- Thread starter
- #41
ChickenMama308
Songster
- Mar 17, 2018
- 123
- 72
- 101
Ok everyone - big update. We went to the vet today and Nani supposedly has Egg Yolk Peritonitis. They did a fecal test and nothing looked abnormal (though she's been taking antibiotics so maybe this wasn't even worth doing), and then we did an ultrasound of her abdomen and he saw what looked like 'an' eggyolk. He pierced through her abdomen and got a sample of the liquid in there, which was egg yolk. He said it looked clean but didn't know if it had bacteria or not, and I've been giving her an antibiotic for the past 5 days. (In retrospect I wished we would have had tested it for bacteria and I wished he would have completely drained it). He also did mention that it is not for certain that he didn't pierce actually through a soft egg shell while doing this. I haven't mentioned this in the posts, but I have been unaware of Nani's laying status as the hens I've raised have graduated from their coop pretty much altogether at this point and I have no idea where they lay their eggs any more and I've mainly lost interest in having eggs as a part of my diet anyways. She was a regular layer and then I believe her production dropped off a bit and then I lost track as she's a free bird. In retrospect, some of the eggs from either Nani or her sister (another RIR same age) were either slightly deformed, and/or had little calcium (?) buildups on the outside of the egg, creating a very rough texture. Some times these deformed eggs have been very hard / thick shelled, and I've also seen some super soft shelled ones and I always suspected they were from Nani. The thick shelled ones with the rough texture I remember being a pale pink, different from her normal deeper pink / brown color. (I'm just now editing and adding in this info as I see a connection here to all of this.. curious if it's IB, which I never spoke about with the vet) I forgot to tell my vet all of this! Though I have been unaware of her laying status, it seemed pretty obvious to both of us that she hasn't been laying for a while now due to her weight (at least 2-3 weeks) so it's hard to say whether she'll continue to internally lay, if that is what she in fact doing.
He said initially he believed whatever was going on with her was serious as her weight has gotten so low and she virtually has very little muscle tissue, but he wasn't convinced it was a reproductive issue as she seemed somewhat normal / not entirely swollen in the back. He confirmed she is not dehydrated, and does have clear, alert eyes. Now with an EYP diagnosis, all the yellow coloring in her poo seems to make sense (though at times it could have been the dye in her antibiotic pills), and maybe the 'fleshy bits' were cecal core from her bout with coccidiosis (If it ever really was coccidiosis! I wonder if the blood in her poo could have just been somehow apart of what's going on the the EYP?)
Also, some of her liquidy poo consistencies have been like egg white and now that would make sense I believe. He told me he honestly has little experience in familiarity / treating EYP. I googled and read about sterile vs unsterile EYP and asked him if he could drain the rest of the egg yolk from her abdomen in a sterile way and he said that doing that is not a sterile procedure, so somehow I let that slide though I now regret that, as he apparently had already done it anyways. I was still curious if her having an impacted crop is related to the EYP and he said it could potentially be fluids backed up, though her crop is fairly small and it doesn't feel like any firm object is in there. He eventually put some tube down her throat to draw in some liquid, but he said literally nothing came up, so somehow her crop is actually empty though it doesn't feel like it is? He said maybe it's because the crop tissue is all compacted or something? Seems odd to me but if that's really the case, than Why is she not eating much? Just general not feeling well because of the EYP? How can I make sense of her involuntary 'twitch' when she goes to drink water?
I decided to give her some more time, as she doesn't seem she is in pain or miserable at this point from what I can tell, and there is still a will to live. She still wants to eat papaya and spinach. I've taken her out to range with her sisters a bit each day and she really enjoys it and is actually digging and looking around, but is only 'eating' tiny particles of sand and such that makes me think she's either trying to just go through the motions because that's what she does as a chicken - although she doesn't actually have interest in eating anything. And/or, maybe she's looking for specific things to help break things up for digestion? I put some grit in front of her but she had zero interest in it.
The doctor gave me more antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory for her. I in the mean-time will be doing as much research about EYP as I can and will do my best to support her in case she can somehow possibly clear it, and if she doesn't show improvement and seems to be suffering I will go another route.
In the meantime, if anyone has any thoughts, questions or information / good resources on any of these topics and specifically EYP, please send them my way!
Thank you so much and have a beautiful night / say wherever you are! <3
He said initially he believed whatever was going on with her was serious as her weight has gotten so low and she virtually has very little muscle tissue, but he wasn't convinced it was a reproductive issue as she seemed somewhat normal / not entirely swollen in the back. He confirmed she is not dehydrated, and does have clear, alert eyes. Now with an EYP diagnosis, all the yellow coloring in her poo seems to make sense (though at times it could have been the dye in her antibiotic pills), and maybe the 'fleshy bits' were cecal core from her bout with coccidiosis (If it ever really was coccidiosis! I wonder if the blood in her poo could have just been somehow apart of what's going on the the EYP?)
Also, some of her liquidy poo consistencies have been like egg white and now that would make sense I believe. He told me he honestly has little experience in familiarity / treating EYP. I googled and read about sterile vs unsterile EYP and asked him if he could drain the rest of the egg yolk from her abdomen in a sterile way and he said that doing that is not a sterile procedure, so somehow I let that slide though I now regret that, as he apparently had already done it anyways. I was still curious if her having an impacted crop is related to the EYP and he said it could potentially be fluids backed up, though her crop is fairly small and it doesn't feel like any firm object is in there. He eventually put some tube down her throat to draw in some liquid, but he said literally nothing came up, so somehow her crop is actually empty though it doesn't feel like it is? He said maybe it's because the crop tissue is all compacted or something? Seems odd to me but if that's really the case, than Why is she not eating much? Just general not feeling well because of the EYP? How can I make sense of her involuntary 'twitch' when she goes to drink water?
I decided to give her some more time, as she doesn't seem she is in pain or miserable at this point from what I can tell, and there is still a will to live. She still wants to eat papaya and spinach. I've taken her out to range with her sisters a bit each day and she really enjoys it and is actually digging and looking around, but is only 'eating' tiny particles of sand and such that makes me think she's either trying to just go through the motions because that's what she does as a chicken - although she doesn't actually have interest in eating anything. And/or, maybe she's looking for specific things to help break things up for digestion? I put some grit in front of her but she had zero interest in it.
The doctor gave me more antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory for her. I in the mean-time will be doing as much research about EYP as I can and will do my best to support her in case she can somehow possibly clear it, and if she doesn't show improvement and seems to be suffering I will go another route.
In the meantime, if anyone has any thoughts, questions or information / good resources on any of these topics and specifically EYP, please send them my way!
Thank you so much and have a beautiful night / say wherever you are! <3
Attachments
Last edited:
