I've Done Everything I Can For Her... But I Think Today is Her Last Day. I Need Help Immediately!!

[speckledhen]

What causes egg malfunctions like that? Can it be helped?

No. It's genetic/hormone based. No prevention. No cure. It's very, very common, especially among the high production layers and most common hatchery breeds.

 

[FlyHigher]

Antibiotics will only help if the bacteria are sensitive to it. I just got labs back for an E. Coli that was resistant to most drugs. Sure wish there was a way for backyarders to do cost effective sensitivity cultures.
-Kathy
Gilroy, CA

For E. Coli, maybe you can try Neomycin Sulphate or Florfenicol. They are two of the best antibiotics as far as I know.

 

[Ellochicken]

I don't know any cures, but I do know some things to help her be more comfortable.

1st

The poo on her feathers is probably stressing her out because she probably feels too weak to groom herself. Get some warm *NOT HOT* water, and test it on your arm, like you would do with a baby's bottle. Take one of the softest cloths you have and gently dab it first until you see it start to soften, then try to gently pull the poo from her feathers.

2nd

If she is not moving outside, try carrying her outside and taking her to food and drink and for a bit of fresh air. Try setting her down just a little ways from the food bowl, so she will have to try to go to it.If she cant, then just set her right by it, DON'T try this with the water.

This has never happened to any of my chickens, but i hope this information helped you!
Get well soon Victoria!

-Ellochicken

 

[FlyHigher]

No. It's genetic/hormone based. No prevention. No cure. It's very, very common, especially among the high production layers and most common hatchery breeds.

Hi, speckledhen, I've done some google on the cause of EYP, and found someone said "Peritonitis follows reverse movement of albumen and Escherichia coli bacteria from the oviduct into the abdomen." (http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110224195811AABkIJf) I think I would agree with the theory that EYP is mainly caused by reverse movement and bacteria infection, not genetic factors, so we can do sth to prevent it happen on our chickens.


As for treatment for EYP, here is a good article:
http://fowlfacts.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=afflictiondiseaseff&action=display&thread=1199
Base on this article, the first thing we should is to stop the sick chicken from laying eggs.
And then, we need to prevent bacteria infection, and drain out the fluid in abdomen.

 

[speckledhen]

Internal laying is caused by genetic and hormone based factors, per Dr. Peter Brown, a PhD in poultry science that I was consulting when in the middle of all the deaths of my first flock of hens.

EYP and internal laying often go hand in hand and you cannot know which the hen has by the symptoms on the outside of the bird. All you can do is inject penicillin and hope you caught an EYP infection very early that hasn't resulted in solid masses that won't go away. A chicken's body encapsulates infection, as you know, just like in bumblefoot.

Salpingitis is an ecoli infection that results when feces are sucked back into the oviduct from a loose cloaca in many high production hens. It results in solid masses in the oviducts. From the outside, you have no idea what is going on so you must treat it as EYP, hope antibiotics will fix it and that's all you can do. If the oviducts are full of solid masses, the abdomen is full of solid cheesy masses, there is no hope without major surgery by a veterinarian.

The terms salpingitis, egg yolk peritonitis, internal laying are sometimes used interchangeably because the outer symptoms are basically the same and you don't have xray vision. I certainly don't. Often, all of those are accompanied by ascites, which is just many ounces of fluid retained in the abdomen and draining that won't fix the underlying cause of it. Neither you nor I can diagnose exactly what is going on in there, but most of those, once they begin, are chronic and by the time you know something is very wrong, they are very advanced.

 

[Popcorn]

I don't know if it is the same thing as my hen but it sounds similar. My hen had a swollen abdomen that was rock hard. She wouldn't eat and had white runny poo. I thought she had an egg stuck but it ended up being a blockage in her gut. The farm I got her from tried to save her by giving her an enema but it was too late. hope you have better luck with your hen.

 

[FlyHigher]

Hi, speckledhen,as for the cause of EYP, if Dr. Peter Brown is right, it will be so sad. It's hard to believe that the gene of such lovely creatures can be so fragile. I hope somebody can do some deep research on this common disease and find out the cause and treatment for it.

 

[FlyHigher]

Seems that it's necessary to create pet hospitals which can do surgery for birds or other animals and only charge a fair fee. Life is sacred and these lovely,innocent creatures deserve more chances to live. (Just my immature thought)

 

[dawg53]

Seems that it's necessary to create pet hospitals which can do surgery for birds or other animals and only charge a fair fee. Life is sacred and these lovely,innocent creatures deserve more chances to live. (Just my immature thought)

There ARE pet hospitals which do surgery on birds and other animals...however a fair fee isnt in the equation. It's best to cull to end their suffering in these instances, a quality of life issue.

 

[FreeChicken!]

This morning, around 8:30, Victoria passed away in my arms.

I'll always love that funny, lazy hen... Goodbye, Victoria...