Egg Yolk Peritonitis Help!!!

[azygous]

Just curious if your hen made it?? I just saw this while searching, as we are dealing with the same thing right now with our Buckeye hen...

Our little Penny had started sleeping in the nest box at night, which at first I didn't think much of as she discovered that it's nice and warm in there when she molted in the winter, so now she sometimes sleeps there on cold nights. But after a few days, I noticed she was acting weird in the morning - not eating much, moving slowly, etc. That was when I picked her up and felt her lower belly and found it puffy and swollen. :-( I knew what that meant, as her sister died about a year ago from peritonitis, so I expected her to go quickly. (Henny died within 24 hours of acting sick, so she must have been septic.)

However, Penny hung in there, and I gave her extra vitamins and garlic for a few days while I was waiting for antibiotics (Aqua-Mox) to arrive from Tractor Supply online. She would come out and eat a little, but mostly only kitchen scraps - no feed, and while she would come out to scratch with the others for a few minutes in the evenings when we let them out of the run, she would soon retire to the nest box again.

She has now been on the antibiotics (250mg every morning) for 1 week, and is back to acting totally normal! She's eating normally, scratching, and back to roosting with the others most nights. Her stomach feels pretty much back to normal (I can't tell if it's 100% yet, and she has a VERY fluffy butt, so it's hard to feel sometimes, but it's definitely WAY less swollen than it was). I'm going to continue the antibiotics for a full 10 days based on things I have read from others on this forum, and my fingers are crossed!!

I know people have said it tends to come back, but I'm trying to be hopeful...

Also, just a tip for others trying to give antibiotics (or other meds) to chickens: I have found that mixing the contents of the capsule with a spoonful or two of cooked rice or oatmeal works amazingly well. Even when they're off their feed, they generally gobble it up in seconds like it's candy! And that way you don't have to worry about it settling in water or them not drinking it all, and it's much less traumatic for everyone than trying to cram a pill down their throat.

I hope your Ruby made it through!

There are cases where EYP can be treated successfully if tackled early enough and also the age of the hen helps if she's on the younger side. Your hen is lucky you were on the ball for her.

As for giving antibiotics in pill form, it need not be stressful, mainly for the human who mistakenly worries the hen will choke on a pill or be stressed by prying open the beak.

Putting the intact dose inside the beak of the patient insures she gets the correct dose. Mixing it in water or food, while reducing the inconvenience to the hen, risks not getting the full dose into her. Chickens do not sweat swallowing objects that will choke their humans. They have no teeth for a reason. They do not need to chew their food as the first stage of digestion as humans need to do. Their digestion doesn't start until food reaches their crop and gizzard.

 

[holisticliving]

There are cases where EYP can be treated successfully if tackled early enough and also the age of the hen helps if she's on the younger side. Your hen is lucky you were on the ball for her.

As for giving antibiotics in pill form, it need not be stressful, mainly for the human who mistakenly worries the hen will choke on a pill or be stressed by prying open the beak.

Putting the intact dose inside the beak of the patient insures she gets the correct dose. Mixing it in water or food, while reducing the inconvenience to the hen, risks not getting the full dose into her. Chickens do not sweat swallowing objects that will choke their humans. They have no teeth for a reason. They do not need to chew their food as the first stage of digestion as humans need to do. Their digestion doesn't start until food reaches their crop and gizzard.

Thank you! I am hoping she continues to recover...

I have not had good luck getting our chickens to take meds. No matter how I hold them, they wiggle and squirm and turn their heads away and fuss and struggle the entire time, and it's just an ordeal getting them to take anything, especially if I have to do it daily. (Penny is even harder than most, as she doesn't have any wattles, so I have to try to pull on the skin under her beak, or squeeze the sides and she's stubborn so I'm always worried about hurting her...) Liquids are even harder - I usually end up with most of it squirted all over myself! That's why I tried the rice method - as I can give her just one or two spoonfuls with the stuff mixed in, and she eats every speck of it right up so I make sure she's getting it all. Just my experience - some may have an easier time getting their chickens to open up and take it, but I haven't yet mastered this!

 

[azygous]

Yes, it is indeed a struggle. Even a weak chicken can find super strength when it comes to pill time. Dogs and cats don't have anything over chickens in this regard. Over time, you develop a technique that makes it go smoother. One trick I have is using a bite size piece of bread soaked in olive oil and use it to sop up the med. It doesn't always work, especially if the med is bitter. Meanwhile, do the best you can.

 

[LindaNL]

I have a 7 year old hen that is probably internal laying as well, and I was wondering what meds you are giving and for how long?
Is it the 250g aqua-mox from walmart? And 1 tablet for 17 days?
Thank you!!!!

This is my story:
A few weeks ago I noticed that my 7 year old hen, Eagle, was not her normal self (slower). I found she had a thick belly, it seemed like there was liquid in it. We tried to drain her, but only blood came out. The next couple of days the mass in her belly changed from being liquid to more of a clay substance, and it's less swollen. I'm thinking she is internally laying.
Eagle is slower than normal, she eats less than normal and she hasn't layed an egg since last year (she layed only 1 then, but she is old). Her 7 year old sister just started laying again this month.
Eagle is still sunbathing, taking dust baths and rooming free when I let her out, her poop looks normal.
*My regular vet doesn't know anything about chickens, and an other avian vet is booked until November (!!)