swollen abdomen? diagnosed- egg yolk peritonitis 4yr old last-update

[kayri]

Thanks again chookchick,I agree it doesn't look good for her. I guess I'll take her to my avian vet who gets back from vacation on Thurs and if she recommends it, go for a hysterectomy which should cure internal laying. I just hope it is not a cancer, and she doesn't get too much worse before then. Will post with outcome..

Kay

 

[kayri]

Just want to update on Midnight and thank all those who replied to my queries. I took her to 2 vets who both diagnosed egg yolk- peritonitis. As far as I can tell, that is when the chicken is ovulating and laying yolk into her internal cavity. The yolk is very irritating and causes inflammation and adhesions if not removed. The first vet I talked to drained about 320 ml of fluid from her abdominal cavity. It was opaque and yellowish. She also put her on Baytril (antibiotic) and and Metacam (am anti- inflammatory) (total cost $120). She said these were temporary measures and i should check with the second vet for either a hormone or surgical intervention. I did and he recommended a hormonal intervention to prevent her from ovulationg (3 shots of Lupron, 1 week apart), but said we would know if it was effective after about 6 months. he did not recommend the surgical intervention because he said it was easy to give a chicken a hysterectomy, but very difficult to get rid of the egg yolk once it has been infused through the abdominal cavity. Our only hope was to prevent any further ovulation and hope that she would absorb the egg yolk. We would know within 6 months. (total cost for his visit plus the 3 shots of hormone $225). She has had her first shot and I'll let you know how she responds after her last shot.

Thanks for listening. Many of my non-chicken friends think I am crazy for spending the money, but I have come to accept that my chickens are my pets which make them part of my adopted family and I will do what I can to give them a good quality of life. I am fortunate that in my life $400 is a lot of money but it doesn't mean I won't be able to but my next dinner of tofu on the table.

Kay

 

[chookchick]

That is all very interesting, thanks for the update. I have never heard of the Lupron to stop ovulation. You must have an exceptionally good bird vet. So is the plan to give her a hysterectomy if she survives the next six months?

 

[edselpdx]

This is the same as "internal laying". Glad to hear there's a treatment. I've never heard of the hormone treatment before, but it makes all the sense in the world.

 

[kayri]

I'll have to ask him if he recommends a spay after 6 months. He didn't do so right away, maybe we were just talking about immediate fixes to stop her from ovulating, and the spay + trying to wash all the yolk out of the cavity would be too much. He also said that with chickens it was very difficult to break the laying cycle, they are very hard-wired to lay. I know that Midnight has always been a prolific layer. He said her only hope was that she would have to absorb the yolk herself. He said that stopping the ovulation might give her the opportunity to do so and it was our best bet. He didn't say her chances were good, but I feel if after this, she doesn't make it, I've done the best I can for her. . .

Thanks edselpdx for clarifying that egg yolk peritonitis is the same as internal laying, I wasn't sure, as I thought internal laying was the same as egg bound, which I guess is different.

 

[silkiechicken]

Sorry about your hen. She's lucky to have someone who can have her treated so hopefully she can be fixed right up!

I just culled a 4-5 year old black sexlink hen today who I noticed was swollen. I had suspected ascities so when I opened her up to observed the organs, about 3 cups of fluid came gushing out. (If they are filled with fluid or solid masses, from the outside, she will feel swollen and you wont be able to tell the difference.) Upon closer inspection of the organs, it appears she was having heart failure. The heart muscle was not a healthy firm tissue and instead was soft, floppy, with a liver like texture. Since your hen passed some yellow chunky stuff, I would be inclined to say she has egg yolk peritonitis. However, in the past I have also had a hen with a similar swollen bottom and no fluid came out, rather tons of yolk were amassed in her ovaries and reproductive tract instead of just in her abdominal cavity. If your girl goes under a hysterectomy, it may be possible the swelling is only the reproductive tract, which you'd luck out and be able to completely remove.

It's tough because sexlinks and other production breeds really are prolific layers that are highly prone to laying issues as they age becuase they were never "designed" to live past 2-3 years.

 

[kayri]

Yikes the thought of having your ovaries and reproductive tract jammed full of stuff, makes my ovaries ache. It must be terribly painful.

I think it is smart to do autopsies on your chickens so you can link symptoms with diseases. I don't know if I have the nerve to do it. I think I could watch it but I 'm not sure I could make the cut myself.

Midnight appears to be more swollen today, she is due for her second Lupron shot tomorrow. My sister is taking her, wish I could make it to the vet myself to pick his or her brain but I can't get away from work tomorrow. Maybe they will drain more fluid. . .

 

[silkiechicken]

Here are some links to pics for those not faint of heart.

This was my first girl with the masses in her ovaries before being cut apart:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/230_32.jpg

This is one of the 4-5 larger masses that were in her ovaries:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/230_555.jpg

I let her go for much too long before culling.

Best of luck with the hen.

 

[slackwater]

Quote:
WOW

 

[AnnainMD]

This was a very informative thread, thank you all so much. The last pictures were, to put it mildly, eye opening.
This is going to be my first time with chickens and I realize I'm taking on a semi-vet role with these birds. These posts have been most appreciated. Hope your bird does well for you!