Suddenly sick hen/ new to this and need help!

[wolfeflock]

Very sorry for your loss..

Thank you

 

[LFREY]

I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[wolfeflock]

I am so sorry for your loss.

Thank you.

 

[Painted Calls]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

If it's something you're interested in, you can contact your state lab and have a necropsy done to determine COD. There is a list here somewhere of state labs and contact info for them. (I'd be happy to dig it up for you) If you decide to go that route, she needs to be refrigerated but not frozen.

 

[Katanahamon]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

If it's something you're interested in, you can contact your state lab and have a necropsy done to determine COD. There is a list here somewhere of state labs and contact info for them. (I'd be happy to dig it up for you) If you decide to go that route, she needs to be refrigerated but not frozen.

If the hen was fine up to the morning, I’m still wondering if it could have been a broken egg, then peritonitis from an interior puncture..could that be a thing..or egg peritonitis...or would a different fast moving bug present so quickly..? Or do they simply hide their symptoms so well it’s too late to see it? I just read that egg peritonitis is the number one cause of death for backyard chickens..

 

[Katanahamon]

Thank you

I know its rotten timing, but,
Here’s a great article to put in your files for the future..


https://www.walkervillevet.com.au/blog/tell-chicken-healthy-sick/

Abdomen​

The number one cause of death in backyard poultry is egg peritonitis – read more here. The only early clues are a loss of body condition, irregular egg production and a swollen abdomen.

A normal abdomen conforms to the shape of the bird. It shouldn’t bulge or have a hard or fluidy feel. You probably need to compare this to another hen.

 

[Painted Calls]

If the hen was fine up to the morning, I’m still wondering if it could have been a broken egg, then peritonitis from an interior puncture..could that be a thing..or egg peritonitis...or would a different fast moving bug present so quickly..? Or do they simply hide their symptoms so well it’s too late to see it? I just read that egg peritonitis is the number one cause of death for backyard chickens..

Birds hide their symptoms super well. I imagine something was wrong before she noticed the bird decline.

 

[Katanahamon]

Birds hide their symptoms super well. I imagine something was wrong before she noticed the bird decline.

My purebred Somali cats (really just short haired Abys) both got cancer several years apart, same thing..looking back at pictures I could see the progression of decline, but it seemed sudden at the time due to them hiding their sickness..

 

[Katanahamon]

Birds hide their symptoms super well. I imagine something was wrong before she noticed the bird decline.

I just ran across a great article and blog..
https://www.walkervillevet.com.au/blog/tell-chicken-healthy-sick/

Abdomen​

The number one cause of death in backyard poultry is egg peritonitis – read more here. The only early clues are a loss of body condition, irregular egg production and a swollen abdomen.

A normal abdomen conforms to the shape of the bird. It shouldn’t bulge or have a hard or fluidy feel. You probably need to compare this to another hen.

How To Treat An Egg Bound Chicken​

1. Your chicken is almost certainly not egg-bound- true egg binding is rare
2. When a chicken is egg bound, it is mostly due to poor nutrition such as attempting to feed chickens entirely on table scraps
3. Most cases suspected of egg binding are really egg peritonitis or internal lay

Now dive deeper.​

What Is Egg Binding?​

Egg binding is when an egg gets stuck and a chicken can’t pass it easily. Signs are of repeated efforts to lay, or prolapse of part of the uterus through the vent. It can be nasty and is most often associated with low calcium diets.

What if I said egg binding in chickens almost doesn’t happen? What if most of the internet advice and guide books on how to treat your egg bound chicken are not only wrong and a waste of time, but actually harmful to a sick chook with a completely different problem?

If you have chickens and want to know how to get them to live a long life, or want help choosing chicken breeds, then this is the blog for you. Because the disease that people wrongly think is egg binding is the number one killer of chickens.

Yolk Peritonitis vs Egg Binding​

The REAL disease is egg peritonitis, also called internal lay, when one or many egg yolks are lost into the abdomen. Normally egg yolks are passed from the ovary to the oviduct. However, in egg peritonitis the yolk is either ruptured (we all know how fragile they are) or misses its target. Then it gets infected with E. coli bacteria.

Why does it happen? No one can say for sure, but it may be when birds are spooked, or handled roughly, or laying one egg at the same time as ovulating another. What is important is that it happens mainly to the high-producing breeds.

HyLine or ISA Browns are the commonest point-of-lay pullets sold in Adelaide (one is shown below). They are beautiful animals with unique personalities and become loved like any pets. However, despite the fact that a chicken can live 8 or 9 years (the record is 16!) most HyLine or ISA Browns die of egg peritonitis between two and three years of age.