[bard]

I have a year and a half old hen that has recently become ill.  She seems to be bloated (inflated almost) in her abdomen.  She is very lethargic and seems to be hunched forward all of the time.  Approx. 6 months ago had another hen with this condition (though this one had severe diahrrea as well), and lost her after a short while.  Any advice/remedies would be greatly appreciated.

[WG.]

Welcome bard.  Plenty of chook experts on here but I am not one of them. Someone will be along soon.

[muntjac]

looks like you have a egg bound hen   .and unfortunatly its to late to remedy id look to cull but thats me . but  i suspect she has now got perotinutus or some form of nasties playing up inside her .or at the very least a damaged egg tract . it would help to know the breed age and where it was purchased from in helping you so sort it out as these elements ( posh word ) can point to causes , if you want to try and save her i suggest you get her to the vet for antibiotic injections this morning and let them do a full and proper diagnosis on her .i can only go one what i have seen and then told and may be compltly wrong  ,.,,hope luck is on your side    karl

[Aunt Sally]

I'd agree with Munty.  If you want to try to save her she must have antibiotics immediatly.

She may or may not be egg bound but she definitly has septic peritonitis,  and may have laid soft shelled eggs recently.

I know a keeper who's hen has had peritonitis quite a few times and after antibiotics makes a fair recovery.  I had a hen with just this problem and after the third time Idecided it was not kind to allow her to continue these bouts of illness.  I would only recomment treating a pet hen.  Culling would, in my opinion, be best for hens who are not pets  :cry:

[muntjac]

I'd agree with Munty.  If you want to try to save her she must have antibiotics immediatly.

She may or may not be egg bound but she definitly has septic peritonitis,  and may have laid soft shelled eggs recently.

I know a keeper who's hen has had peritonitis quite a few times and after antibiotics makes a fair recovery.  I had a hen with just this problem and after the third time Idecided it was not kind to allow her to continue these bouts of illness.  I would only recomment treating a pet hen.  Culling would, in my opinion, be best for hens who are not pets  :cry:

need to look at the last bit again anty ,,,it would be best for all chickens .... even more so for pets i think you mean    

[Aunt Sally]

need to look at the last bit again anty ,,,it would be best for all chickens .... even more so for pets i think you mean    

Sadly you are right Munty, culling any chicken with peritonitis would be best  :cry:

But it is the same with any pet, many will spend loads on vet bill for a sick dog, cat, horse, chicken in the hope of saving their life and bringing them back to health again when it would really be better for the animal to put it to sleep.  

[muntjac]

yups ,we had our tomazina put to sleep yesterday ,17 yrs old .his mom is still here and being a spring blooming chicken .my 21yr old son had to do it ,,, first time he seen that and it upset him loads .

[Aunt Sally]

yups ,we had our tomazina put to sleep yesterday ,17 yrs old

Forgive my ignorance Munty - is that a dog  :?:

Sorry you've lost him  :cry:

[muntjac]

its a cat ...... tomazina wasa famous film cat ....... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Lives_of_Thomasina


and we have had  a ginger cat of that name for many years .im born 57 n you can guess who named the cats that

[bard]

Thanks for the help and kindness.  Will search for a quiet method.  Being new to this, any ideas would help.

[muntjac]

see the post on killing a chicken for the plot .. quick and quiet   .or the vet will do it for you  but i will tell you it will cost you a few £.