Took two hens to the vet...interesting diagnosis

[tallyho]

I took 2 hens to the avian vet yesterday. One has a big swollen abdomen and just looks messy. I thought she was egg bound (but couldn't feel any hard masses) or had peritonitis. The second was wheezing and coughing although she had no eye or nasal discharge. Two separate coops and no other birds exhibiting the same symptoms.

Here are the diagnoses:

Hen 1 - abdominal hernia. She can live and still lay for years with her hernia. And even though she looks pitful, she feels fine. Surprisingly common.

Hen 2 - aspirated something and it's stuck in her trachea, probably a little piece of bedding. Also a common occurance according to the vet. She should cough it up but it can cause a bacterial or fungal infection so she got a big antibiotic shot and is now on antifungal pills....don't you love pilling a chicken?!

Just thought I'd let you know what I learned. I was surprised at how wrong I was in assuming the worst.

 

[mdbokc]

Questions on hen #1 - Was she eating and drinking fine? Did she move slowly or was it stiff?

Very interesting.

 

[flowergirl60]

Thank you for the info. Glad they are able to be treated.

 

[gryeyes]

Very interesting! Thank you so much for sharing! Resiliant little creatures, aren't they?

 

[kelar]

Thaks for sharing that info. Just points out that sometimes the treatment is worse than the disease, especially if you don't really know what is wrong YOu were lucky to find a vet who could treat your birds.

 

[tallyho]

Quote:
They both were acting, eating, pooping fine. That was what was so strange. Here's this hen with this swollen back end and skin showing and she's behaving normally. The other girls have started picking on her at the shoulders, but not her butt. I will have to do something about that. She might have to live alone or with the bantams if they won't leave her alone. Her hernia is pretty big and that's better than a small one that could strangulate the organs that are pooching through the abdominal wall.

The wheezy hen was fine too but I noticed that she wasn't saying much, like she had 'lost her voice'. She was very quiet. I could see her mouth open and close as she was breathing...almost like gasping, but very noisy breathing.