- Dec 2, 2010
- 93
- 2
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I recently lost two of my 3 yr old hens to what I figured was EYP. Both had stopped laying at about 1.5 yrs, so something was "up" for a long time. Both of them suffered from the horribly swollen abdomen- although one had it come and go over about a year before she died (suddenly, seizures). The other, a RIR, just was doing so poorly that we finally killed her. I cut both of them open to have a look, and it was shocking. I can't believe that they lived as long as they did. The RIR had about a quart of evil greenish liquid inside, meaning that her liver was not functioning. The Welsummer also had the nasty green fluid but the terrible thing about her was the size of her liver. It weighed 9 ounces and was pushing against her ribs. All of her intestines and other organs were completely entrained in what I take to be tumorous material. They both had major issues with their reproductive tracts, as well, with hard lumps of egg yolk loose in the abdomen and random cysts/tumors throughout. Which problem came first? i don't know.
![](https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/5258651/width/350/height/700)
I can't believe that they both lived as long as they did, given how bad things were inside. Knowing what I know now, I might have put them out of their misery rather than letting it drag on so long. Good luck with your hen.
I can't believe that they both lived as long as they did, given how bad things were inside. Knowing what I know now, I might have put them out of their misery rather than letting it drag on so long. Good luck with your hen.