MyCircusMyMonkeys
Chirping
- Jul 28, 2025
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Hello good folks of BYC! I've benefited a lot from other people's Sick Chicken threads and wanted to post about my confirmed case of egg yolk peritonitis as a reference for people out there desperately googling because their hen is seemingly filled with fluid.
Our ~9 month old pullet Dove (sapphire sky) started laying at 4/5 months, but stopped after a month or two. We had too many roosters in the run at the time, so we attributed it to stress, especially when we found a wound in her side. She hasn't laid since, though she's sometimes gone to the box to sit there.
Less than a month ago, I noticed our dainty little Dove was the snackiest mofo in the west (she could put away squash goop like nobody's business) and I wasn't entirely surprised by the next observation: that she was heavy. However, when I paid more attention I realized her butt was Not Like Other Butts; it was more rounded and soft. With a heart heavy as a fluid-filled hen, I started researching water belly. She wasn't showing any other symptoms like a purple comb or panting, and as mentioned she was still extremely alert and on the hunt for treats, though she sometimes sat in her favored nesting box (possibly to rest her swollen abdomen, maybe because she felt pressure). She still had all her feathers and didn't LOOK wrong, but eventually her walk became more waddley.
I worried for her internal organs, and after doing a lot of research my chicken coparent and I decided we needed to drain her. If nothing else we'd know what we were dealing with, or be closer to knowing. This video was very helpful, and contains all the necessary warnings re: not draining too much, not poking the chicken more than you need to, etc. This is the liquid we drained:
Fluid collected from a chicken with egg yolk peritonitis.
So it wasn't straw yellow, as we'd expected in the case of organ failure, and it wasn't dark like there was a bad infection, but it didn't look like pictures of EYP we'd seen online—one of the reasons I'm posting this!
In a stroke of extremely good fortune, my sister-in-law's equine vet with avian experience was doing a farm visit for my sister's horse the following week and she agreed to a two-in-one farm visit (we are neighbors). This vet had been helping us from afar by providing antibiotics once and consulting on various issues, but we weren't established clients and I had the impression she was too busy to take us on. ANYWAY, she came here and was wonderful. She inspected Dove and did an X-ray to see if there was a trapped egg (none present but it was clear there was liquid, with no other obvious issues) and then drew liquid for a test back at the lab. It confirmed egg yolk peritonitis.
I'll be picking up (different) antibiotics from the vet later today for a twice-a-day treatment, and will be drawing fluid before the course and after. Will update here for others' reference! I don't know what the antibiotics are yet but I'll find out soon. I know they're in pill form and to be hidden in a blueberry. Dove will hopefully be thrilled! (Once she gets over being pricked again.)
Our ~9 month old pullet Dove (sapphire sky) started laying at 4/5 months, but stopped after a month or two. We had too many roosters in the run at the time, so we attributed it to stress, especially when we found a wound in her side. She hasn't laid since, though she's sometimes gone to the box to sit there.
Less than a month ago, I noticed our dainty little Dove was the snackiest mofo in the west (she could put away squash goop like nobody's business) and I wasn't entirely surprised by the next observation: that she was heavy. However, when I paid more attention I realized her butt was Not Like Other Butts; it was more rounded and soft. With a heart heavy as a fluid-filled hen, I started researching water belly. She wasn't showing any other symptoms like a purple comb or panting, and as mentioned she was still extremely alert and on the hunt for treats, though she sometimes sat in her favored nesting box (possibly to rest her swollen abdomen, maybe because she felt pressure). She still had all her feathers and didn't LOOK wrong, but eventually her walk became more waddley.
I worried for her internal organs, and after doing a lot of research my chicken coparent and I decided we needed to drain her. If nothing else we'd know what we were dealing with, or be closer to knowing. This video was very helpful, and contains all the necessary warnings re: not draining too much, not poking the chicken more than you need to, etc. This is the liquid we drained:
Fluid collected from a chicken with egg yolk peritonitis.
So it wasn't straw yellow, as we'd expected in the case of organ failure, and it wasn't dark like there was a bad infection, but it didn't look like pictures of EYP we'd seen online—one of the reasons I'm posting this!
In a stroke of extremely good fortune, my sister-in-law's equine vet with avian experience was doing a farm visit for my sister's horse the following week and she agreed to a two-in-one farm visit (we are neighbors). This vet had been helping us from afar by providing antibiotics once and consulting on various issues, but we weren't established clients and I had the impression she was too busy to take us on. ANYWAY, she came here and was wonderful. She inspected Dove and did an X-ray to see if there was a trapped egg (none present but it was clear there was liquid, with no other obvious issues) and then drew liquid for a test back at the lab. It confirmed egg yolk peritonitis.
I'll be picking up (different) antibiotics from the vet later today for a twice-a-day treatment, and will be drawing fluid before the course and after. Will update here for others' reference! I don't know what the antibiotics are yet but I'll find out soon. I know they're in pill form and to be hidden in a blueberry. Dove will hopefully be thrilled! (Once she gets over being pricked again.)
