Do antibiotics have a chance of helping this case? (vet says widespread salpingitis)

[Mayalys]

I have a 2 year old ISA Brown (one of four free-ranging chicken) who had a few thin shelled eggs after a heat wave and then one broken inside that she then expelled. Her appetite is very poor, got an impacted crop since the egg issues started, and she moves very slowly and separates herself from the others. Crest still looks healthy. I took her to the vet thinking she is egg bound because she was trying to lay but nothing was coming out, and was unsure if it is safe to work on the crop in these circumstances. The vet x-rayed her and says she has so much inflammation inside that it is pressing on her internal organs and this is why the crop is not emptying, but no egg on the oviduct. The inflammation is so bad that he cannot distinguish anything else, he said, and prescribed me antibiotics and meloxicam. The hen unfortunately goes into shock when I administer the antibiotics (freezes, gaping, comb and wattles bleach out, and it takes half an hour to get color back and stand up, and then sits and stares and my house for another hour); my hens are not used to being handled. I can tell the meloxicam helps for a few hours when it kicks in, but are the antibiotics likely to help, or am I making her suffer needlessly? I have given them for two days but I'm not sure I see any improvement. This hen was my earliest and best layer who would not stop laying large eggs no matter what (molting, hot, cold, crest bleeding everywhere...). I'm afraid what I thought was her "natural aggression" might have been in fact pain.

I would appreciate any type of personal experience or insight. I got the chicks as a gift for my kid (long story, but I didn't pick this breed, and I never will again). However, I am taking care of them and got very attached, and I would like to do the kindest thing possible for this hen.

 

[Eggcessive]

Unfortunately, at her stage of the reproductive disorder, it looks grim for recovery. Antibiotics may help if started in the early days of a reproductive infection, such as when the hen has an egg break inside. But hers may have been going on for awhile. Infections and repro problems seem to affect high production breeds like Isa more often.

Have you tried making scrambled egg or using a food that she might like, in a small amount to hide the meds? My hens would fight for egg, but I have also used liverwurst, canned cat food pate, cream cheese as vessels to make giving meds easily. Just don’t put out too much. You can give more after she eats the pill. Crush tablets into powder or open a capsule and just put it in the food.

 

[Mayalys]

Thank you so much for your reply! I really did think after the vet description that it sounds untreatable, but the vet said that sometimes they recover, and she supposedly looks good otherwise (and no lash egg). I guess he was overoptimistic or just trying to be encouraging. She did look somewhat better this morning and started pecking around and being more vocal, so maybe now I have a chance to figure out how to give the medication in the food. Sadly, they are liquid, and the antibiotics are a fair quantity, bright pink, and I suspect icky tasting. I might have a chance with the meloxicam though, maybe in mash? Never knew hens might like liverwurst.

I did figure out this morning that what the chicken really hates is having her face covered. I'll get a second person to help me this evening and see if with two people we can do better (twice a day oral medication for 14 days is no joke). With help, I figure I can try for a couple more days to see what the antibiotics can do, and be ready to pivot if need be, as I have a feeling that when she lays again the problems will restart, even if she gets better otherwise. I wish the implants to give chicken a break from laying were available in US. This hen could have used a break a while ago. I really do think these hybrids should not exist. Poor birds.

 

[Eggcessive]

Most meds are available in tablet form as well. Here are some good methods for giving liquid medicine to chickens:
Read post 2:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-give-a-chicken-liquid-medicine.886914/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

 

[Mayalys]

Most meds are available in tablet form as well. Here are some good methods for giving liquid medicine to chickens:
Read post 2:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-give-a-chicken-liquid-medicine.886914/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

Thank you so much for this thread, I tried a few ideas. I must have a particularly recalcitrant chicken, I guess. When the vet tried to demonstrate to me the “vet method” in that thread, it took in the end 3 people to administer the medication (one to hold the hen, one to pull on crest and wattles, and one with the syringe). And that’s when she was really sick. Now that she’s improving, even with 2 people it’s difficult. Today I had to end by covering her eyes again, and while she wasn’t as in shock, it stresses her a lot, so I cannot do that again. But she is indeed improving, and today she ate some sunflower seeds, so the crop issue must be clearing as well. So I have to make this work now. The antibiotic must taste particularly gross, since she can taste it through anything and I don’t have enough to waste more trying.

 

[Mayalys]

Update: I had to stop giving the antibiotics after day 9. She improved enough that the whole process was difficult to the point of impossible without making matters way worse. A method would work once and never again. Also, she developed an issue with her eyes due to the medicine, as far as I can tell. It's fine if bugs are moving, but she peers at snacks like she can't make them out, and will stare for a while before trying to grab a snack from my hand. It's been about two days without antibiotics and the eyes don't seem improved, and her overall progress is uneven and also complicated by hot weather. She laid one egg that had a soft spot and then went into molt, dropping chest feathers everywhere (first full molt since she started laying, at 50 months). I'm hoping the infection is down enough and this molt has a chance of resetting her shell issues, but I'm also keeping my expectations low.

 

[Eggcessive]

Would anything in her eyes show up in pictures?

 

[Mayalys]

Would anything in her eyes show up in pictures?

They look clear to me, if somewhat unfocused, but I will do my best to take a picture later today. Eye dryness maybe??? She is highly suspicious of me now so she avoids me as much as she can. She did just lay something that I think is a lash egg with some liquid egg (I think — another chicken was busy eating the long eggy straw, giving me a heart attack, so she might have pierced the membrane); meaty part is about 2 inches long. Now the chicken actually looks a lot nimbler and with a more upright posture. Not sure what to do now. She is losing feathers at a very rapid pace (a large number of flight feathers dropped today), so handling her will be even trickier if new feathers are coming in. It’s possible I did all I could.

 

[Mayalys]

UPDATE 3 Months Later
The chicken has fully molted and seems to be doing well, although she does feel somewhat more aged in movements and less heat tolerant than others. Her eggs are no longer so big and while she still has some glitches (got a fart egg and a shell-less egg the same day), she seems healthy and her eggs after molt have the best eggshell of the lot. The others still haven't had their first adult molt (despite being 2 and a half). Since then two others became egg bound and crop stuck, then had liquid eggs and I gave them Aqua Mox in cat food right away in the hope I can prevent this bad infection from happening and needing these disgusting antibiotics. They seem recovered but who knows. In summary, in this case the trouble was worth it, but I don't know if I'm capable of doing this again.

I now realize I didn't post the eye pictures (I thought I did), but that part got fixed by itself. There was no visible problem and I believe it was eye dryness or possibly even irritation from antibiotics going in the eye because she fought so much.

 

[Mayalys]

UPDATE just a few days later after the last one: the chicken died today of the same reproductive problems she initially had (a very sad day for me); she went downhill very fast during a few random very hot days. So the last post was clearly optimistic. Would I do it again knowing what I know now? I had to try, but I will spare myself the trouble of forcing yucky antibiotics down a chicken's throat for reproductive issues. Looks like for Isa Brows, genetics wins.