Suprelorin implant (Virbac) stops hens with egg peritonitis laying anymore

[tofupup]

I agree with everything Gold Coaster says re: the implant. I wish more people would start using the implant so the demand would increase and competing manufacturers would drive the price down. It has saved so many beloved hens here. Even the ones with terrible ovarian get a few more months out of life if implanted.

 

[Gold Coaster]

Tofupup, I agree with you wholeheartedly. It's sad though, that certain chicken breeds rely on this implant for a better quality life, due to them being created by geneticists who simply wanted to fill commercial interests and create breeds that have minimum feed intake to maximum productivity, (egg size and quality). ISA Browns are one such breed and their rights are apparently owned by a company called Hendrix Genetics who have supposedly "refined" another 14-15 breeds.

But yes, the price is probably a major deterrent but it sometimes depends on which Vet you go to. I've seen a few Avian Vets and some dog and cat vets, and I've found that the dog and cat vet has been the cheapest so far. He's just charged me for the cost of the implant and not an added consultation fee. However, this might not be the case for everyone and some might find that dog and cat vets are a little unsure of how to insert the implant into a chicken and might refuse the procedure altogether. It helps if you can find a dog and cat vet who has an interest in chickens and is willing to learn how to treat their ailments.

The best we can do now is keep this thread active so that those who don't yet know of the implant read about it here.

How are all your girls Tofupup, and if you don't mind me asking how many do you have altogether and what breeds? Are they all rescue hens and how many are on the implant?

Cheers,
Gold Coaster

 

[All Ball]

Hi folks,

I have a hen with EYP and am exploring the implant option, after reading about it here. She is still pretty lively and while bringing her into the garage would probably help her slim chance of recovery, she'd have to deal with the stress of being separated from the flock.

However, my vet says it is illegal in the US.

Do you all have info you can provide to the contrary? And for those of you in California, can you share which vet you worked with? The expense may be too much for my pocketbook, but it seems like something worth at least checking out.

Thank you!!!

AB

 

[tofupup]

Your vet is mistaken. There are veterinarians all over California and indeed the WORLD who are using the Suprelorin/Deslorelin implant in chickens. Here is a short list of the vets I know of in California alone:

Animal Hospital of Soquel
U.C. Davis veterinary hospital
Medical Center for Birds in Oakley
Animal Medical Center of Corona
Bay Area Bird Hospital

And MANY MANY MANY others. Those are just the names of my friends' vets in California who use the implant in chickens. There are obviously many others.

There is also a published study on the effects of the implant on white leghorns. I can't attach it here (don't see the option) but if you PM me w/ your email address, I will email it to you.

It is called "Evaluation of Egg-Laying Suppression Effects on the GnRH Agonist Deslorelin in Domestic Chickens" (Brendan Noonan DVM, Pat Johnson, PhD., and Ricardo DeMatos are the authors.)

 

[All Ball]

Tofupup,

Thank you SO SO much!!

You wouldn't happen to know which option might be the most affordable, would you? I was astonished at the range of charges I saw on this thread....

 

[tofupup]

Yes, I do know! The Animal Medical Center of Corona only charges $125. That is hands down the cheapest price in the U.S. It is so cheap that I am thinking of loading up my car with hens in need of implants and driving them to So Cal for a renewal.

But you better hurry. There is a shortage in the entire U.S. owing to some shipping disaster in 2014 and every supplier has run out of the implants. My vet only has 3 left in stock and is contacting European suppliers to try to get some. I think Animal Medical Center in Corona only has a few left. If you can't afford it, I would do an online fundraiser because the peace of mind you get from not having a dying bird is totally worth it.

Also, scroll down to page 10 of this link for a excerpt on the implant: http://www.veterinarywebinars.com/assets/Backyard_Poultry_Session_2_Study_Notes.pdf

also, scroll to page 5 of this for info on the use of Deslorelin in chickens: http://files.cargocollective.com/161955/clinics-of-NA-deslorelin-in-birds-mans.pdf

 

[tofupup]

How are all your girls Tofupup, and if you don't mind me asking how many do you have altogether and what breeds? Are they all rescue hens and how many are on the implant?

Cheers,
Gold Coaster

Sorry, I don't know why I didn't answer this before. I have a nonprofit chicken rescue in California, and at last count, 26 hens are implanted. Of those, I would say 20 are white leghorns and 4 are the ISA browns/red stars, and the other 2 are backyard breeds.

They are mostly from egg farms, but some are backyard hens who were dumped here when they stopped laying. I hate to say it, but the backyard hens develop laying issues at the same rate as the industry hens. This was an unpleasant surprise to me, as I did not expect to be spending thousands of dollars to save a hen with a blasted oviduct every time a neighbor decides she is too old to be useful anymore.

 

[Nambroth]

Sorry, I don't know why I didn't answer this before. I have a nonprofit chicken rescue in California, and at last count, 26 hens are implanted. Of those, I would say 20 are white leghorns and 4 are the ISA browns/red stars, and the other 2 are backyard breeds.

They are mostly from egg farms, but some are backyard hens who were dumped here when they stopped laying. I hate to say it, but the backyard hens develop laying issues at the same rate as the industry hens. This was an unpleasant surprise to me, as I did not expect to be spending thousands of dollars to save a hen with a blasted oviduct every time a neighbor decides she is too old to be useful anymore.

What breeds are they, out of curiosity?

 

[tofupup]

What breeds are they, out of curiosity?

They're 70 percent white leghorns and the rest are whatever backyard breeds people commonly buy -- barred rock, RIR, sex links, etc. The two saddest cases of recurring oviduct impaction where the hens died despite massive intervention (including surgery and implants) were two brown hens -- not sure of their breed, but maybe red stars or some other kind of cross with a RIR.

 

[Nambroth]

They're 70 percent white leghorns and the rest are whatever backyard breeds people commonly buy -- barred rock, RIR, sex links, etc. The two saddest cases of recurring oviduct impaction where the hens died despite massive intervention (including surgery and implants) were two brown hens -- not sure of their breed, but maybe red stars or some other kind of cross with a RIR.

Thanks for your reply. This is what I had guessed, and experienced as well. The production breeds ( leghorns, sex links, and to an extent hatchery RIRs, Barred Rocks, Orpingtons/Australorps) have all been selectively bred at the hatchery for the most egg yield, which seems to be the stem of the problems. In my experience, and many others on the forum, the incidence of these reproductive problems (EYP, ovarian cancers, oviduct problems, etc) seems to greatly diminish in breeds that do not lay as heavily, as well as in breeds that are purchased from well known, private breeders (vs. hatchery birds).

There is nothing wrong with buying from a hatchery depending on the goals of the chicken keeper, but we can't ignore the correlation between heavy producers sold from hatcheries and the reproductive problems. Not a problem if someone is keeping birds for eggs and/or the pot alone. If someone is seeking long-lived pet chickens, however, it is wise to carefully research the breed and source of the birds. I wish I had been more careful with this myself, in retrospect.