Please...my pet chicken is eggbound...time is of the essence

[arlee453]

If she is an internal layer, the only fix is to do the chicken version of a hystectomy, and if none of the local vets do 'chickens' then it would be a long shot and an expensive attempt to save her.

If she were my hen, I'd have to do the humane thing and put her down. If you aren't able to do that yourself, then call back around to the vets and see if you can find one that would be at least willing to give her a lethal injection for you.

Hugs....

 

[waterfowlrescue]

If your chicken has peritonitis the only way to fix that is surgically. Sometimes the peritonitis is caused by an oviduct infection though and with proper antibiotics the cause of the problem can be cleared up. The internal eggs are another issue. you can remove them surgically or in some cases I have successfully aspirated the masses with a needle shrinking them down. I have a duck here now that we did that with and she is actually coming along nicely. I don't think we are curing the problem but maybe just buying her time as long as she isn't in any pain.

I have also performed the "hysterectomy" on ducks before (well with my vet) its actually very difficult to remove the ovaries as they are generally way up inside the body and difficult if not impossible to get to. What they do is remove the oviduct, and once remove the oviduct signals the ovaries to stop producing eggs. Sometimes this works but in some cases it doesn't. There are always some eggs already developing in the ovaries in some stage of forming so they will finish processing even after the removal of the oviduct. So your going to end up with several more dumped eggs either way. They can reabsorb though over time if they are fresh and clean and the bird is on antibiotics.

It sounds like your chicken is probably past the point of them not being infected and if she is uncomfortable you should consider putting her down. Putting her on antibiotics will at least help relieve some symptoms.

Here is a good link for looking at the reproductive anatomy

http://www.iacuc.arizona.edu/training/poultry/images/female.gif

 

[Jenski]

dlhunicorn made some great suggestions re. what the vet could possibly do for this hen. Waterfowlrescue has indicated some success with the fluid removal, and if I remember correctly there are at least one or two others who have had some success with it also.

I would be interested to know if anyone out there has had hens *completely* recover (live 6+ months after this?) and perhaps even start laying again once this fluid is removed. Is this really a permanent fix?

 

[LynneP]

Any news? I've been very concerned for your hen and especially for you and your family...

Wanted to add that if your think this girl has lice, that treating the coop and other birds may be a good idea...

 

[lusty]

I have thought about having her put down at a vet's office, of course we are in the midst of a long weekend, and they don't come in for "chickens". Honestly, you would think I live in a city...not on an acreage! You guys have been my only resource, and a very welcomed one. Thanks again.

 

[cyanne]

I totally understand if you don't feel up to some of the more violent or 'hands on' methods of putting your hen out of its misery.

I plan to have meat birds at some point, and I think I will be okay with processing, but I cannot imagine having to kill any of the ones that I keep as layers. They are all my pets and I am very attached!

That said, I wouldn't want them to suffer and die slowly if something like this were to happen to any of them, so I would force myself to do it for their sake.

One option you might consider, that might be less traumatic for you, and still humane for the hen, is to use engine starter fluid (you can get it at auto supply stores). We were researching ways to get rid of a pest sparrow colony that was attacking our purple martins, and wanted info on what to do with the ones we trapped. The instructions we found for humane disposal involved placing the birds in a small, airtight space (like a bucket or a plastic storage container). Then you soak a sponge or rag with the starter fluid and place it inside with the birds.

Apparently the starter fluid stuff's main ingredient is ether, which is a powerful anesthetic. The birds quietly go to sleep and don't wake up.

ANY way you choose to do this won't be fun, but at least you know you hen went in a way that was painless and is no longer suffering.

ETA: I am very sorry that this has happened to your sweet little hen, I know how attached I am to all of mine, so I know how hard it must be to make this kind of choice. It sounds like you've been giving her excellent care, though, so she has had a great home and a great life.

 

[suebee]

Lusty, You are a great chicken Mommy. (((hugs)))
Just keep giving her cooked eggs, oatmeal, etc. and see if she'll eat. The green poop sometimes means she's not ingesting any food. I've got a silkie hen that is going thru the same thing. It just started yesterday. I brought her in and she's eating yogurt and cooked egg. She doesn't like to be in the house, she wants to be with her flock but the heat is terrible. I just need to SEE her eat, drink and poop.
Your chicken may get over this. And so may mine. Time will tell. Keep us posted.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i thought i read somewhere on this forum of a member using lighter fluid in an enclosed bag to humanely euthanize a very sick chick. But it did not work entirely and they found this chick still alive after disposing of it in the trash can. Not to bring up an unpleasant topic, but just saying as a precaution to using this method.

Lusty, i'm so sorry for your hen! She is very lucky to have such a caring and loving mom.

 

[cyanne]

Quote:
Oh, yeah, lighter fluid wasn't mentioned in any of the humane euthanasia methods I read about. All of the articles and so forth from the Purple Martin Preservation people said to use engine starter fluid specifically because it contains ether. I don't really know what lighter fluid is made of, so I wouldn't want to try that.

You definitely don't want to risk botching your efforts to humanely put a beloved bird out of its misery. More traumatic for you AND your bird!

 

[steffpeck]

(((HUGS))) How is she doing??