[Simply Dottie.]

Hi everyone.

Long story made short (ish).

Our 2 year old fenton blue was recently diagnosed as suffering from egg peritonitis. The vet drained 200ml of fluid from her abdomen and pumped her full of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. He basically said that that, plus daily administration by us of further antibiotics, was as much as could realistically be done at the moment. Thankfully the antibiotics appear to be working well and Betty, currently in isolation, is up and about and taking on small amounts of food and water. She is also starting to resist the administration of the antibiotics, which, after 2 days of passivity, we take as a welcome sign of returning to health. If she continues to improve we plan to put her back with her 3 chums within 2 or 3 days.

The problem then will be one of feeding. Layers pellets and the like are clearly off the menu for Betty, and whilst periods of separation for feeding them to the others is possible, it is neither desirable nor time expedient. My question therefore is (got there in the end) what can we give them collectively as a main food source that gives them all the nutrients etc. but does not enhance egg production? The girls currently get side dishes of corn and mealworm.

In truth we are not concerned about maintaining egg production from the others. That is merely a delicious benefit of ownership. We are just hopeful of giving Betty a quality life for as long as possible if a) she gets through this initial battle, and b) she can avoid a revisit of the vile disease, which we are informed is very common indeed.

Thanks all.

B.

[barley]

I give mine hulled sunflower seeds as a treat .... very good for wild birds so chooks being birds surly can't do any harm

[ANHBUC]

I don't think that the layers pellets will encourage her to lay again.  She will lay soft shelled eggs if she is not given the nutrients to lay a good quality egg shell.  This would be worse for her as it is more likely to break inside her and cause the problem you are trying to avoid.  There is something your vet can give her to stop her laying which might be the road to go down.

A blocked gizzard (usually caused by them eating bedding) can also cause the abdomen to fill with fluid.  Keep an eye on her food intake and her poos just in case this is the cause. 

I hope she recovers well, keep us up to date on her progress.   

[Kate and her Ducks]

As ANHBUC says, layers pellets don't encourage laying, they just provide the right nutrients to do so well. Best to keep them all on them.

Egg peritonitis can be recurrent but there is little you can do to prevent it although I am aware the hen can be fitted with an implant to suppress ovulation (and therefore laying).

[Simply Dottie.]

Barley - Hello and thank you for your tip. I shall start hulling immediately 

Kate and Anhbuc. Hi, and thank you for your wise advice. Layers pellets are back on the menu and all the girls are rejoicing. Betty is back up and running, eating furiously and letting the others know the boss is back. She has another two days to go on her course of antibiotics and after that we will see how she copes on her own. Fingers crossed.

Grateful thanks for all the help and good wishes.

B.

[ANHBUC]

That is good news, I hope she makes a full recovery.  Do only give sunflower seeds as a treat in small amounts though.   

[barley]

That is good news, I hope she makes a full recovery.  Do only give sunflower seeds as a treat in small amounts though.   

I agree with ANHBUC only give a few as a treat ..... layers pellets are a stable diet for hens and contain all the nutrients your chooks need

I use the hulled sunflower seeds when I worm too , the flubinvet powder coats and sticks to the seed really well so all birds enjoy the treat and get a good dose too boot , but as above use wisely

[Simply Dottie.]

Betty has now finished her course of antibiotics and seems to be back to her previous best. Hopefully she will be able to maintain her recovery under her own steam. Fingers remain crossed, and we look forward to the morning (soon I hope) when we stop asking each other how she is.

Thanks.

[barley]

that's good news 

[ANHBUC]

Glad Betty is better and you can hopefully start enjoying keeping hens again.   

[Simply Dottie.]

Sad to report that after 2 excellent weeks the monster returned and swiftly took hold of poor Betty. Once the symptoms returned we were not prepared to put her through any further discomfort knowing that any reprieve would, at best, be of a similar short duration. We're very sad to have lost such a great little character but feel sure we did everything we reasonably could and always acted in her best interests. 

There is always a price to be paid for getting involved with your animals, that's the deal you enter into at the start, but it's a price worth paying for all that goes before.

Thank to everyone for their advice and support.   

[ANHBUC]

So sorry to hear your sad news, hold on to all your fond memories of Betty.  You should be really proud that you have done the right thing and not let her suffer.