new to raising chickens and need advice

[mama2girlies]

Hello! I am pretty new to raising chickens. We got our first hens last November and I have fallen in love with them. Recently my sweetest girl, Lovey, came down with an infection, possibly egg yolk peritonitis. She is only about 7 months old and was laying fine for about a month before this happened. I took her to the vet and he put her on Baytril. She made a quick recovery and I was so happy until she started returning to the coop to lay but there were no eggs left behind. I took her to the vet again yesterday who told me there was no hard shelled egg inside but everything is still swollen. They suspect a tear in the oviduct which is causing her to drop soft eggs into her abdomen. It was suggested to try hormone treatments to stop her from producing, but this is only a temporary fix. There is also the option of spaying her but vet said its very expensive. I'm wondering if anyone has tried these treatments with any success, or no success? I'm trying to build a strong case to present to husband so I can save my sweet Lovey. Thank you for your help!

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

I am so sorry about your hen. Unfortunately, if she is laying internally, it will kill her eventually. You can help keep the infections down at first with antibiotics, but at some point, it will be come a losing battle. The only thing you can do is stop her from laying. I have never had a hen spayed, but there are members on here that have had this done on their hens. So you need to make a decision, do something to possibly save her, or do nothing and she will die from internal laying.

You might want to post this question in the emergency section of BYC, possibly even our Egg Laying section as well...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/18/chicken-behaviors-and-egglaying

Here is a thread you might want to read thru on some possible surgery options....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...s-internally-laying-warning-semi-graphic-pics

Good luck with your hen. I really hope you can get her back to good health soon.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! So sorry about your hen, TwoCrows gave you some good links to check out, hope your girl has a positive outcome. If you do a search on BYC there have been some people who had their hens spayed and it apparently worked well https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/22773/chicken-hysterectomy other people on this one had also https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/525411/update-6-29-rip-olivia/40

 

[mama2girlies]

Thank you so much for your help. I've been researching hormone therapy for her so I think I might try that first. Praying it works for her

 

[gander007]