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

[tooties]

one of my ex-batts has had all the symptoms of sterile peritonitis for a few mths now. Lily no longer lays, has a big fat botty and waddles like a duck.

 

She appears to be happy, eating, drinking and running for treats, in fact everything that my other girl does. Her tail is not quite as perky as Flopsys, but is generally pretty upright all the time.

 

So how do Iknow when she is suffering and needs to be taken to the vets for drainage (or PTS) ? My vet says he'd rather not see her and it means taking her to Reading (approx 0.5 hr drive if no traffic which is highly unlikely) and will probably cost £40 for the consultation plus draining, antibiotics etc.

 

I don't mind spending the money on her, but don't want to put her thro the stress of the journey if the vet may turn around and say not yet. Also, from what I've read on here, chickens that are drained generally just fill up again relatively quickly?

 

Past posts re sterile peritonitis have ALL said 'you will know when your girl is suffering' or 'you'll know when the time comes' but what if I don't? If she is still running around as normal, does that mean she isn't suffering?

[chelsea]

Hi there,

 

Our Ella has had sterile peritonitis for nearly 2 years now. She is still acting like a normal chicken and doing chickeny things (she is top chook here). You can obviously see she is swollen under the vent area (where the build up of fluid is) and has a bright pink featherless bum. Strangely enough she is not so swollen this year as she has been before

 

Our vet recommended not to drain. He said she was not as swollen as other chickens he had seen with the same condition. However early this year she did have an accident where her bowel came out of her bottom (sorry to be graphic) because of the thin layer of skin where the fluid build up is her bowel protuded out and ruptured (she may have possibly caught it on something) so she did drain herself and had an operation and we had to giver her 6 weeks of Baytril injections to prevent infection. Luckily she recovered very well and is more perkier than ever.

 

She does have lots of TLC from us (spoilt rotten!) and we do keep a close eye on her, if I notice she is less vocal or active than normal I do pop some Avipro (pro biotic) in her water and it really works wonders. Winter time is much easier due to the drop off in laying and there is less fluid build up, you may notice already that her comb maybe goes dark when she is lied down and some days she looks more "puffed/swollen" than others.

 

You will know when your hen is really under the weather and not her normal self, due to lack of activity, eating/drinking less and being hunched and looking throughly miserable. In the meantime all I would suggest you do is just keep an eye on her, there's nothing much else you can do. As I mentioned Ella has led a relatively normal chicken life with her sterile peritonitis (apart from her bowel operation) and when/if the time comes when we have to make a decision for her then we are ready.

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

[tooties]

thats great news, thanks!!

 

Lily also tends to get a very messy botty, I think because its so swollen the poo just dribbles down and sticks to her feathers. Currently I'm giving her backside a bath at least once a week, I know I need to look out for flystrike and I did read that someone uses wet wipes so will start using these for inbetween bath times!

 

I will also get hold of some avipro, that sounds like useful stuff!!

 

thankyou so much

[chelsea]

Yes Ella is also a bottom dirtier like Lily

 

We wash her twice a week in the summer, like you say to avoid Flystrike. I think she quite likes getting the special treatment

 

I bought some tea tree spray today from Flyte so Fancy (online) to spray around the feathers around the bum area.

[Mrs Frugal]

My lovely Clarry had sterile peritonitis for 3 years and although sadly she's not with us any longer, during those three years, she was OK for the majority of the time despite having a big fat tummy and a bald bottom as I used to have to trim her bum feathers to help keep her clean. I used to give her a bath a couple of times a week to keep her clean and apart from the odd couple of days every now and then when she was obviously not feeling well, I think she had a pretty good life. When she wasn't well, her comb would go blue around the edges and she'd sit on her own, breathing heavily but after a day or sometimes two, she'd be back to her old self. However, when she had 3 days when she was withdrawn, hardly eating and her comb had shrivelled up and gone dark red, we knew that she'd reached the end of the road and took her to the vets. He examined her and found a huge tumour in her abdomen so we had her put to sleep, bless her.

 

We always gave her lots of attention and spoiled her rotten as we didn't know how long she'd got. The vet didn't want to drain off the fluid in case it led to infection or shock and it seemed to come and go from time to time too. We'd pick her up one day and she'd be like a water filled balloon and then a week later, she'd feel very skinny as the fluid had disappeared. It would build up again soon after though. Under it all, she was skin and bone but ate like a horse, kept the others in check and got up to all sorts of mishief so it didn't seem to hamper her at all during those 3 years.

 

Good luck with your girl. I hope that she is a tough bird like Clarry and Ella and goes on to give you years more time to enjoy her.

[tooties]

Sorry to hear that Clarry is no longer with us - but its good to hear about her and Ella enjoying long happy lives despite having SP. To be honest, in my mind I've had Lily on her last legs for so long now, that I'd started to get worried that I'd missed some sign that I should have had her PTS - I'm so glad that the likelihood is that she'll be with me for a while longer - I think shes turning out to be a tough old bird!!!

 

Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without this forum!

[Egluntyne]

You will know when the time has come to take action. She will become massively swollen, will struggle to get about and will become breathless, and her comb will go purple when she sits down.

 

I've had several with SP now, and unfortunately any treatment is only palliative, but it can keep them fairly comfortable for quite a while.

[Lydia]

Ping has SP. It started around the end of last year I think.

 

She's otherwise fine except for her enormous bum and remains in top chicken position, although I think she's more like the Queen Mother than the Queen these days

 

Like others, we keep her clean because she simply can't get around the back to do herself. If I thought she was suffering I'd take action but, at nearly 5 years old she's showing no sign. I'm convinced she'll outlive us all.

[chelsea]

Ping has SP. It started around the end of last year I think.

 

She's otherwise fine except for her enormous bum and remains in top chicken position, although I think she's more like the Queen Mother than the Queen these days

 

Like others, we keep her clean because she simply can't get around the back to do herself. If I thought she was suffering I'd take action but, at nearly 5 years old she's showing no sign. I'm convinced she'll outlive us all.

 

 

Aww bless her, she sounds adorable. I think these "tough" old gals really have a special place in our hearts. Love the Queen mother bit!

 

Strange that even though all these hens have SP that they are all still top chooks and keep the rest of the flock in check...

[The Dogmother]

You will know when the time has come to take action. She will become massively swollen, will struggle to get about and will become breathless, and her comb will go purple when she sits down.

 

I've had several with SP now, and unfortunately any treatment is only palliative, but it can keep them fairly comfortable for quite a while.

 

Ditto, except that mine are all pure breeds, so less inclined to get it. Some last longer than others without draining.