egg yolk peritonitis? My buff Orpington is sick

[Madison Lorenzen]

Yes it's her first dose. I don't know what she is sick with though, so I don't know if it will help her. I've tried banana, blueberry, bread, crackers, veggies and eggs, and she won't eat anything. She's always been a big eater so that's really weird. What else could I offer her?

 

[micstrachan]

Hmmm... tuna? Do you have access to live mealworms? At this point, I’d go out into the yard and dig up earth worms. However, earthworms can carry chicken worms, so not sure how wise that is. Just thinking getting her to eat ANYTHING might give her some strength while she’s waiting for the meds to kick in.

 

[Madison Lorenzen]

We got her to eat a few bites of tuna. I was really happy about it, because we haven't been able to get her to eat anything. I'm gonna try to get some mealworms on Friday and see if she'll eat those. I'm just wondering what's wrong with her. I don't know what it is

 

[micstrachan]

I’m so sorry. I wish I knew. I am very hopeful the antibiotics help her. Someone, @azygous, I think, mentioned that antibiotics seem to help ~50% of the time, even if you never find out the underlying cause of illness. Definitely worth a shot, in my opinion.

 

[micstrachan]

A couple other food options that aren’t high protein, but might help sustain her.... cooked rice or oatmeal.

 

[azygous]

Chopped hard boiled egg has always worked for my sick chickens to get them eating again. The antibiotic, if it's going to work, usually starts to make a difference in 24 hours. Sometimes I see an almost immediate improvement. Remember, it only works against bacteria. If it's cancer, nothing is going to make a difference.

Did you mention you'd lost another girl in the recent past? Or am I thinking of another thread? This could be related.

 

[Eggcessive]

Amoxicillin is best given in 2 or 3 divided doses for animal throughout the day. A 5 pound chicken should get 250 mg, so if you can mix it in something and give half in morning and half in evening, that would keep her blood levels of the medicine steady.

 

[Madison Lorenzen]

Yes. I did lose one girl two years ago to egg binding, and another in February.

 

[Madison Lorenzen]

So far the meds haven't made a difference in her behavior

 

[azygous]

I'm still holding out hope for the antibiotic to work, and so should you. However, you seem to have had a rather high rate of sickness and death in such a young flock.

Did you get a necropsy on either of the previous two deaths? If not, can you be certain of cause of death? If this hen doesn't respond to the antibiotic, it may indicate something other than bacteria is at work in your flock.

Avian viruses can produce cancerous tumors on organs, resulting in what may seem mysterious deaths or lead you to conclude it was EYP. These virus tumors don't respond to antibiotics. Should you lose this third hen, I strongly urge you to get a necropsy.