in Urbana, IL, but short of calling all the vets in town (not trivial) I am not sure who she went to for the surgery besides that it seems likely that the vet was affiliated with UIUC. Any info about the vet, or any other good vet in town that will care for chickens, would be appreciated. Any other info about other remedies to try for Dunch's problem is also welcome. TIA!

 

[theFox]

Here are a couple of things you might not have looked at.

Disturbances causing eggs to be laid before calcification of the shell is complete Minimize activities which create disturbances in and around the layer shed. Increase shed security to stop other birds and animals entering the shed.

Saline water Desalinate, dilute or do not use drinking water containing problem levels of salts.

 

[theFox]

And it turns out that in order for a hen to use Vitamin D it has to also have adequate levels of Vitamin C.

 

[GoldenSilverLaced]

That's really interesting...it wasn't referenced in the poultry text book I checked. I don't remember if chickens/birds can manufacture Vit C internally or not (unlike humans, who need external sources), but we can certainly supplement her.

We can provide her with deionized/sterile water, and mix a bit of tap water into it to prevent leaching all the minerals from her bones (too little is as bad as too much, I figure).

The girls are almost 2 and have laid eggs faithfully since they were 4 months old. Dunch laid USDA extra-large eggs 7 days a week, on a 22-26 hour cycle. She was amazing. Around last fall we noticed she didn't want to eat the oyster shell we provided (we had changed sources and the size of the oyster shells were a little larger) and she stopped eating the yogurt we provided often as a treat. Her problems started in October, a year almost to the day after she began laying. We switched back ASAP to the old source of oyster shell, but no dice. Since then, we have provided oyster shell (as always), spinach, kale, mustard greens, yogurt, oatmeal mixed with yogurt, honey and ground egg shells (from a commercial source). In addition, we soaked some foods with liquid calcium/D3/Mg supplement (3-in-1, the Ca was in the form of calcium borogluconate) and supplemented the water with vit D3 2-3x per week. I found the 3-in-1 and ground egg shell from a finch supplier.

We can try to minimize all disturbances to the best of our ability.

These soft eggs come in the late afternoon/evening unlike her hard eggs which were 99% of the time around 8 am.

We will try these and report the outcome -- thanks theFox!

 

[Chic Chick]

Quote:
I'm sorry I don't see your point and if a chicken is straining for 6 months and isn't culled then I flat out call that animal cruelity.

Edited to remove ridicule.

 

[babsbag]

She is a pet, so they are willing to spend the money, their choice. Although some may find it a waste, it is still their choice. And if they do the surgery then the chicken won't be straining anymore to lay eggs so all should be well.

I am no help on finding them a vet, but I can at least let them make the decision on how to spend their money on their chicken. Some choose to spend it on cats, dogs, goats, or maybe even things that don't live or breathe. I applaud the fact that they care enough to look at options.

 

[chookchick]

I can find no fault in someone trying to care for their pet in whatever manner they can. I'm assuming you have PM'd the original poster? I would start calling vets--they know each other, and you can probably get referred fairly quickly to one who works on birds, and might be willing to do the hysterectomy. Be aware that surgery with anesthetic is very risky on birds, and they may not be successful.

 

[GoldenSilverLaced]

Chic Chick, She is a pet. Eggs are secondary. So to me it is a moot point wether or not she can lay. Perhaps I should be more clear: She used to lay every day. In October, she stopped. I thought she was going to molt, was reaching 1.5 years old, taking a break, whatever. She acted, and still acts, fine; no personality changes, not depressed, very active. 1-2 weeks after she stopped laying, I found the first soft egg. She then laid soft eggs occasionally, and as far as I can tell (since I check on the girls often when I am home) it didn't take 5+ hours to lay them. She then stopped laying for approx. 3 months. Nothing. I thought perhaps a combination of the shorter daylight hours and cold weather, plus her age, had stopped the problem. I continued calcium in the form of greens and yogurt, less than before since I didn't want to OD the hens. Monday with the 5 hours of straining was the first egg she's laid in over 3 months. It seems to me that this may be more than just a calcium problem, which is why I want a professional to look at her. My regular avian vet will not check her for me, so one that has a history of successfully diagnosing and performing surgery on chickens seems like the best option to me. Ask questions next time.

Chookchik, I did email the poster who provided the link to Penny's surgery a couple days ago -- no response yet. I can PM too, but I figured email would be more likely to be quickly checked. I have kept multiple species of birds, so I figured that although surgery/anesthesia is risky, she is otherwise healthy and chickens are more hardy, in my experience, than many pet birds. At the very least I can consult with the vet and see what course of action is recommended.

Thank you everyone for your help and advice!

 

[mstricer]

I'm with Chic Chick. Are you kinding me, its a chicken, really you can get another one just as dear as that one. I don't want to sound cruel, but get real. Do you want to strain for 5+ hours having a poop.
If you don't want her to suffer put her down quietly. There is reason you Avain vet doesn't want to see you, think about it.

 

[Chic Chick]

Unhelpful comments removed. ​