Successfully treated our hen 4x for egg yolk peritonitis - here's what I did

[Sylver Queen]

We adopted 4 adult hens from a client in March 2016. One of the hens, Penny ([COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Ameraucana), has now survived a few episodes of egg peritonitis. We're not sure why she has had so many issues with laying (the first issue with her was egg bound and she passed a rubber egg following an epsom salt bath and seemed instantly good as new). In the several months that have followed she has laid several broken eggs, all our other hens lay just fine with strong shells (oyster shells are always available). Unfortunately, we have no idea how old the four hens we adopted are so maybe Penny is just old. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Egg peritonitis does not have to be a death sentence, but catching it early is key to successful treatment. I am by no-means a vet, but used common sense and read many articles on the subject. Here's what I have done each time she's laid a broken egg: [/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Gather her up and bring her in and give her a warm epsom salt bath in the bathroom sink (I put on purple sterile gloves when doing her treatment and obviously super clean the bathroom when I'm done). I add about 1/2 cup of epsom salt to the more-than-half full warm sink water and dissolve the epsom salt before immersing her back-end (make sure the water is not too warm, but warm enough to be comfortable). I make sure to clean her bum area thoroughly and remove any gooey feathers. As the sink drains I rinse her well with fresh warm water from the tap. I swaddle her in a big junk towel and gently dry her off and put her on the ground and use the blow-dryer on warm setting with medium airflow and get her as dry as possible. Fill a short tumbler cup half-full with distilled water and microwave for 15 seconds (make sure the water is not too warm, test it like you would a baby bottle), dissolve 1 tbsp of epsom salt in the cup of warm water and using a 20cc syringe give her an epsom salt enema and put her in a dog crate. Because I don't have a vet who treats chickens nearby I don't have access to antibiotics so I improvised and gave her the recommended dose (on the bottle) of Kochi Free every day for 3-4 days, which is a so-called natural antibiotic. I also give the emergency dose of Nutri-Drench (not straight, I dilute it with a little filtered water) 2-3x a day for 2-3 days using a dropper and squeezing it slowly through the side of her beak. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]This last episode Penny laid a regular egg followed by another shell-less egg yolk and white right on top of her "good" egg. During the epsom salt bath (with the gloves on) I gave her a procto exam (as I do each time this has occurred) to see if I could feel any egg shell, I felt nothing as usual. She was in bad shape this time and I wasn't sure she was going to pull through, she wasn't eating or drinking the day after the egg incident. I should have given her the epsom salt enema the day she laid the shell-less egg, but we were busy and I didn't begin treatment until day 2, which was a mistake. I fed her a high protein gruel I make from smashed hard-boiled egg, a 12 grain mix I cook up that resembles oatmeal, 1 tsp ghee (clarified/purified butter), 1 heaping tablespoon of Fage plain full-fat yogurt and finely crushed egg shells (I save our egg shells, dry them, microwave them and run in the food processor until they are like grit and add these to their high protein breakfast). I add hot water to make it into a sloppy gruel and Penny ate a few bites of it each day.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]On day three of the most recent ordeal, after Penny's second epsom salt enema, she passed an egg-shell that looked like a tightly wrinkled light green (she lays green eggs) deflated crescent-shaped balloon. When I picked it up in the dog crate it was hard as a rock....so bizarre. Shortly thereafter she perked up a bit and later that afternoon Penny rejoined the flock and while still a bit under-the-weather she was happy to free-range. I went out with the shovel and dug up a bunch of worms for her (she runs to me every time I get the shovel as she knows I unearth savory goodies when turning the soil in the flower beds). It was a good sign and she ate about 10 worms on day 3. By day 4 she was back to normal. Whew! Bottom line is that I have saved her 4x since we got her only 7 months ago. She's the sweetest girl in the flock and we have no idea why she has such terrible laying issues, but I'm getting lots of practice saving her. I only worry that one of these days she won't be so lucky. I do keep a close eye on our flock and note who lays each day so I am able to "catch" these issues relatively quickly and start treatment right away, which is the key to success.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]A solid first-aid kit is an absolute must, thanks to Lisa Steele, FreshEggsDaily.com for her comprehensive first-aid kit list of supplies. After adopting our small flock I went on Amazon.com and bought just about everythign on her list. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Here's what I used to treat Penny's egg peritonitis:[/COLOR]

• [COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Epsom Salt (plain)[/COLOR]
• [COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Nutri-Drench (vitamin supplement)[/COLOR]
• [COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Kochi Free (natural antibiotic)[/COLOR]
• [COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]High protein breakfast mash[/COLOR]
• [COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Pure white petroleum jelly or Waxlene for vent lubrication[/COLOR]
• [COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Dog crate so you can keep a close eye on them and keep them warmer indoors, if necessary[/COLOR]

[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]As I said, I'm am no vet, and I'm a pretty "green" backyard chicken keeper. I am only sharing this information so it might help others as I had a hard time finding treatment info online that could be accomplished without a veterinarian, which wasn't available to me. I've had to learn as I went along and this system seems to do the trick when Penny has one of her egg episodes. I probably should cull her, but I just can't bring myself to because she's so sweet and she's my gardening girlfriend.[/COLOR]

I realize this is an older thread, but just wanted to comment that all the green and hard and rubbery strange "eggs" we're likely lash eggs indicating salpingitis, a very difficult to treat infection of the reproductive tract. The masses are infectious material rather than egg but can contain some egg matter. So hoping your girl had a peaceful end whenever she went and thank you for sharing your process!

I have extracted yolk from an internal layer before but this is my first case of EYP and thankfully I do have antibiotics so I'm draining her and working on her.