trouble walking/standing, older hen

[dlhunicorn]

I wish you the best of luck... ti is wonderful to have such a knowledgeable and caring vet !
If you are curious to see what internal layer condition is, did you find the case study thread on Penny? Iit is quite long but here is the link>her doc took pics of what he found>he too thought at first was peritonitis):
http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=diseasecasestudies&action=display&num=1169201098

 

[hencackle]

I have a buff orpington hen, 4 1/2 years old, with a bum leg (she hatched that way, no toes on one leg)

Oh my goodness! You mean all she has is a stump? You are so very, very, very lucky to have an avian vet near you. I hope your hen will be ok, please keep us posted.​

 

[silkiechicken]

That's great. Good luck with her and hope she makes it though! Get her fixed up and she could live into her teens!

 

[jjthink]

Sending lots of good wishes for your sweet feathered friend. You are a good person to be taking such good care of her.
So glad you have a good avian vet, a rare bird it seems.
JJ

 

[ikhaya]

Thank you all for your well wishes. They are much appreciated. I did see the link and the photographs of Penny's surgery. I am hoping that my hen (Mona Lisa) does as well as Penny did. It will be a learning experience at the very least. When I talked to doc I asked if there wasn't a surgery they could do if this turned out to be what the problem was. He said "Well, yes. But we don't usually do it unless it is a very valuable bird or a treasured pet". I said "She falls under the category of treasured pet".

He said "I'll see you Wednesday". I will keep you posted and definitely let everyone know what happens on Wednesday. Cheers! Pamela

 

[ikhaya]

We have returned from Dr. Romain's office. His diagnosis is egg peritonitis. We discussed options of euthanasia, aspiration and treating with steroids, or surgery. He gave her a 25% chance at best for surviving surgery and suggested we start by attempting aspiration and seeing what we could learn from that.
He aspirated 90 (yes that's right, nine-zero, ninety!) 12 cc syringes of clear liquid from her body cavity. 1,080 cc's of fluid!! She feels SO MUCH BETTER! He said that the fluid he removed was congruent with the diagnosis of egg peritonitis.
Her breathing has stabilized, her color (she was purple from lack of oxygen starting last night) is back to normal, she has her legs under her body again instead of pushed out to the sides, her good foot is working properly (Doc believed it was a pinched nerve causing the curled toes), and she is actually preening! Now we have to get the calories into her. She weighed only 1.4 kg after removing all of that fluid. Poor girl! She also has electrolytes in her water for now as he cautioned me that she was likely dehydrated.
We are doing a re-check in 2 weeks. If her body responds well to the steroid injections, Doc feels that this would be a most appropriate treatment protocol. Her chance of survival with steroid treatment and occasional aspiration is 100% and gives her back a quality of life. Of course, if she does not respond well to this protocol, we will again discuss surgery. If she lives through the surgery then she will be cured. 25% chance is a big gamble...we will see how she responds to this treament and then go from there. I am much relieved that she is feeling so much better and hoping for the best.

Pamela

 

[jjthink]

Hi Pamela, I'm sending lots more good wishes!

Aspiration was something the avian vet I took a sweet hen named Betty to never ever mentioned. He went right from antibiotcs/anti-inflammatories (which worked for awhile but then ceased working) to hysterectomy being the only option and even though I went ahead with the surgery she was too compromised to make it at that point (she made it through surgery okay and then died 2 hours later

). I wish I had known about this other option and I'm so glad your vet presented it to you. If poor Betty could have been stabilized before the surgery I think she would have been alright (and may not have even needed it, don't know) but she went in so weak and infected. I think the chances for your girl are much much better, thank goodness.
JJ

 

[ikhaya]

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience with your hen and the surgery. I'm so glad that aspiration was an option, especially with such a low rate of survival for her. I am elated to report that this evening she has her tail up and is talking again. She is feeling SO much better.

One day at a time for now,
Pamela

 

[dlhunicorn]

Peritonitis can be septic or non-septic...
I am assuming that he is hoping the steroid treatment will give the hen a break long enough to get her reproductive sysmtem back in order ....
As long as the system is still producing eggyolks (which would happen without the hormones to stop it) and the condition of false/internal layer/metritis or whatever primary condition is causing the peritonitis and ascites, then there is always a chance of the peritonitis going septic (which is what happened in JJ's instance) and then the outlook is grave indeed as surgery when it is septic is a grave risk (as opposed to doing it when non-septic peritonitis is present)
Good Luck!