To drain or not to drain?

[MarlaMac]

Have a girl who I noticed standing awkwardly this evening. Kind of squatty, not wanting to move. She has a history of soft shell eggs - she has had at least one break inside.

Black australorp - between 2 - 4 years old. My flock is all australorps and my blacks are between the ages of 2 - 4; 3 - 4 are 4, about 6 are around 3 and 3 or so are around 2. Which group she belongs to, I have no idea.

I picked her up and felt of her. Sure enough she has a slightly tight, but squish area in her abdomen. I would say it is between the size of a tennis ball and a baseball.

Other than being still and standing in that awkward position and drawing the attention of some bullies, she is eating, drinking and staying with the flock. The flock free ranges all day and she travels back and forth with them throughout the day. The bullies usually just run her off the food tray (I have around 6 down at all times, so she isn't lacking food/water). Tonight, though, I saw one girl jump on her back which is what drew my attention to her.

My questions are as follows:

Should I drain the fluid? To be honest, I am not at all confident in this scenario. My husband is a trooper though and would gladly do it.

Will epsom salt baths give her any relief?

Will antibiotics help in any way? I have aqua-ceph.

I know the prognosis is not good, but that draining can provide relief. I don't want her to suffer. I have never had to cull a bird and at this juncture, I am not sure it is time to do so.

Any advice is appreciated in advance.

Thank you.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I picked her up and felt of her. Sure enough she has a slightly tight, but squish area in her abdomen. I would say it is between the size of a tennis ball and a baseball.

She has a history of soft shell eggs - she has had at least one break inside.

Other than being still and standing in that awkward position and drawing the attention of some bullies, she is eating, drinking and staying with the flock.

Could she be having troubles expelling another egg or lash material?
Have you given her any extra calcium? If not, I would give her 300mg Calcium Citrate+D3 now, then once daily for 5days to see if she expels anything/improves.

Slight feeling of tightness in the abdomen, it may be fluid (symptom called Ascites) or this could be a sign of the beginning of EYP, Salpingitis, etc. Hard to know.

It would be up to you to decide to drain or not. For me, the hen has to have clear symptoms of Ascites before I would consider draining. Swelling of the abdomen, tight like a drum. Respiratory distress and/or gurgling when breathing, not eating/drinking and lethargic, etc.

You can try an antibiotic to see if that makes a difference, but I would use something like Amoxicillin instead of Cephalexin which is mainly used for deep tissue infections (bumblefoot, broken bones, etc.).

 

[MarlaMac]

Could she be having troubles expelling another egg or lash material?
Have you given her any extra calcium? If not, I would give her 300mg Calcium Citrate+D3 now, then once daily for 5days to see if she expels anything/improves.

Slight feeling of tightness in the abdomen, it may be fluid (symptom called Ascites) or this could be a sign of the beginning of EYP, Salpingitis, etc. Hard to know.

It would be up to you to decide to drain or not. For me, the hen has to have clear symptoms of Ascites before I would consider draining. Swelling of the abdomen, tight like a drum. Respiratory distress and/or gurgling when breathing, not eating/drinking and lethargic, etc.

You can try an antibiotic to see if that makes a difference, but I would use something like Amoxicillin instead of Cephalexin which is mainly used for deep tissue infections (bumblefoot, broken bones, etc.).

Thank you @Wyorp Rock . I will start with the calcium as soon as I can find/catch her today. I only have a couple capsules of amoxicillan (dang, I just threw away some left over liquid I had for my dog). I think there are some online sources I can get from still in the US, although it has become very expensive.

I appreciate your help and guidance.

 

[MarlaMac]

Thank you @Wyorp Rock . I will start with the calcium as soon as I can find/catch her today. I only have a couple capsules of amoxicillan (dang, I just threw away some left over liquid I had for my dog). I think there are some online sources I can get from still in the US, although it has become very expensive.

I appreciate your help and guidance.

Order some amoxicillian, not too bad...$31 per 100 @250mg. Thanks!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you @Wyorp Rock . I will start with the calcium as soon as I can find/catch her today. I only have a couple capsules of amoxicillan (dang, I just threw away some left over liquid I had for my dog). I think there are some online sources I can get from still in the US, although it has become very expensive.

I appreciate your help and guidance.

Order some amoxicillian, not too bad...$31 per 100 @250mg. Thanks!

Glad you found some.

Sounds like she's still a bit feisty if you'll have to hunt her down and catch her! I hope you see some improvement, keep me posted.

 

[MarlaMac]

So I got the meds in the mail today. Their website described it as plain amoxicillin, but the labels reads amoxicillin trihydrate. I quick search says it is safe for chickens, but is not "approved" for egg laying hens. Search also says that the difference is simply that the trihydrate is compounded with 3 water molecules to stabilize it and it is the most common pharmaceutical form.

Search shows the dosage for chickens is 15mg per kilogram of body weight per day given in 2 doses. That would only be 45mg per day which seems very small dosage.

Any insight?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So I got the meds in the mail today. Their website described it as plain amoxicillin, but the labels reads amoxicillin trihydrate. I quick search says it is safe for chickens, but is not "approved" for egg laying hens. Search also says that the difference is simply that the trihydrate is compounded with 3 water molecules to stabilize it and it is the most common pharmaceutical form.

Search shows the dosage for chickens is 15mg per kilogram of body weight per day given in 2 doses. That would only be 45mg per day which seems very small dosage.

Any insight?

Amoxicillin dosing is 57mg per pound of weight given 2X a day.

I would go with that dosing.

Most amoxicillin is trihydrate. Dosage for chickens is usually around 57 mg per pound of weight twice a day. For a 5 pound bird that is about 250 mg. Some drug books say to give 125-250 mg twice a day, so there is some leeway to dosage.