Suprelorin Implant and internal laying prognosis

[Noreaster Egger]

Hey everyone,

I have a 3 y/o barred rock who is almost definitely internally laying. She hasn’t laid an egg once this year. She has breathing issues at times when warm or when she eats, very purple comb, and small poops with a hint of yellowish egg material in it at times. My quote from the vet was $95 for a visit and at least $315 for the implant to stop her laying. Then they said she still may need surgery to clean her out.

My question to all of you is...

Is it worth a shot to spend the $400 for the implant to stop her laying? If a hen stops laying, what happens over time to the eggy material built up in her system? Will it slowly be absorbed or excreted allowing her to slowly get improved breathing back? Or do you think she would need the surgery to have any chance? I know it will put her into a molt which may help her cope with summer heat.

Just looking for some opinions and/or advice.

 

[Kathy Golla]

@micstrachan
Michelle do you have any insight for this gentleman/woman?

 

[coach723]

The matter in her abdomen won't be absorbed. It sounds like it is likely advanced. This is a judgement call for you, not an easy one, both emotionally and economically. I would guess that the surgery to clean her out along with the implant would be necessary to give her a chance. Not all birds do well with surgery, so it's risky in itself. I'm so sorry that this happened to your hen. No easy answers here.

 

[micstrachan]

Well, the purple comb is concerning. She may have other issues going on. Would you consider taking a little fluid off her abdomen to see what color it is? I had a hen with egg yolk peritonitis and the avian vet performed abdominal lavage. They didn’t actually cut her open, but flushed her abdomen with warm saline a couple times after draining most off the egg material. In this case, the egg matter was still liquid. She had antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. This girl also had an implant, but she died six months after she first showed symptoms of illness.

Recently I had a hen with a “mass” of some kind. A different avian vet was unable to drain the fluid off, as it seemed to be behind the mass. She had aggressive antibiotic and anti-inflammatory treatment followed by an implant. The thought was that we’d treat for anything treatable and most likely statistically. We were lucky; she responded. She is currently doing great (except for a slow molt triggered by the hormones). Her swelling has not returned. I don’t yet know how long she’ll last, but unlike my other hen, she seems back to her old self. My other hen never fully gained her strength back.

How long has your girl not been feeling well? I agree it’s a judgement call in your part, but I am an advocate for hormone implants for beloved pets suffering from laying problems. They really weren’t meant to lay so excessively; we humans bred them that way. Of course, there’s always the possibility that you spend a bunch of money and she’ll die anyway.

Would you consider just a vet visit to have her examined? See what the avian vet feels in her abdomen? Of course the vet could look at fluid in her abdomen and perform ultrasound, but then you’re getting a big vet bill before you even do the implant.

I’m sorry about your hen and really don’t envy you right now. I wish I could tell you what I would do, but I just don’t know. Can you examine her and tell us what you find? At least find out if her abdomen is swollen? I, too, have a 3-year-old Barred Rock who I am pretty sure hasn’t laid in a year, either. She’s special to me and I have thought about a hormone implant, but she has no symptoms whatsoever, so I’m letting her be for now.

I’m sorry I can’t offer more than my experience and perspective. So far, in my flock, the implants have been very effective. I think it’s more a matter of how much damage has already been done. Please let us know what you decide and how it goes.

 

[Noreaster Egger]

Thanks for the replies.

I'd guesstimate that she has shown signs of this for about 2 months. It started one time when my rooster mounted her and she got the purple comb and struggled to breathe afterward. My guess is she has material building up in her that was starting to put pressure on other organs. No sign of gapeworm either. She's the only hen that didn't lay an egg, or even attempt it, coming out of winter. She did have a mite issue in March, but I cleared that up quickly with permethrin in the dustbaths. The mites disappeared quickly. She's always been one of my bigger hens as well so pat of me thought fatty liver. A few weeks later I started seeing the yellowish look to the poop that looked like a hint of egg material. Fast forward to a few weeks ago and that's when I got the quote. I have 17 chickens and although she is a favorite, at the time I made the executive decision that it wasn't fair to the other birds to throw $500+ into her (with low odds) and not potentially into them when they eventually have issues down the road.

The past 2 weeks she has been trying to do her chicken things. She comes out to eat pellets, greens, and bugs, but after overeating a bit she has to catch her breathing back again. When the heat and humidity pick up, she is the first to pant and her breathing struggles. She always looking for the coolest, wet spot to cool down.

Last night the rooster chased her back into the run to mount her and I wasn't able to prevent it in time. She nearly died. She went limp, stopped breathing, and started having some spasms. I really thought that was it...her comb got deep purple with no breathing. I held her out in my forearms and slowly her breathing returned. I got her in front of a fan and she started coming back to normal (well her recent normal). This morning I let them out of the coop and she was the first out, but she picked at some kale and was right back to breathing issues. At least she can control that herself and stop eating. The rooster incident was out of her control.

So yeah, she is probably too far gone, but I thought if the implant would just stop the laying that maybe she could make slow, but steady, improvement if the material would slowly leave her body on its own. If not, I just can't go the surgery route.

Thanks for the thoughts and replies.

 

[micstrachan]

Aww, sorry about that. Did you ever have a chance to feel if her abdomen is bloated? If it’s full of fluid, drawing some off might provide some temporary relief.