Mystery Illness & Strange Alien Object

[Brownshaver]

Hi there,
My lovely brown shaver, Chachan, who is normally so healthy and alert, has over the past four days more or less stopped eating, and she's just sitting doing nothing most of the time. The only things I can get her interested in are locquat (fruit) and water. She's always been a real carnivore (more interested in worms and snails than grain and grass) but I can't even get her interested in meat or worms. I've found a couple of these weird alien objects in the coop (any idea what they are?) and suspect that she's producing them, although we have six other healthy chooks, so not absolutely certain. I don't think she has worms, as her poo, though runny, seems okay, and we regularly give them garlic water. Please, does anyone have any ideas and/or suggestions? Thanks!
Gary

 

[Kelsie2290]

Have you take the objects apart to look at them closer, they don't look like cecal poops, they look harder/firm? Do they seem like egg yolk type material? How does her abdomen feel? I would wonder about internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis, especially since she is a commercial bird.

 

[Brownshaver]

Thanks for the info, Kelsie.
This object is reasonably solid but easy enough to prise apart. At a guess, it could be some kind of compacted yolk material, I guess.
Her abdomen feels okay, but she has lost A LOT of her body weight over the past few days.
If it is egg yolk peritonitis, any suggested treatments?

 

[Kelsie2290]

Here are a couple of links. Unfortunately there really do not seem to be any good solutions. Some hens can live quite a long time with it though, fairly comfortably. If they stop "laying", they all do not seem to get the abdominal distention right away either but sort of go into a holding pattern for awhile. Do you know if she has been laying recently? Might wonder about shell gland defects and that the eggs are not coming out as shell less ones but are being held back somehow.
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx
http://www.avianweb.com/eggyolkperitonitis.html

 

[Brownshaver]

Thanks Kelsie. Unfortunately, the poor chookie died this morning. She had just wasted away in a matter of a few days, and stopped eating entirely. We tried to administer antibiotics, and even a bit of 'force feeding' of mushy cat food, but no good. One thing about chooks seems to be that it's SO hard to diagnose. It was clear that the vet didn't know anything. When I mentioned that one of my other hens seemed too heavy and uncomfortable and often looked like a penguin, she actually wondered if my chook was eating at night! Um, in the dark? From a perch? I don't think so.