4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[GeorgieB]

We have a poorly hen at the moment and I'm hoping that by describing our hen's problem will help someone else before it's too late. She hasn't layed an egg for about 4 weeks now and I thought she was probably just 'off lay' as was showing no signs of illness. Last weekend though I noticed she didn't look good (tail down, hunched up, dirty bum, runny poo, not moving much, off her food and water, apart from ready break with honey and cheesy mashed potato with sweetcorn). We took her to the vet the same day who said she probably had Peritonitis but couldn't feel an egg inside so not egg bound. The vet said she had a very high temperature and her abdomen and vent area felt very hot. She gave her an injection of Baytril (antibiotic) and Metacam (anti-inflammatory) and a packet of Glutalyte (which contains glucose, vitamins and minerals) and a syringe to administer it. We took her back the next day as advised for the same injections and she gave us a course of Baytril to give her for the next 7 days. Over the last few days her temperature went down a little but she showed no other signs of improving, infact yesterday we noticed she was showing signs of not breathing properly. When she lay down she would open her beak as she breathed in and her whole body would move as she did, quicker than normal. So we looked for a bird specialist vet (as we felt the one we went to may not be knowledgeable enough with hens) and one was recommended in Swindon called 'Great Weston Referals'. We went to see her yesterday and she gave her an ultra-sound which resulted in her draining fluid out of her vent. I had a feeling that may be the problem as she felt to me like she was distended under her bum compared to our other healthy hen. I read on hear that someone had a hen that filled with fluid and thought this may be the problem with Scampy, but didn't think that the fluid would be the cause of her difficulty in breathing. The vet explained that hens have no diaphragms so the fluid was squashing her lungs. I was disappointed that the first vet hadn't drained some of the fluid last weekend after feeling her as she wouldn't have had the breathing problem then. Just goes to show it's worth looking around for a vet that knows about a variety of birds.

 

She looked much happier once the fluid had been drained and breathed normally. She still looks poorly but we have a course of the Baytril and Metacam to give her for the next 2 weeks so fingers crossed she survives. We've been told to go back if she shows signs of difficulty breathing again as that means the fluid has filled up again. We have paid out £140 so far in treatment for her (not including all the petrol to the vets as we travelled an hour and a half to them) so we are looking into pet insurance now. The vet said that once this kind of thing starts it will probably happen again at some point.

[Plum]

It seems to happen to quite a few chickens, I hope she continues to pick up and maintains it. Thank you for sharing this.

[Budgies]

Thanks for sharing your story.

 

Unfortunately it seems to be the way with egg peritonitis. The hens are laying the egg yolk internally, into their body cavities. The condition she has is called ascites. The fluid builds up around the yolks and not only does it squash their lungs, but they have 9 air sacs around their bodies and these become compressed too.

 

I'm glad she's responding so far.

 

Our girl had the same thing, and had a fluid drain (we also implanted her with a hormonal implant designed to stop her laying, but were advised it would take a few weeks to work), but the next egg she 'laid' the following day caused exactly the same reaction and she filled with fluid again. We decided at that point to have her put to sleep I'm afraid - it didn't seem fair to keep draining her knowing that every egg had the potential to restart the situation.

 

Fingers crossed for your girl.

[GeorgieB]

Hi Budgies,

 

Thanks for your response. The vet said it didn't look like the yolk had escaped as she'd have seen it in the fluid (which just looked like wee). I just hope that she recovers from it otherwise, like you said, it would be more kind to put her to sleep than see her go through this again and again. I'd consider the implant if I thought the odds were good but based on what you said and the vet saying that hens don't survive operations very well doesn't fill me with much hope.

 

Thanks for your good wishes Plum. It's lovely to know there are so many thoughtful people out there

Edited June 2, 2009 by Guest

[Budgies]

the vet saying that hens don't survive operations very well doesn't fill me with much hope.

 

I'm surprised to hear your vet say this Georgie, to be honest! My vet does LOADS of ops and procedures on chickens. They spay them, remove eggs, operate on their crops and a whole host of other things.

 

They very rarely lose the chooks during an operation. When I spoke to my vet about chickens having a "light hold on life" in my opinion, she laughed and said they were soooo much more hardy than parrots!!

