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

[clucky h]

A bit of background: we have three hens, they have all been suffering for some time from some sort of mite which we really can't be rid of. I have just given them another round of three permethrin sprays three days apart, also spraying their (wooden) house. I have also just wormed them all with Flubenvet. So they're not in great shape anyway; in fact, two of them look so raggedy I'm ashamed, people must think they're neglected poor things.

 

Two days ago the worst affected, Lucille, started leaking some smelly white discharge from her vent. I thought perhaps it was a reaction to the Flubenvet. Her appetite was unaffected. Yesterday afternoon she sat down and fluffed out her wings, as if she were broody. When I went to examine her I saw the discharge was still leaking (not a lot) and she was weak (but this might be a response to being picked up, she always gets shivery and floppy when handled). In contrast to the morning when she was running about fine, she showed no interest in food. I put her to bed and feared the worst.

 

Today she has been standing around the run, hunched, feathers fluffed up, looking miserable. I have syringed some water and also some yoghurt down her throat. I began to hope that she was going to lay a lash and then be fine, but no sign of that. Her vent continues to leak a bit, the white substance is quite gluey and is actually opaque with white strands in it.

 

Can anyone give me some advice as to what it might be? I am afraid that it's some sort of egg blockage or breakage. Is there anything more I can do? I live in Europe and don't speak the language very well - also my partner is adamant that we cannot spend a lot of money on vet's bills for very sick chickens - so I am limited in what I can do, but if there is anything I can do I shall and if there is reasonable hope I shall try to find a vet.

 

Thank you for any help and sorry this was so long.

[Christian]

It could be peritonitis. The build up of fluid sometimes prevents the faeces from being passed properly. The white liquid is the, usually, solid urine part of the droppings.

To be honest, you do need to see a vet. She will either need strong antibiotics or PTS, I'm afraid. Some hens can live a long time with egg peritonitis, if it is sterile. If it is septic, then the prognosis isn't too good, sorry.

 

Keep her somewhere warm and quiet. Warmth helps as they then put their energy into getting better, rather than keeping themselves warm.

 

Good luck.

[clucky h]

Hello Christian, thank you so much for your reply although I was rather dreading it was peritonitis.

 

In fact I did wonder if perhaps it was a reaction to the flubenvet, I have a newborn baby and am more stupid than usual at the moment so gave them too much. But the other hens have not reacted.

 

Finding a vet is going to be difficult, but I shall try, really it's the least I can do.

[Chucky Mama]

It shouldn't be flubenvet related, medicines like this are tested to allow for a margin of error - (doesn't mean you should give more that recommended though). I agree with Christian that the prognosis is not good. If you think that she needs to be put to sleep, might there be a local farmer that could help out.

[Egluntyne]

I agree with everything that has been suggested. Sorry you are having this trouble just at the moment.

[eggalp]

Sorry to hear about your hen. I came home from the vets on tuesday having had a stuck egg and a great big lash removed from our hen. Her poo's were exactly as you say, watery with white strands in, and she was hunched, not moving or eating for a couple of days. I have had two other hens with peritonitis so knew pretty much what the outcome would be. The vet says the prognosis isn't good but to give her antibiotics and she how she goes. She has perked up so much since tuesday but we shall see................ The vet said that another egg could become stuck and that i should put on a glove and use KY Jelly and feel up her bum gently every few days to see if i could feel anything. He said that if there was an egg it would come out easily with the KY Jelly. Not nice i know, but maybe you could try this to see if you can gently remove anything?

i hope she improves.

[clucky h]

Thank you all very much for your replies, it hasn't been a very happy evening here as my partner says flatly that he knows a dying hen when he sees it, I have to learn to recognise when not to interfere and there are no vets around here who know anything about chickens anyway. So no vet's visit - and to be honest, she's such a shy and timid hen taking her to a surgery would be very traumatic for her.

 

I didn't expect that she'd survive the night but she did, and actually ran up to eat some breakfast. Now though she's standing around all hunched up again. I don't think we'll let her go on much longer: although she only started behaving as if ill a couple of days ago, I've now found out she hasn't laid for two weeks (I haven't been able to do the morning feeds for the last month) so I think any blockage will be quite large and beyond my power to remove, and I don't want to subject her to unnecessary pain. My partner used to be a farmer, so he knows how to despatch chickens quickly.

 

It's been really good to know your diagnoses though, and that there really isn't much hope even with a vet trip. Thanks again. And eggalp - the situation with your hen does sound much better, best wishes to you and her and I hope that she makes a full recovery.

[clucky h]

I thought I would update here as happy endings are always good to read.

 

Lucille made a dramatic recovery! After I posted that, she continued to eat and drink and her vent stopped leaking. It leaked again once, and then stopped altogther. She laid an egg, and there was blood, and she was again quite poorly after that for a day, but since then she has reverted to being the happy chicken she was before, completely normal. Well, apart from not laying any eggs, but I don't mind that.

 

I am as sure as I can be it was peritonitis, so I don't really understand it. Perhaps it will flare up again - I don't know. Anyway, it's great to see Lucille skipping about again, even if it turns out to be a temporary reprieve.

 

Thanks again for all the advice and support.

[Chucky Mama]

Lovely to get an update, thank you and great that it was an update with a happy ending

[The Dogmother]

Glad to hear that she's better.

 

I picked up on one thing in your first post.... you said that the discharge smelled bad; Peritonitis doesn't usually produce bad smelling discharge, but Vent Gleet (a sort of poultry thrush type infection) does. It would be worth reading up on the symptoms to see if they match with your chook.

 

I have only ever had one hen with it and it did have a noticeably bad pong, treated it with some oral anti-fungals.