Lupron Hormone Injection for Ascites?

[biophiliac]

Hi

Can I ask, how you know it is ascites and not internal laying or both. If it is just ascites, simple draining off of the fluid will usually give immediate relief which should give her several months of quality of life before it may need draining again, although there is usually an underlying reproductive problem that causes the ascites as you are aware.

If it is internal laying then I can see how the hormone treatment will work. I had a 3 yr old hen with this problem, which I first noticed last summer, when she started walking with a wide gait. When I examined her, her abdomen was really swollen but hard rather than the water balloon ascites I had experienced with another hen. She was eating and drinking fine and my funds do not run to vets bills for chickens so I just observed. She went into moult in late summer and during the winter I saw a notable improvement in her condition, but late February, her comb reddened up and her belly started to swell again, so it was obvious that she had started ovulating again and the eggs were dropping into her abdominal cavity and pressure was building up. She lasted until April, when her quality of life deteriorated to the point that it was no longer sustainable. Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to do the post mortem examination of her that I had intended, due to unforeseen circumstances, but my experience would suggest that if you can get your hen through the summer with hormone treatment, she may actually do well through the winter without it because her reproductive system will be naturally resting.

Best of luck with her

Barbara

Sorry for your loss. Thanks for your observations.

 

[ClareScifi]

Thanks the great info, Barbara! So interesting. The vet is 63 and has a lot of experience. He's an avian vet. He said we could do x-rays and would learn more, but he understands how his clients don't have a ton of money and did not push this route. That would have added at least $400 expense (bloodwork, too). So he suggested this treatment. He said he didn't think it was ovarian cancer. He hasn't seen much of that. Because she had stopped laying eggs and had been my best layer, he thought it well could be internal laying or some sort of reproductive anomaly. He said the hormone injection would reduce the fluid build-up, making her at least more comfortable, to enjoy pecking in the garden. So we're not positive. It is experimental on my part. I did lose a girl in March, Henny-Honey's buddy who moved here with her, who had not laid an egg the whole year and a half I'd had her, after adopting her. I had found what appeared to be a soft shelled egg coming out of her behind about a year before she died. I think she had internal laying, too. Like you say, she made it through the winter fine, and then when it came to be laying time, she must have succumbed. I found her dead on her belly in the coop one morning. The night before she had been turned toward the wall of the coop. She always faced outward, but this time she was turned inward, and her behind had been heaving up and down like hens do before laying an egg. I have read if it is ascites, they are found dead on their belly. She was much older than this hen.

 

[ClareScifi]

Update: My hen had her one-month follow-up yesterday. She's doing great! Fluid is gone off her belly, and she's feeling good. Doc says we'll re-evaluate her in early September and see whether she needs another Lupron injection at that time. She may even start laying again, if we can get her over this ectopic hump. Her energy is good, and she's become feisty again, re-establishing her status in the pecking order, as #1. I read that Red Sex Links, which I believe she is, lay well for 2 or 3 years (she's 3) and then tend to have laying problems. Sooo interesting, but I'm glad she's alive and enjoying the beautiful summer we are having.

 

[rebrascora]

So pleased your hen is responding well to the treatment. I very much hope her recovery continues.

 

[ClareScifi]

Thank you so much, rebrascora. So do I. When I had taken her in initially the vet had said there quite a significant amount of fluid build-up from the reproductory problems. He was quite surprised how it had gone down so much, so quickly.

 

[rebrascora]

So she reabsorbed the fluid herself.... you didn't have her drained at all? That is really interesting and useful to know as we have been discussing this issue on another thread about internal laying and ascites and trying to manage it via reduced daylight and food.

 

[ClareScifi]

That is correct, Rebrascora. I don't think she could have reabsorbed it without the Lupron implant, because the vet had said he thought she'd be dead in 2 weeks, without the implant. I'm thinking, too, that many times chickens are assumed to have respiratory disorders, because they get wheezy and gurgle when the fluid is pressing on their lungs. A lot of chicken owners are not aware of Ascites and the reproductive disorders which can cause it, so they misdiagnose. I'll bet many times this is the REAL problem and their chickens die needlessly.

 

[ClareScifi]

I did not have to drain her, no, Rebrascora.

 

[rebrascora]

Thanks for that clarification. I'm sure you are right that this is an extremely common problem that is often misidentified/diagnosed. I certainly seem to have done nothing but type on the subject via various threads on this forum recently.
Unfortunately many people cannot afford this veterinary treatment for their hen and I'm suggesting drainage of the fluid in conjunction with reduced daylight and limited feed, to induce moulting and hopefully stop ovulation and therefore prevent further deterioration of the condition in the anticipation that it might buy the hen a few more months or hopefully even years. I was just particularly interested to hear that your chicken was able to reabsorb the excess fluid once ovulation was halted by the hormone.
For chickens suffering respiratory problems with it, I would probably still advise to attempt to drain it as an initial treatment because the risk of heart or respiratory failure is more acute than the other issues the fluid/egg yolks cause.

Cheers

Barbara

 

[ClareScifi]

Barbara, my hen seems to be doing great. I took her to the vet today, and he can see no sign of fluid build-up. It has been 4 months as of next Tuesday since her first hormone implant injection. He did suggest I give her another hormone implant injection today. I did as he requested. Why do you suppose he would want her to have a second one now, with shorter days of winter coming on? I don't use artificial lighting in my coop. I forgot to tell him that. Do you suppose he thought I did? I HAVE had a hen or two lay an egg or two in early December, and they usually start laying for the year in mid to late January. Maybe he didn't want to take a chance on that? I had hoped I could get by without a second injection at this time of year, but he seemed to believe it was a good idea to give her another one now?