 

One of my girls had to have two operations in succession to remove an egg that was huge and stuck and despite being very unwell and requiring hand feeding and going through a full moult afterwards, she recovered and had another 18 months of being the most beautiful, fully feathered little sweetie!

 

I was stunned to learn that my veterinary practice now sees more chooks than cats!!

 

 

 

I've got my fingers crossed for your wee lady

[Chucky Mama]

I hope that your chicken continues to improve. Are you in Swindon? We have a thread going for a Swindon/Marlborough/Calne get together if you are interested.

[GeorgieB]

Thanks for your reply Budgies. Maybe she meant that the ex-bats don't survive well with the operations rather than hens in general. Your vets sound perfect. It's great to hear one of your girls survived 2 operations. Shame there isn't a vet in Worcestershire that knows a lot about hens. Do you have insurance for your hens? If so, who do you use? I've just picked up a leaflet on a company called exoticdirect so I will have a look at their prices.

 

Hi Chucky Mama, thanks for your good wishes and letting me know about the get together. That sounds really good but sadly we're about an hour and half away from Swindon. We just went to the vets there as they were recommended for a variety of birds. Hopefully more vets will start to specialise in birds now they are becoming more popular.

[Budgies]

Thanks for your reply Budgies. Maybe she meant that the ex-bats don't survive well with the operations rather than hens in general. Your vets sound perfect. It's great to hear one of your girls survived 2 operations. Shame there isn't a vet in Worcestershire that knows a lot about hens. Do you have insurance for your hens? If so, who do you use? I've just picked up a leaflet on a company called exoticdirect so I will have a look at their prices.

 

 

I'm very lucky with my vet - they've come on in leaps and bounds in the time I kept my girls (3 years) even though I thought they were good initially. There's not much they don't do for the hens.

 

No, I don't insure my chooks. I've heard that some people put something aside into a chook account each month which I think is a great idea - these vet bills can quickly escalate. In the week I had my two put to sleep I spent over £300!! Ouch!

[GeorgieB]

Sadly Scampy had to be put to sleep yesterday. She started struggling to breath again and was making jerky movements as she breathed in (looked a bit like she had hiccups). She had obviously started to fill up with fluid again since Saturday and we thought it was fairer to let her go than to see her go on, as she was clearly uncomfortable not being able to breath and possibly in pain too. I'm still blubbering as I write this... can't believe how upset I am

 

The vet that put her down said it's rare that they can recover once fluid starts filling up in them and it was the kindest thing to do. If anyone else sees that their hen has a dirty bum it's worth having a feel around her vent and abdomen to see if she feels warmer and also more distended than normal, in case in isn't just worms. Maybe we'd have been able to save her if I'd felt her before she showed other signs. Like the vets say, by the time they look ill it's usually too late. It's definitely worth getting to know how a healthy hen feels so you can tell more easily when they aren't right.

 

We are now left with just Matron who is looking around the garden for Scampy and it's so sad to watch her. Sadly our new ex-batts don't arrive until the 14th and I'm wondering if I should get a couple more before this time so she isn't on her own.

[Egluntyne]

Sorry to hear it.

 

Unfortunately any treatment is merely palliative and eventually they do succumb in the way that yours did.

 

**This thread** is interesting.

[Budgies]

Georgie B, I'm so sorry to hear this. I think that it's extremely rare for a hen to recover from this condition, despite what your vet says.

 

Some people keep their hens despite this (I couldn't do it) and find that they fill up with fluid every laying season. My vet was adamant that (a) there was no cure and (b) it was unkind on my girl to let her fill up with fluid and keep having it drained as it was causing her pain.

 

You have my every sympathy, it seems so unfair that their egg laying tackle can cause them to be so ill, and ultimately make you feel forced to make the decision to end your girl's suffering. It's heartbreaking.

 

I'd get Matron a couple of wee pals if I were you - two weeks is quite a long time for your girl to be alone, and you'll find that all the advice is NOT to integrate ex-batts immediately - they are pretty vulnerable when first out of the batteries.

 

RIP Scampy.

[GeorgieB]

Thanks Egluntine for the link- very interesting! Wish I had heard about it sooner!

