Eglu cube or go up with 2m run

[house-elf]

i noticed that one of my hens, matilda, was losing weight, and looking scraggy about two weeks ago so i took her to the vets where i work. Apart from the weight loss etc, she is acting like a normal chicken - eating, drinking, scratching etc. The vet had a look over here and from the outside she could feel an egg shaped lump, and internally could feel a egg, but not fully formed. It appeared that she had a high temperature ( we could find in any text book the normal range for a chicken - but since have - 102-103 f ) Her temperature has been well over 107 and yesterday the thermometer would only read high ! Anyway, she was prescribed baytril and a few days later i took her back. The egg appeared to still be in the same position and we did a scan to see if it was in the abdomen or the oviduct, but it was difficult to tell where it was for sure. The vet decided to give her some metacam to help bring her temperature down. While there she passed some whitish clear stuff and the vet looked at it under the microscope and she thinks it contained coccidia, so now matilda is on treatment for that ! Since she started treatment, her poo has returned to normal ( thou the only time i saw diarrheoa was when she was at the vets ), she is still acting the same eating, drinking etc. She is due back tomorrow for another check up as we are keeping an eye on her weight, and i may suggest an xray - but something odd happened yesterday - she passed a perfectly looking normal egg !

 

We are working on the basis that she has egg peritonitis and as she is well (apart from the weight loss) are hoping that the body will absorb it, but I would like to know - is it possible for her to make and produce another egg while she has this supposed condition ? I checked her again this morning and she still has an egg shaped lump inside her- the same lump we have been feeling since this started.

 

I am very confused and baffled as to all this - matilda is only 7 months old and my first experience of keeping hens, so any theories and advice would be great !

 

Thank you !

Edited February 11, 2010 by Guest

[laurmurf]

I've got a hybrid who has had sterile egg peritonitis for nearly a year now, and she lays perfectly beautiful eggs.

 

They do have to be watched, as the sterile egg material can get infected and then you get full blown peritonitis and there isn't any cure and the only kind this is to cull the chook. While it's sterile and not causing too much ballooning of the abdomen and therefore not too uncomfortable, then she should be ok.

 

our chook is completely bald on her tum because it sticks out, it catches the poos that fall and they harden and pull her feathers out. We bathe it and clean it up, but it's a daily occurrence so there's no way around it.

[house-elf]

i did wonder about sterile egg peritonitis but she has a fever, which is consistant with an infection ?

[Christian]

If she has egg peritonitis, then she will have a temperature. Mine did, but it was sorted with antibiotics.

[laurmurf]

That's a relief to hear, Christian, i thought there wasn't much hope for egg peritonitis when it gets infected! i've been assuming we'll lose Meg at some point in the future to it, but perhaps not?

[Christian]

That's a relief to hear, Christian, i thought there wasn't much hope for egg peritonitis when it gets infected! i've been assuming we'll lose Meg at some point in the future to it, but perhaps not?

 

It depends. If they have sterile peritonitis then they swell up every so often and waddle but the fluid is reabsorbed again. Septic peritonitis is more serious and usually doesn't end well