[belladonna]

One of our hens is ill - she is doing everything really slowly, and she seems to have a very swollen back end and feels incredibly heavy for her size. She isn't very keen on food either, although she appears to be drinking ok. She also appears to suffer discomfort if you squeeze her back end even slightly. Could worms be causing the slow behavior?? Any help greatly appreciated, as her sister started off like this but deteriorated rapidly and died a few days ago  

[richyrich7]

Hi welcome to the forum belladonna , although I keep hens I've never seen what you are describing, are they laying birds if so could it be egg bound ?

There's plenty of experienced poultry keepers on here so help will be along soon I should think.

[belladonna]

No, I'm sure she's not egg bound, I can't feel an egg in her abdomen. Thanks for replying!

[Aunt Sally]

I would  say it is more like egg peritonitis.  This when an egg goes into the body cavity instead of into the falopian tube.  It sets up a peritonitis and the abdomen fills with asitic fluid.  Often hqapens when hens get to the end of their laying life.

It can be sterile ie. not infected in which case she may recover, but it will happen again.  It may become infected (she will have a temperature - feel under her wing near the joint) in which case she will die if not given antibiotic treatment.  

You can imagine what an uncomfortable, possibly painful, condition this is.  Please don't let her suffer too long  :cry:

[belladonna]

Thanks so much Aunt Sally, it looks like she probably has egg peritonitis, she has all the symptoms. She doesn't seem to have a temperature, which is good, but is there anything that I can give her/do to clear away the fluid in the meantime to make her more comfortable? Thanks again

[Aunt Sally]

Removal of the ascitic fluid is not for the faint hearted.  Requiring aspirating it with a syringe and needle.  Not a job I would ever contemplate but a vet could do it for you. If she seems to be deteriorating even a little bit, becoming listless and sleepy, not eating etc you should take action immediately, she is suffering - I think you know what I mean  :cry:

[belladonna]

Don't worry, I'll be keeping a really close eye on her.

[bealy bird]

I don't know if this is of any help.

I have a chicken which was diagnosed with this condition two weeks ago. I was told by my vet she has a 25% chance of recovering which he though was worth treating .

She has had two courses of 3 antibiotic  injections in the last two weeks which seem to have helped.  She did have a couple of days  half way through where she was not eating or drinking, didn't come out of her coop and was producing a lot of saliva.  I got her drinking off a teaspoon and eating by adding water to her layers pellets.  Since then she seems to be getting better,  more active and is eating / drinking better.  

I have also read but haven't tried is to put the chicken in the dark for four days, giving it only four hours of light per day.  This will temp stop the chicken producing eggs while it gains strength.

One avenue i am looking at is for my chicken to have an hysterectomy, i don't have any information about the op or its success rate but it seem to be the only way to stop it occurring again.  (If anyone does know of a chicken which has had this op, i would be interested to know how it went.)

PS If you do take the chicken to a vet, which i would recommend, if its pet bird make them aware as they will explore more uneconomic avenues than if it was a bird just for eggs.

I am know expert, this is only information i have gathered from various sources. Any other information which may be of use would be greatly appreciated.

[belladonna]

Hi!!
My hen is right as rain now, as we decided to take her to the vet after she went off her food. She also got some painkillers and a 3-day course of antibiotics. Thanks to Aunt Sally for the advice and correctly diagnosing the condition!!

[Aunt Sally]

I have also read but haven't tried is to put the chicken in the dark for four days, giving it only four hours of light per day.  This will temp stop the chicken producing eggs while it gains strength.

One avenue i am looking at is for my chicken to have an hysterectomy, i don't have any information about the op or its success rate but it seem to be the only way to stop it occurring again.  (If anyone does know of a chicken which has had this op, i would be interested to know how it went.)

Hi bealy bird.  Welcome to the forums and thank you for your brilliant post.

I like the idea of putting the hen into darkness,  I would stop ovulation I'm sure, and give the hen a chance to recover.

I talked to a"bird vet" about having a hysterectomy for my gorgeous Gerty but she became far to ill and weak to have survived an operation.  The vet did however explain a bit about the condition and operation to me which I'll try to explain as best as I can:

Egg peritonitis is caused by an ovum (yolk) being released from the ovary but not entering the fallopian tube and instead staying in the body cavity.  The hen's body reacts to this and produces a lot of fluid in the body cavity (ascites).  The body eventually seals off this foreign material (the yolk) in an abscess and the hen recovers, until the next time it happens.   This peritonitis can easily become infected from bacteria in the gut and unless treated with antibiotics the hen will die.

When the vet performs a hysterectomy not only must the reproductive organs be removed but all of the abscesses which have been previously formed must be found and removed too.  This operation is very tricky and as you can imagine requires a vet skilled with birds.  The hen has to be in a strong condition (no peritonitis at the time) to stand any chance of survival.

I hope this information is helpful to anyone considering this route for their sick hen.  

[Aunt Sally]

Hi!!
My hen is right as rain now, as we decided to take her to the vet after she went off her food. She also got some painkillers and a 3-day course of antibiotics. Thanks to Aunt Sally for the advice and correctly diagnosing the condition!!

I'm so  please she has made a good recovery.  You know what to look out for and do now if it should happen again.  :!: