Please help! Chicken probably have egg yolk peritonitis, and she doesn't eat and barely drink on her

[casportpony]

Surgery for EYP is MAJOR surgery. She would require anesthesia. She would also have to be in a sterile environment to prevent massive infection in the incision. This type of surgery would also require stitching the incision back together.

X2... I think it would require internal and external suturing.

-Kathy

 

[Luckybaby]

X2... I think it would require internal and external suturing.

-Kathy

Do you know where to buy sutures and scalpel online?

 

[Blooie]

I just went through this with Ida, one of my Red Sex Links. She was a dear girl, gentle and sweet and so good with our disabled granddaughter. I chose to cull her rather than put her through a lot of procedures and treatments that I knew I was ultimately doing for myself, not for her. I feel so bad for you - I know what it's like to want to help them with every little thing that comes up but believe me, this is not a "little thing". In my opinion, any hen that starts having serious reproductive issues will never be 100% back to her old self. Far kinder and more loving to let her go and end her misery. I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Try google.

-Kathy

 

[cafarmgirl]

For the sake of your bird please do not attempt to do surgery on her yourself. This is a major abdominal surgery and you do not know what you are going to find when you open her up. My avian vet does not even like to attempt surgery on these birds since you really don't know what you are going to find once you get inside and usually by the time these birds are showing symptoms they are not healthy enough to withstand surgery. Much less a DIY surgery at home.

Again, what you are feeling and thinking of as "cooked eggs" may be retained eggs in the abdomen or it may be tumors. These things are not cut and dried nor simple to treat and sometimes it's just better to let them go rather then put them through such a trauma as major surgery.

 

[mg15]

my girl A+ had this surgery and died on the table at the vets. I was broken hearted. Still am, she was leader of the flock and a friend.
You are doing the best for her now. Keep up the thoughtful and kind caring you are doing. Any other intervention would just make you sad.

 

[jodiaiken1]

This is Baldy - my favorite RIR. I went to check on the girls and get eggs this afternoon & she was at the feed, all puffed out & lethargic. I went back up to the coop (after frantically searching for the reason for her drastic color change) and found her outside. She followed me into the coop & looked at the nesting boxes, but wouldn't attempt to fly up into one, so I put her in & she immediately settled in. I'm afraid she's not been well for a while. She did well through a long, hard molt, but I don't think she's been laying for a while. With 14 RIR's it's hard to tell when all you're getting is 3 to 5 eggs in the winter. I'm afraid she has EYP.

 

[mg15]

HI,
I have RIR two, and other mixed RIR, with about
15 birds and only get 4 to 6 eggs a day. 6 eggs would be every so often.
If they are not laying like you said it is hard to tell who it may be.
That hard molt really puts the kabosh on them for quite awhile.
I hope Baldy does NOT have the EYP, ugghhhhh.

 

[jodiaiken1]

I really hope I'm wrong - thanks for the info on your flock, though!

 

[jodiaiken1]

Well, I was wrong - she likely had Avian Leukosis. I lost a second chicken the next day (she had shown signs of being ill only the day before). One of my friends is a Vet that works for the NYS dept. of AG & Markets - she picked up the second chicken & sent it to the state for necropsy - she confirmed Avian Leukosis in the second chicken. It's possible ALL of my chickens were exposed from the hatchery. The disease is passed from hen to chick, then laterally from chick to chick for a very short period of time post hatching. Since they shipped at one day old, they were all potentially exposed. Time will tell. I contacted the hatchery (highly rated) but have not gotten any response. I hate to trash talk about anyone's business, but I would not recommend dealing with them. What's strange is that Avian Leukosis is present in about 18% of commercially produced eggs (supermarket eggs). Before this I had never heard of chickens with cancer. With the days getting longer, I am getting 9 eggs from 12 chickens so they seem to be pretty healthy - we've had an easy winter so far, chickens have beenable to get out far more this year.