Battylady Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hello! I wonder if anyone has any thoughts about this - Donna (ex bat, now about 4 years old) was always very lively and punchy, but over the last year she has really slowed down. I put it down to 'old age'. She seems to have got a lot slower over the last 6 months, and now it's quite noticeable that her legs, rather than being directly under her, are sort of spread out further to the sides, and her chest is sort of low down, nearly touching the ground. She's so much slower and weaker than she used to be, but she's still eating well. She can get around OK, but she sort of waddles! She can even break in to a run, but only when really motivated She has lots of day time naps and just kind of looks old and sleepy. It really does look to me like she's an 'old lady' (with all the things that go with advancing years) but where she is my first 'old hen' I just wanted to check if anyone had any thoughts on the leg and chest issue? Thankyou! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 She may have sterile peritonitis. Others on here have experience of having this treated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola O Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 With what you've described it does sound as though Donna has peritonitis. Have a feel of her bottom, below her vent, to see if it is swollen, soft and fluid filled. Also feel to see if the area is hot, as that may mean she has infected peritonitis. You have two options really - do nothing and make her last weeks/months as comfortable for her as you can, and have her PTS when you feel her quality of life has gone, or take her to the vets to see if they will drain the fluid from her. I was actually at the vet this afternoon with exactly this same condition, and the vet drained quite an amount of fluid from Gadys' belly, and then injected her with a Superlorin Implant, which is a type of contraceptive and will stop her ovulating, so should prevent the fluid from building up again. 4 years is a fantastic age for an ex-bat, so she's quite an old girl. Glady's only came out of the cage last November so hopefully has a lot of life ahead of her so I felt that draining and the implant were def. worth trying for her. I'm sure others will be along soon with various experiences and opinions which might help you weigh up the options. Nicola. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola O Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I forgot to mention. I had another, older ex-bat fitted with the implant exactly four weeks ago. Her peritonitis was caught earlier so she was not as swollen as Gladys and did not need any fluid draining. Stans bottom has completely gone down, and I took her as well this afternoon so the vet could see how she was doing and he said that 'it feels like a perfectly normal chicken botty now'. I was so pleased , and then Stan promptly pooed on his hand as revenge for being groped . The implant doesn't last for ever, it's still in the 'experimental' stage with chooks at the moment and it is estimated to last about six months when (a) you may need another implant, (b) the hen may have stopped laying naturally by then and may not need another, or © with the laying bits having been 'rested' for a few months they may come back into lay again. This is the info the vet gave me last month, but so far (from seeing Stan) the implant def seems to be working. Hope this helps. Nicola Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battylady Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Thank you very much indeed! I've now read up about peritonitis on other parts of the forum as well, and it sounds spot on for Donna. She has never laid an egg with a shell, we've had softies ever since she came out of the battery cage (we tried every sort of grit, shell, limestone flour ... none of it made any difference) Anyway, about 6 months ago she stopped laying altogether. I'm guessing that now (being non-technical about it!) what should be coming out is building up inside her instead? My challenge now is to find a local vet who knows what they are doing with chickens. Our usual vet (for bunnies and dog) doesn't seem to know much at all and we've had a bad experience with treatment prescribed in the past. Last thing I want to do is stress Donna out with the wrong treatment. What would usually happen? Would they do an Xray or should they just be able to diagnose peritonitis by having a feel? Thanks again, I feel like I'm getting somewhere with helping poor old Donna have the best 'golden years' possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola O