Internal laying? What to do??

[Kayclan7]

I have a one year old hen who appears to have a swollen belly. I noticed her depressed, standing upright and waddling.
I first noticed and treated her over a week ago. I thought she was egg bound, gave her warm baths, checked her vent but couldn’t feel an egg. She hasn’t layed since she has shown these symptoms.
Then I thought ascites because she wasn’t egg bound.
I decided to have a go draining her. The discharge was more like the colour of egg yolk than the straw colour they deciribed and I also didn’t get as much as they described- maybe 150mls.
I also started her on an antibiotic and after that she perked up a bit. She still didn’t have the exact same stance as a healthy chicken, but she wasn’t waddling, was eating better, moving faster and just generally better. Still no eggs.
She’s back to fully depressed and slow moving again today. Her belly isn’t hot like it was before.
I don’t know what to do for her.
We live in Siberia and vets don’t treat hens here.
Should I drain her again and start her back on ABs?
Help!!

 

[ChickNanny13]

Sounds like she may have an egg that broke in her - peritonitis
I've read - Normally after a cleaning out a broken egg the hen should be put on antibiotics for 7-10 days. Provide Tums or a 1/2 human calcium tablet given crushed in some yogurt, see if she will drink Gatorade.

 

[micstrachan]

I’m so sorry to tell you that if she’s feeling lousy from the internal laying, it could be egg yolk peritonitis, which is terminal. Is an avian Vet an option? You can buy her time with draining and antibiotics, but an avian vet can also perform an abdominal lavage to help clean out the yolk. A hormone implant can keep her from laying altogether for a few months. I’m so sorry. I wish I had something more positive to say. Good job treating her so far. Unfortunately, she may need more than you can provide. Please be prepared for the possibility that at some point the best option may be euthanization.

 

[Kayclan7]

I’m so sorry to tell you that if she’s feeling lousy from the internal laying, it could be egg yolk peritonitis, which is terminal. Is an avian Vet an option? You can buy her time with draining and antibiotics, but an avian vet can also perform an abdominal lavage to help clean out the yolk. A hormone implant can keep her from laying altogether for a few months. I’m so sorry. I wish I had something more positive to say. Good job treating her so far. Unfortunately, she may need more than you can provide. Please be prepared for the possibility that at some point the best option may be euthanization.

Yes I am afraid that it might move in that direction.
It’s something I never thought I’d have to deal with.
I don’t know whether there is a chance she’ll recover or if it’s worth doing earlier than later. I can’t really bring myself to have to do it!
Sometimes she looks so miserable. Goes to the corner and does nothing, then occasionally she’ll perk up and hoe into some food. It’s really hard to read and confusing to know how much they are suffering.

 

[micstrachan]

Ugh. I’m so sorry. I just reread your post and see an avian Vet is not an option. I would continue with draining and antibiotics, but if she doesn’t improve, she’s likely in pain and you may need to end her suffering. So sorry. I lost my first hen to egg yolk peritonitis last year. She did get six more months from when I first saw she was sick... she declined very rapidly over a weekend and almost died. She bounced back with antibiotics, anti-inflammatories. and draining. I have read that ibuprofen is not OK for chickens, but one of the avian vets prescribed it for pain and inflammation and it seemed to help. It seemed like the baby kind, as it was a cloudy, colorless liquid. Maybe someone on the forum can help with dosing.

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[Eggcessive]

Internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis (which it sounds like) are the most common reasons for death in older hens. She is most likely suffering if you got caseous material from draining her. I would ask a hunter friend or someone who wouldn’t mind to put her down. Sorry that she is sick.

 

[ChickNanny13]