- Sep 3, 2014
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I spent hours searching yesterday, and BYC made my life a million times easier. However, there are some things I couldn't find answers for.
I'll give you all the story as short as possible.
Yesterday I was outside with our goats (we've had them less than a week) and as I was walking past the chickens, I noticed that one of our Easter Egger hens was doing the squat walk and had her tail feathers down. I immediately separated her from the others, and went inside to see if I could find an answer. Eventually it came down to we needed to attempt to drain fluid from her swollen belly, and I was entrusted with the draining (hooray for wanting to be a nurse). I did palpate and did not feel an egg, and had to feel inside of her vent, so I ruled out egg bound. When it came time to remove fluid, I was extremely gentle and as sterile as possible, but I couldn't get any fluid in the syringe. After two small pokes, I removed the needle and noticed it was clogged, and what came out was, in my opinion, 100% egg yolk. We do not have a vet anywhere near here that is experienced with chickens, which is why we took matters into our own hands. We also got some baytril (vet wouldn't see hen but would give us that) and gave her an injection yesterday. Today she seems to be much better. She still has her tail feathers down when she's on her feet but her walking seems much better and much more frequent. I did witness her eat and drink, but there was some runny stool under the perch she was on, that looked like it may have been 'yolky'.
So my questions are
1. Is it possible that she's somehow passing the yolk? I know that it's in her abdominal cavity, but is it possible?
2. Can a hen recover from EYP or can she live with it? We have no intentions of making her suffer. I can't become a vet because I can't stand to see suffering animals.
3. Is it curable? Some people say no, it's a death sentence, others say it's somewhat curable.
Is there anything else I need to know or take into consideration? I have read that it can be difficult to tell if a chicken is in pain. I'm mostly afraid of infection and the fact that her body is continuing to produce and push yolk into her abdomen.
I'll give you all the story as short as possible.
Yesterday I was outside with our goats (we've had them less than a week) and as I was walking past the chickens, I noticed that one of our Easter Egger hens was doing the squat walk and had her tail feathers down. I immediately separated her from the others, and went inside to see if I could find an answer. Eventually it came down to we needed to attempt to drain fluid from her swollen belly, and I was entrusted with the draining (hooray for wanting to be a nurse). I did palpate and did not feel an egg, and had to feel inside of her vent, so I ruled out egg bound. When it came time to remove fluid, I was extremely gentle and as sterile as possible, but I couldn't get any fluid in the syringe. After two small pokes, I removed the needle and noticed it was clogged, and what came out was, in my opinion, 100% egg yolk. We do not have a vet anywhere near here that is experienced with chickens, which is why we took matters into our own hands. We also got some baytril (vet wouldn't see hen but would give us that) and gave her an injection yesterday. Today she seems to be much better. She still has her tail feathers down when she's on her feet but her walking seems much better and much more frequent. I did witness her eat and drink, but there was some runny stool under the perch she was on, that looked like it may have been 'yolky'.
So my questions are
1. Is it possible that she's somehow passing the yolk? I know that it's in her abdominal cavity, but is it possible?
2. Can a hen recover from EYP or can she live with it? We have no intentions of making her suffer. I can't become a vet because I can't stand to see suffering animals.
3. Is it curable? Some people say no, it's a death sentence, others say it's somewhat curable.
Is there anything else I need to know or take into consideration? I have read that it can be difficult to tell if a chicken is in pain. I'm mostly afraid of infection and the fact that her body is continuing to produce and push yolk into her abdomen.