 

Thanks Budgies. I do feel heartbroken and like you I couldn't keep a hen going through that, seems way too cruel to me. I have put a posting on the 'I've got a good home/wanted' section to see if anyone has a couple of girls they need a home for. Matron is just sitting at the gate by the door to the house thinking that Scampy is inside and making pitiful noises...getting me all choked up again

 

Just hope we can find some soon!

[Budgies]

Georgie B how do you feel about the prospect of contacting a local breeder and perhaps getting a couple of POL hens to go with your now strong healthy Matron?

 

I can't imagine how much one of mine would have pined without the other - even when Chutney had to stay overnight at the vets without Mango in their last week, Mango was so upset. The pair bond that two hens form is much stronger than the bonds they form when there are a few of them together unfortunately, and they pine much more when alone as a consequence.

 

My heart goes out to you - I'm five weeks down the line and it still reduces me to tears, thinking about it all!

[GeorgieB]

I'm hoping to hear back from the BHWT as to whether they know anyone who needs to find a home for a couple. I'd rather help the rescued hens than go to a breeder to be honest. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

We only lost Bonnie on the 8th May so it hasn't been just the 2 of them for long but she certainly stuck very close to Scampy through her illness, hardly left her. But then saying that... wouldn't hesitate to push her out the way when it came to mashed potato and sweetcorn time! Should have called her Miss Piggy really.

[Budgies]

Even when they're best of friends, none of them likes to take a back seat where food is concerned!!

 

I hope you hear back from the BHWT soon or someone else comes through for you.

[GeorgieB]

Even when they're best of friends, none of them likes to take a back seat where food is concerned!!

 

I hope you hear back from the BHWT soon or someone else comes through for you.

 

I have found a hen! Hooray! I'm really pleased that Matron won't be on her own for long. Spoke to a BHWT rescuer in Bristol who knows a lady in Gloucs that keeps the poorly hens after rescue day and has one that needs a home as she's being bullied, poor thing. So that's worked out well. Picking her up Saturday. Fingers crossed that Matron doesn't bully her. I will be keeping a close eye on them though.

[clucky h]

Hello GeorgieB, what fantastic news! Especially for the bullied hen... I hope it all works out well.

[GeorgieB]

Thanks Clucky h, me too. She has plenty of garden to get away from Matron so it should be fine. I will put vaseline on her comb as advised just in case though.

[clucky h]

Hello GeorgieB

 

Was just wondering how your new hen was getting on - hope everything's going well.

 

Nosily,

 

clucky h

[GeorgieB]

Hi Clucky h,

 

Thanks for your message. Hattie (we named her as she hadn't been named) is doing great! She is such a sweetie. Matron was being a bit of a meany the first few nights (turfing her out the Eglu) but she crept in once she was asleep.

 

They are now both in the Cube as we're selling the Eglu and picking up another 5 ex-batts on Sunday (can't wait!). Hattie was the first to go in the Cube so has chosen the best bed (the nest). We have had to lift Matron into it (as she refuses to climb up the ladder for some reason). So Hattie is now not letting Matron sleep in the nest with her (revenge) and is happily sprawled out in the nest while Matron lies on the perches (she also refuses to stand to sleep).

 

Hattie has real character and I'm glad she is standing up to Matron a bit more now. Really pleased we found her

 

Have you got hens yourself?

[clucky h]

Heh heh - Hattie and Matron sound hilarious! So glad it's working out well - and good luck with the next five.

 

We recently got four hens - Sophia, Lucille, Ginger and Audrey - whom I dote on. I had no idea before they arrived what funny little creatures they are, they give us hours of pleasure and lots of eggs too. Sophia is just about the boss but they all get on very well, albeit with the odd peck or two.

 

I have tried to teach them a few simple tricks but they just look at me pityingly and slope off to trash the flowerbeds...

[GeorgieB]

Thanks Clucky h. You're right about them being funny. The other day Matron was eating some cheesy mashed potato and a fly kept buzzing around trying to get the food too. She got so annoyed with it after a while that she ended up chasing it around the garden trying to peck at it... It was extremely funny to watch. Wish I'd caught it on video.

 

Good luck teaching them some tricks