Limiting day light for EYP

[Goldnmine]

I have a 1 year old hen who over the past 3 weeks every week she has gotten lethargic and off to herself. I 1st though egg bound so I gave her tums and a warm bath. She rebounded to normal but never passed an egg. Same thing 2 more times all a week apart. I took her to a vet and he said spay, shot to stop laying or euthanasia. I can't afford the shots, the spay is a no go and I'm not read to give up on her!! My question is someone had recommended giving a false winter to trick her body into stop laying and hope maybe her body might straighten out. How many hours of light/dark to encourage this? How big of a space should I keep her in the dark?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Uhm, there are a lot of things that can cause a chicken at 1 year of age to go off lethargic and by itself other than egg binding or egg tract issues.

Was she standing in a penguin position? Can you/did you feel an egg in the tract that had not passed? Those are the usual symptoms of egg binding.

Simply not laying for a period could be molting (are feathers floating around or do you see pincushion pin feathers?)

Is there any chance she is trying to go broody? Is her lethargy in the nest box, or off to a corner in the run. Is she standing or sitting, in a nesting position, while she is there?

Are there any other signs? Diarrhea, runny nose, wheezing?

Is she unthrifty? (Losing weight, not eating or drinking, rumpled appearance)?

Often when a bird is lethargic it can be internal worms or coccida lurking. Did your vet do a fecal test on her poop to rule that out?

You can try a force molt, but I'm not convinced that is the issue unless you know for certain, and it was verified by an experienced avian vet, that her problem is egg binding or egg tract infection (for which she would need antibiotics as well).

To force a molt, the chicken industry usually refrains from feeding the birds for 5 to 14 days (a practice coming under condemnation). Modified methods are an elimination of lighting with modified feed (removal of calcium).

A hen's pituitary needs 12 hours of daylight to begin to release hormones. It needs 14 hours of sustained light to lay well. We are at that now with the summer day lengths (if you are in the Northern hemisphere).

You could put her in a cooler area with dim lighting for a week on lighter, non-layer feed to see if that works. You might see a forced molt then, or not, as I don't think you really want to do the whole 5 to 14 days on no/low feed in a dark room....and again, I'm not convinced that is her problem without further information from the information you've given.

Did the vet give you his/her reasons for thinking it was the egg tract?

My thoughts,
LofMc

 

[Goldnmine]

LofMc
I did see a vet but he doesn't specialize in chickens and he said she has egg yolk peritonitis. He recommended spay, very expensive shot or euthanasia. I'm not doing the spay has he said it's a 50/50 chance making it through and the shots are $150 every 6 months which is more than I can afford. I don't know if this is a guarantee she will never get better or will stopping her from laying for a while help straighten her out. So I was looking to shorten her daylight and try a false winter per say to trick her body into not laying so maybe her body will straighten it's self out.

 

[centrarchid]

You can also limit laying by limiting her feed intake. I do that with my game hens that I do not want producing eggs outside the season I am trying to hatch. To do such you need to feed her good quality feed but give it to her as a restricted ration.

What do you call a quality feed?

 

[aart]

@Lady of McCamley asked some very good questions...
....all should be answered for a viable way forward.

I would question how much that vet really knows about chickens.
Sounds like a 'jump to' conclusion....
....either a lucrative billing item or an 'I really don't want to deal with this' highball quote.

Is her belly swollen...ascites/waterbelly?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Yes...I agree with aart...exactly where I was going.

And yes....is her belly swollen...a question I forgot to mention.

Please let us know her condition so we can help you better.
LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

LofMc
I did see a vet but he doesn't specialize in chickens and he said she has egg yolk peritonitis. He recommended spay, very expensive shot or euthanasia. I'm not doing the spay has he said it's a 50/50 chance making it through and the shots are $150 every 6 months which is more than I can afford. I don't know if this is a guarantee she will never get better or will stopping her from laying for a while help straighten her out. So I was looking to shorten her daylight and try a false winter per say to trick her body into not laying so maybe her body will straighten it's self out.

Okay...I see the vet thinks it is egg peritonitis...does he say why?
See above question...is her belly swollen and filled with fluid?
Has she passed a "lash egg?" (see article below)

You could force a molt to stop her from laying. She should also be on antibiotics as peritonitis is infection of the egg tract and often the underlying cause is bacterial.

Be prepared it could also be uterine cancer.

And no....I would not give a chicken $150 shots twice a year (questionable legality in US) nor spay her either.

I've linked a good article on peritonitis for you below.
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/03/causes-of-lash-eggs-salpingitis-by.html

LofMc

 

[Goldnmine]

Her belly is squishy but not overly extended, the vet said it's not enough to drain. One of my hens (I have 3) did lay a lash egg back in march but I couldn't figure out who laid it, I separated them and no one had any problems. How do I go about getting antibiotics since the vet didn't offer that and antibiotics are Rx? She did test for having Capillaria, so I'm worming all 3. I only know of 3 vets near me that treat chickens. 1 I had bad experience with years ago, 1 I saw Saturday and not really pleased and 1 is hard to get a hold of. Thank you everyone for all your help.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Her belly is squishy but not overly extended, the vet said it's not enough to drain. One of my hens (I have 3) did lay a lash egg back in march but I couldn't figure out who laid it, I separated them and no one had any problems. How do I go about getting antibiotics since the vet didn't offer that and antibiotics are Rx? She did test for having Capillaria, so I'm worming all 3. I only know of 3 vets near me that treat chickens. 1 I had bad experience with years ago, 1 I saw Saturday and not really pleased and 1 is hard to get a hold of. Thank you everyone for all your help.

Go to Amazon or a pet store and purchase fish antibiotics. @casportpony recommends doxycycline in placement of tetracycline. She can give you dosages.

LofMc

 

[casportpony]

Her belly is squishy but not overly extended, the vet said it's not enough to drain. One of my hens (I have 3) did lay a lash egg back in march but I couldn't figure out who laid it, I separated them and no one had any problems. How do I go about getting antibiotics since the vet didn't offer that and antibiotics are Rx? She did test for having Capillaria, so I'm worming all 3. I only know of 3 vets near me that treat chickens. 1 I had bad experience with years ago, 1 I saw Saturday and not really pleased and 1 is hard to get a hold of. Thank you everyone for all your help.

If you want to give antibiotics I strongly suggest that you get them from the vet that saw your hen.