Egg laying issues after molt

[AggieKat]

Glad she's doing better!
It's possible that she's come into lay after getting through this period of decline.

Well here we are again back with another case of infection and subsequent sour crop with Sirius I think it’s possible she may have been laying and then an egg went awry in her system. She started laying down a lot more a few weeks ago and puffing up, so I felt her abdomen under her vent and it was VERY sensitive to her. Called my vet and got another round of Clavamox, which seemed to start to help but then she became even more lethargic. Now we are dealing with sour crop from the antibiotics. She is on about day 5 of twice a day miconozole with little improvement. Wondering if this is just going to be a recurrent cycle with her reproductive issues and I should let her pass? Or cull myself? It sucks because she is the head hen and then my other Australorp hen Pepper will be the only one until the 10 week olds grow up.

I also think my other full grown hen, Pepper has sour crop. She is still doing fine-eating, drinking, and laying…can I just massage her crop and see if it gets moving or do I need to treat with miconozole also?

Is sour crop common or am I just having bad luck with my flock?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Well here we are again back with another case of infection and subsequent sour crop with Sirius I think it’s possible she may have been laying and then an egg went awry in her system. She started laying down a lot more a few weeks ago and puffing up, so I felt her abdomen under her vent and it was VERY sensitive to her. Called my vet and got another round of Clavamox, which seemed to start to help but then she became even more lethargic. Now we are dealing with sour crop from the antibiotics. She is on about day 5 of twice a day miconozole with little improvement. Wondering if this is just going to be a recurrent cycle with her reproductive issues and I should let her pass? Or cull myself? It sucks because she is the head hen and then my other Australorp hen Pepper will be the only one until the 10 week olds grow up.

I also think my other full grown hen, Pepper has sour crop. She is still doing fine-eating, drinking, and laying…can I just massage her crop and see if it gets moving or do I need to treat with miconozole also?

Is sour crop common or am I just having bad luck with my flock?

I'm sorry to hear she's relapsed.

It can become a recurrent problem. I've had that with hens. I just monitor them daily and try to take note of any slight changes so I can hopefully get on top of any issues arising and begin addressing symptoms.
I don't cull until a hen is unable somewhat recover. If they can bounce back with supportive care or minimal treatment, then I just monitor until the next time.

As for Pepper, check her crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink. If the crop is not emptying, then begin to work on the crop. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[AggieKat]

I'm sorry to hear she's relapsed.

It can become a recurrent problem. I've had that with hens. I just monitor them daily and try to take note of any slight changes so I can hopefully get on top of any issues arising and begin addressing symptoms.
I don't cull until a hen is unable somewhat recover. If they can bounce back with supportive care or minimal treatment, then I just monitor until the next time.

As for Pepper, check her crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink. If the crop is not emptying, then begin to work on the crop. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

I’ve done a full course of miconozole with no improvement Sirius has lost a ton of weight and spends most of her day laying down. She wants to still drink and will eat treats when I bring them out, but hardly eats the regular feed.

Her comb has flopped over, is pale, and discolored. I’m thinking it might be time for me to let her go but I’m heartbroken. I took my last hen to the vet to euthanize but it’s $75 and I feel like if I’m going to keep chickens, I need to learn how to do it myself. I’m also thinking of doing a necropsy so I can learn what happened. I suspect internal laying and peritonitis.

Any advice? Thank you for advising me through both of my hens’ illnesses @Wyorp Rock and @azygous. Grateful for your experience and knowledge

 

[azygous]

I'm so sorry. You've tried your best, and now it may be she has issues much more serious and untreatable. Yes, you need to learn to euthanize as it's a part of keeping chickens. This is the most humane method. https://the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-humanely-euthanize-chicken-by-dr/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I’ve done a full course of miconozole with no improvement Sirius has lost a ton of weight and spends most of her day laying down. She wants to still drink and will eat treats when I bring them out, but hardly eats the regular feed.

Her comb has flopped over, is pale, and discolored. I’m thinking it might be time for me to let her go but I’m heartbroken. I took my last hen to the vet to euthanize but it’s $75 and I feel like if I’m going to keep chickens, I need to learn how to do it myself. I’m also thinking of doing a necropsy so I can learn what happened. I suspect internal laying and peritonitis.

Any advice? Thank you for advising me through both of my hens’ illnesses @Wyorp Rock and @azygous. Grateful for your experience and knowledge

I'm sorry to hear Sirius is failing

You have done a good job taking care of her. Sadly, there comes a time when there's nothing more that can be done.

It's understandable that to be anxious when putting one down, it's never easy, but I do agree it's something that every keeper needs to be able to do. Carol gave you a link to a good method. I use the broomstick method on my sick hens.

Doing a necropsy is a good way to hopefully find out what's going on. If you decide to investigate further, then if you can, take pictures and we'll try to help you with what you find. You may find the video below helpful in identifying the different organs.

 

[AggieKat]

I'm sorry to hear Sirius is failing

You have done a good job taking care of her. Sadly, there comes a time when there's nothing more that can be done.

It's understandable that to be anxious when putting one down, it's never easy, but I do agree it's something that every keeper needs to be able to do. Carol gave you a link to a good method. I use the broomstick method on my sick hens.

Doing a necropsy is a good way to hopefully find out what's going on. If you decide to investigate further, then if you can, take pictures and we'll try to help you with what you find. You may find the video below helpful in identifying the different organs.

@azygous I got home from work and went ahead and euthanized her with the broomstick method. It was every bit as awful as I thought it would be. But I’m glad she isn’t suffering anymore because all day today she has just been laying down with her eyes closed.

I’m going to try to collect myself to do the autopsy and see if I can figure out what went wrong. I suspect laying problems that then blocked her whole system with sour crop being the final symptom that I couldn’t cure.

RIP Sirius Black. You were my favorite and the head hen. We will miss you and your sassy, beautiful self.

 

[AggieKat]

I opened her up and my poor sweet girl was FULL of egg yolks, y’all. There was nowhere for all of her internal laying to go It was all the way up her legs and up to her neck.

Is this common in higher production hens? She was a hatchery egg Australorp from
Cackle Hatchery. Hoping I don’t have this happen again with my last of the Australorp sisters I have left, Pepper.

How can I merge Pepper, the last hen, with my 12 week old pullets? Right now, they have access to each other’s runs and coops but they stick to their own areas. Will Pepper be okay without her flock mate and adapt?

@azygous @Wyorp Rock

 

[azygous]

Unfortunately, internal laying can happen to any hen, any breed, any age. It's not known what exactly causes it, but some sort of trauma to the oviduct is often the cause, and eggs reverse course in the oviduct and spill over into the abdominal cavity. The youngest hen with this in my flock was just short of one year old and she was a Blue Andalusian.

Your older hen will eventually warm up to the younger ones over time as they all become used to one another.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear about Sirius Black, she was just lovely
I used to have a couple of Black Australorps, I enjoyed them very much. Sadly, I lost both when they were fairly young to reproductive problems.

I know it must've been hard on you to do all this, it really never gets much easier. However, it was good that you were able to investigate further and be able to understand more about why she was declining. Hopefully this will bring you some measure of comfort about making the decision to let her go and to know that there was nothing more you could done. You did provide her with lots of love and care and that's what matters most.

I think Pepper will be o.k., she'll eventually accept the youngsters as they mature. It takes time and sometimes a bit of drama for things to settle down.