Sarahh_Janeyy
Songster
Posting this for a few reasons- one, I am grieving and would love support, and two, posting what we learned in case it helps someone else.
Back in April, our Buff Orpington and resident flock boss, Ginger, suddenly had a bigger than usual abdomen. My partner noticed it seemed swollen. Having seen so many posts here, I immediately thought "water belly" and we brought her to the emergency vet. To our surprise they told us they thought she had cancer. I was shocked, and I didn't think that's what it was- very much in disbelief. They didn't drain her, told us they could do "exploratory surgery" but there was a good chance she wouldn't survive. We went home and made a follow up appointment with her normal vet.
She was about 2 years old and had laid a few soft shelled eggs, then stopped laying. So my initial thought was egg yolk peritonitis. Going forward, this is what I assumed I was dealing with- not cancer. Her vet thought yes, it could be that given her history. But it could also be various age/reproductive/genetic/viral issues causing tumors/cancer. Her treatment going forward was giving her sulfatrim (for potential bacterial infection) and meloxicam (for inflammation). This combination worked for a while, I thought she was doing a lot better. At some point we ran out of sulfatrim and the vet said to see how she did without it. She took a downward turn almost immediately. We got her back on it a week later, but she had gone so downhill by this point she stopped eating on her own. Then came about 3 months of struggling to get her to eat. The only thing we could get her to eat was prey items. But then she stopped that, too. She got thin. Her poops were runny, and when they weren't, they were black. Dr said to stop the meloxicam because it may be causing her to have ulcers since she wasn't eating enough now (black poops- digested blood). We were tube feeding her emeraid omnivore care when she wasn't eating, 2-3 times a day. Then she stopped getting up to walk around, and had a harder time breathing. The vet said this is what would happen as her illness went on. Towards the end, she was on a bronchodilator.
On Saturday she passed, I heard her struggling, I went to pick her up. I could tell she was having trouble breathing. She let out 3 long sneezes, and then she passed in our arms. We had an appointment for Tuesday to euthanize her, I said she spared us from making the decision.
Today we got the necropsy results, and this is why we are having a hard time. The vet confirmed it was egg yolk peritonitis. Her left oviduct had ruptured, depositing egg yolks into her coelomic cavity. The vet had previously told us that he didn't want to drain fluid because it introduces more bacteria risk. My thought was, but there was already bacteria in her, that's why she was sick. But I guess he must have been working off the idea that maybe it wasn't peritonitis and it was cancer/tumors, and that could make it worse. No one around here spays chickens, which I had read previously was the treatment. The idea of an "exploratory surgery" by student surgeons at our emergency vet was more than scary- I had told them I thought it was peritonitis but they really thought it was cancer.
Anyway, we are now a bit fraught, beating ourselves up for not insisting on more aggressive treatment. I know hindsight is 20/20, but maybe I should have listened to my gut more. I'm with my chickens every day, I knew what Ginger's egg laying history was, I knew when she got sick. Me and my partner just feel so shitty. What if we had gone with exploratory surgery and we got our healthy bossy baby back. What if she could be out with her girls right now, having a dust bath and keeping everyone in line? And if she didn't make it though the surgery, maybe she wouldn't have suffered for 6 months with an illness that kept her inside (with our resident immunocompromised house chicken, Chipmunk- who was very much calmed by Ginger's presence), when she would have rather been outside with her girls.
I know we did our very best with the guidance we were given, but it's hard not to feel like we failed her. I know hindsight is 20/20 and it's easier to say we should have tried surgery now that she's passed... Anyone have any comforting words?
Back in April, our Buff Orpington and resident flock boss, Ginger, suddenly had a bigger than usual abdomen. My partner noticed it seemed swollen. Having seen so many posts here, I immediately thought "water belly" and we brought her to the emergency vet. To our surprise they told us they thought she had cancer. I was shocked, and I didn't think that's what it was- very much in disbelief. They didn't drain her, told us they could do "exploratory surgery" but there was a good chance she wouldn't survive. We went home and made a follow up appointment with her normal vet.
She was about 2 years old and had laid a few soft shelled eggs, then stopped laying. So my initial thought was egg yolk peritonitis. Going forward, this is what I assumed I was dealing with- not cancer. Her vet thought yes, it could be that given her history. But it could also be various age/reproductive/genetic/viral issues causing tumors/cancer. Her treatment going forward was giving her sulfatrim (for potential bacterial infection) and meloxicam (for inflammation). This combination worked for a while, I thought she was doing a lot better. At some point we ran out of sulfatrim and the vet said to see how she did without it. She took a downward turn almost immediately. We got her back on it a week later, but she had gone so downhill by this point she stopped eating on her own. Then came about 3 months of struggling to get her to eat. The only thing we could get her to eat was prey items. But then she stopped that, too. She got thin. Her poops were runny, and when they weren't, they were black. Dr said to stop the meloxicam because it may be causing her to have ulcers since she wasn't eating enough now (black poops- digested blood). We were tube feeding her emeraid omnivore care when she wasn't eating, 2-3 times a day. Then she stopped getting up to walk around, and had a harder time breathing. The vet said this is what would happen as her illness went on. Towards the end, she was on a bronchodilator.
On Saturday she passed, I heard her struggling, I went to pick her up. I could tell she was having trouble breathing. She let out 3 long sneezes, and then she passed in our arms. We had an appointment for Tuesday to euthanize her, I said she spared us from making the decision.
Today we got the necropsy results, and this is why we are having a hard time. The vet confirmed it was egg yolk peritonitis. Her left oviduct had ruptured, depositing egg yolks into her coelomic cavity. The vet had previously told us that he didn't want to drain fluid because it introduces more bacteria risk. My thought was, but there was already bacteria in her, that's why she was sick. But I guess he must have been working off the idea that maybe it wasn't peritonitis and it was cancer/tumors, and that could make it worse. No one around here spays chickens, which I had read previously was the treatment. The idea of an "exploratory surgery" by student surgeons at our emergency vet was more than scary- I had told them I thought it was peritonitis but they really thought it was cancer.
Anyway, we are now a bit fraught, beating ourselves up for not insisting on more aggressive treatment. I know hindsight is 20/20, but maybe I should have listened to my gut more. I'm with my chickens every day, I knew what Ginger's egg laying history was, I knew when she got sick. Me and my partner just feel so shitty. What if we had gone with exploratory surgery and we got our healthy bossy baby back. What if she could be out with her girls right now, having a dust bath and keeping everyone in line? And if she didn't make it though the surgery, maybe she wouldn't have suffered for 6 months with an illness that kept her inside (with our resident immunocompromised house chicken, Chipmunk- who was very much calmed by Ginger's presence), when she would have rather been outside with her girls.
I know we did our very best with the guidance we were given, but it's hard not to feel like we failed her. I know hindsight is 20/20 and it's easier to say we should have tried surgery now that she's passed... Anyone have any comforting words?
