Time to cull or can be cured?

[CrouseJ]

I have a 3 year old hen who hasn’t laid since the extreme heat of the summer started. Last week her vent became covered in white and yellow discharge and I treated her with epsom soak and then some anti fungal cream on her vent for four days with no improvement. Her lower body is very bloated and she’s uncomfortable when touched. Then on top of all this her preen gland is extremely swollen and she has a hard time walking up the ramp into the coop and kind of lurks around the yard not her normal self…I don’t want her to be suffering. But don’t know if she can improve

 

[Pukkits]

The discharge from her vent sounds a lot like EYP (egg yolk peritonitis). Our hen that went through that required antibiotics to make a recovery.

 

[CrouseJ]

The discharge from her vent sounds a lot like EYP (egg yolk peritonitis). Our hen that went through that required antibiotics to make a recovery.

Thank you, I don’t have any avian vets near me do you know what type of antibiotic and where you got them from?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a 3 year old hen who hasn’t laid since the extreme heat of the summer started. Last week her vent became covered in white and yellow discharge and I treated her with epsom soak and then some anti fungal cream on her vent for four days with no improvement. Her lower body is very bloated and she’s uncomfortable when touched. Then on top of all this her preen gland is extremely swollen and she has a hard time walking up the ramp into the coop and kind of lurks around the yard not her normal self…I don’t want her to be suffering. But don’t know if she can improve

Do you have photos of her, the oil gland and the vent?

Sounds like she may have some type of reproductive disorder going on. Cancer, EYP, Salpingitis, etc., can be common in laying hens.

Being bloated and uncomfortable being handled, she may also have a symptom of fluid in the abdomen called Ascites which can sometimes been seen with reproductive issues.

Draining the fluid can sometimes give some relief for a short period of times, but of course, there are risks to doing that.

Antibiotics may help for a short period of time depending on what's going on with her.

An oil gland that is inflammed and swollen can sometimes be due to being impacted, try warm compresses to see if that helps reduce swelling an inflammation.

No one can tell you if it's time to put her out of her misery, you are there to see her and evaluate her. There's no guarantees that a hen will get better with treatment or for how long. Sometimes with supportive care and comfort a hen can rally for several months only to decline again, other times, they are not able to. It would be up to you to evaluate her overall health and quality of life along the way.

 

[Pukkits]

Thank you, I don’t have any avian vets near me do you know what type of antibiotic and where you got them from?

Unfortunately I used Amox/Clav from a vet's office, it's not available over the counter. You may be able to find some EYP treatment suggestions by searching posts here on BYC.

Be aware EYP tends to be a secondary condition, meaning the root issue is something else. A stuck egg, Mareks, cancer, etc. In our case it was a five year old hen that while she did recover from her EYP, she never laid again and passed four months later with only one day of acting unwell. It was likely cancer.

According to our avian vet, he says more than 90% of hens over the age of four that he sees have cancer. Some survive years with it, others decline quickly.