Egg Peritonitis survivor

[curerbell]

I wanted to share our recent experience with Bellina, we were unaware she had Egg Peritonitis until we took her to the vet, she had been quiet and not eating for some days. He took a scan of her stomach and it showed lots of liquid. His first reaction was to put her down but we really didn't want this as we had only just lost another chicken a week earlier (we weren't aware of the cause at the time but it seems to have been Egg Peritonitis) So he offered us the surgery (he had only done this once before on a prize eagle) We were confident that Bellina would be ok, she was still very alert and not weak and overall a very strong bird. He was happy to go ahead with it within the hour of us taking her. He explained that he would remove her ovaries and that egg laying would not be possible again - we had absolutely no issue with this as she is a pet more than anything, full of character and eggs really aren't of importance. A couple of hours later we got the call that she was ok, he had removed a lot of liquid but her insides were quite messy. She had some antibiotics, anti-inflamatory and came home that day. Her underneath got swollen a couple of days later so we had to take her back to get more antibiotics, it's now over a week since she had the operation and she's fine, there is still slight swelling underneath, and we are giving her Lexicom (anti-inflamitory and pain medication) every other day for now. Getting her to eat after the operation was tricky, we've tried every food you can think of; tuna, cat food, grated cheese, scrambled egg, toast (soaked in water)...every day varies - whaterver she takes is good. Watermelon seems to be the best option now. She's still not back to her usual self, may take some time, but we're happy she's still with us and slowly recovering. The operation cost us £100 and our vet was really good. So, it's an option, it worked for us but you need to have the will to help afterwards as much as possible, making sure they drink, eat and not just hide away... Any surgery is obviously a risk so you need to bear this in mind with your chicken, Bellina is such a strong bird, we were prepared to take that chance... We were lucky. I've also posted this on another chicken forum as I want more people to be aware that there is a cure, I have no idea how popular this is or how many of you have gone with it so wanted to tell you of the success we had. If you have any quesions, get in touch!

 

[speckledhen]

Interesting that he told you he would take out her "ovaries". Hens have only one functioning ovary anyway. I hope he got all the gunk out from around the organs and she makes it.


That price would be much higher in the U.S., probably 4 times as much for the same surgery, or even more. Someone quoted me $1500 once for a hysterectomy on a hen. Insane.

 

[Dudu]

Thanks so much for sharing this information, and any updates on your girl? Is she ok now?

Yes, I hear that in the US even for a person to go into the emergency room it costs something insane (for a few simple stiches 200 USD or so).

 

[curerbell]

Sadly, Bellina died last week, she did recover from her operation but over September she started to hide away, eat very little and had no life in her, I'd like to think the operation wasn't part of her downfall, she was good for a month or two since she had it in July. We tried lots of medicine, Tylan, Baytril..the vet even gave her a steroid injection - which worked well, but didn't last, she then went back to vet and had a muli-vitamin jab - which was amazing, really picked her up, she ate well and had good energy, but again, only lasted so long, so after a long battle, she she just stopped eating and got too weak, and we tried LOADS of different foods, some she would definitely eat, others not at all, so if anyone wants more info on what to try then just ask, fruit bread often worked. And cress.
I found her collapsed in her house one night and brought her in, she was still alive but slowly going, so I stayed with her until she passed, very sad, she was amazingly strong until the very end. Vet did a post mortem, the cause was pneumonia.

 

[stargirl]

Poor thing, I'm so sad to hear about your loss x
At least you know you did absolutely everything possible - above & beyond what many do for their chooks! x

 

[Dudu]

I am very very sorry to hear it. Indeed you did EVERYTHING, it was just her destiny to go, really sometimes you just can't help no matter what you do.

I did want to say that inspired by your post I took our ex-battery girl Carly to the doctor's today because when she was dumped at our farm, I noticed her belly was larger and warmer than other hens, and over a month's time (after the first vet visit) it grew bigger. Our doc did endoscopy and xray today and said that whatever it was, was very very large, so he said there are chances he'll open her up and not be able to help. Given that she does not seem to be suffering acutely right now (she eats, drinks and sits on the perch), I opted not to have her operated, not to complicate things more and possibly lose her due to a heavy surgery. I am wondering if I made the right choice, but it just seemed like not a good idea to have her cut up and possibly not being able to do anything (e.g. if it's a tumour that is attached to something vital).

 

[curerbell]

You may have made the right decision... At least she's eating and drinking, Bellina had stopped eating and was hiding away a lot of the time... We couldn't face losing another chicken so soon so we opted for her to have the operation - plus, Bellina was an amazingly strong chicken, we had a lot of confidence she'd pull through. Hope she's ok with you and carries on for a long time.

 

[Dudu]

Yes, every situation is different, for sure. Thanks for your encouragement and for this thread, at least I learned that it CAN be done!