Impacted crop on a severely underweight hen - how to treat?

[MissChick@dee]

I wonder if the only way to tell if it's septic EYP vs sterile?

Not sure exactly what you mean by sterile. Septic means that the infection has spread throughout. Sterile means the absence of bacteria or infection. I have never heard of sterile EYP.
In the best case scenario it would be that your hen reacts well to the antibiotics. The infection clears. Then... you have to deal with her laying eggs. If after a bout with EYP she becomes sterile meaning unable to lay eggs again (like a sterile woman can’t have children) then that would truly be the best case scenario because the cycle would not keep repeating. And the antibiotics cleared the infection. Make sense?

 

[nestleaver1]

Thank you, I was just asking about that in a different post! Do you have one that you recommend? Is digestive enzymes for humans acceptable for her?

That's what I've used. Check units for cellulase in particular - the more the better.

 

[ChickenMama308]

Not sure exactly what you mean by sterile. Septic means that the infection has spread throughout. Sterile means the absence of bacteria or infection. I have never heard of sterile EYP.
In the best case scenario it would be that your hen reacts well to the antibiotics. The infection clears. Then... you have to deal with her eggs. If after a bout with EYP she becomes sterile meaning unable to lay eggs again (like a sterile woman can’t have children) then that would truly be the best case scenario because the cycle would not keep repeating. And the antibiotics cleared the infection. Make sense?

I guess I may have confused terms/meanings, but I swear I read some article about 'sterile' EYP unless they were simply talking about internal laying. My hen does seem to be responding to the antibiotics & anti-inflammatories, She is eating more and has more energy to free-range for much of the day. I just wonder how long I should keep her on her medications and what happens when eventually she is no loner on them. I just called in for another week of each. I really hope she goes sterile! Does that happen often in this scenario? That would be amazing. Thank you!!

 

[ChickenMama308]

That's what I've used. Check units for cellulase in particular - the more the better.

Great - thank you so much!!

 

[ChickenMama308]

You could try including some digestive enzymes in her food. Make sure they contain cellulase as any blockage is likely to be plant-based. Mix capsule contents with whatever she will eat - yoghurt or papaya fine. Might help with her crop issues?

How would you recommend dosing digestive enzymes for her?

 

[rebrascora]

Yes, you are correct. Internal laying can occur without infection setting in, so not EYP in that situation.... many people assume the two go hand in hand but the ones I have experience of have been internal laying without EYP infection and the bird has survived over a year without treatment. Moult and winter "off lay season" helps the body to cope but once they start ovulating in the spring, the problem comes to a head pretty quickly again. If your girl is responding to antibiotics though you would kind of assume she did have an infection, however it may be that she has just stopped ovulating due to the time of year and coincidental that she is on antibiotics or other medication is having a benefit. Unfortunately it is not common for them to cease ovulating longer term (become sterile as you put it). Her comb will generally tell you when she is ovulating and when she is not. Bright red, plump comb indicates she is ovulating. If her comb is not bright red and plump, I would stop the antibiotics and see how she goes. You have to remember that antibiotics are hard on their system and may be causing other adverse effects and long term may mean that they are not effective when you need them to be.

 

[MissChick@dee]

@ChickenMamma308 I just feel for you in this situation. I’ve been reading and researching I’m trying to learn. I just relate and feel bad for you and your chicken. Rebascora gave you excellent information. Winter is coming so she’ll have a break from the whole process. It’s a vicious cycle and just so unfair. It’s not like we can do anything to prevent it. It’s not because we did or didn’t do something ya know? Just by the actions you’ve taken I can tell how much she means to you. Life is not fair. The prognosis is full of maintenance to support her condition without any guarantees. My heart aches I just wonder what I would do. Know that you’ll find support here, always. Still praying for y’all.

 

[ChickenMama308]

Yes, you are correct. Internal laying can occur without infection setting in, so not EYP in that situation.... many people assume the two go hand in hand but the ones I have experience of have been internal laying without EYP infection and the bird has survived over a year without treatment. Moult and winter "off lay season" helps the body to cope but once they start ovulating in the spring, the problem comes to a head pretty quickly again. If your girl is responding to antibiotics though you would kind of assume she did have an infection, however it may be that she has just stopped ovulating due to the time of year and coincidental that she is on antibiotics or other medication is having a benefit. Unfortunately it is not common for them to cease ovulating longer term (become sterile as you put it). Her comb will generally tell you when she is ovulating and when she is not. Bright red, plump comb indicates she is ovulating. If her comb is not bright red and plump, I would stop the antibiotics and see how she goes. You have to remember that antibiotics are hard on their system and may be causing other adverse effects and long term may mean that they are not effective when you need them to be.

Thank you for your thoughts! It was interesting that I noted at one point she had a super healthy red looking face and comb for a while during all of this, and then one morning she was (and continues to be) incredibly pale in her comb/face. I wonder if it has to do with my keeping her in a dark bathroom overnight for 12+ hours or if it is coincidental. I'm also wondering / hoping that maybe it is salpingitis she has, which created the internal laying, and if we can get the inflammation (+ the initial infection of course) to subside maybe the internal laying will too. She has just completed her week of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, and I decided to wait and see if anything changes and if so, what. She actually ran out of anti-inflammatories a few days ago, and maybe it was coincidence but in the morning, it seemed so had more liquidy (urates?) substance along with her small little feces which has not been the norm for her, her poops have been looking pretty normal, just small otherwise. They've since gone back to normal as well so not sure what that was all about but at first I thought maybe it could somehow be correlated with not taking the anti-inflammatory.

 

[ChickenMama308]

@ChickenMamma308 I just feel for you in this situation. I’ve been reading and researching I’m trying to learn. I just relate and feel bad for you and your chicken. Rebascora gave you excellent information. Winter is coming so she’ll have a break from the whole process. It’s a vicious cycle and just so unfair. It’s not like we can do anything to prevent it. It’s not because we did or didn’t do something ya know? Just by the actions you’ve taken I can tell how much she means to you. Life is not fair. The prognosis is full of maintenance to support her condition without any guarantees. My heart aches I just wonder what I would do. Know that you’ll find support here, always. Still praying for y’all.

Thank you so much for your heartfelt post I love Nani so much, she's the sweetest hen who I've never seen bully any other chicken or get bullied - she is amazing! It's definitely been difficult/emotional for me, and at this point I do feel some relief to understand her situation slightly better and see her doing / feeling better, though it's all still somewhat of a mystery to me. I'm just doing my best to support her with a tiny glimmer of hope that maybe she can see this through, and if not, I'll do my best to come to terms with the inevitable and make sure that she doesn't live a life of discomfort. I live in Hawaii, and because we live so close to the equator there is not a huge difference in climate / daylight hours during winter, so I'm not sure that it being winter will be much of a change for her though I do hope so!! I pray you never have to deal with this, it's definitely tricky and something I never expected to deal with in a 2.5 year old otherwise healthy sweetheart. Thank you again for your care! I will keep you all posted on her journey <3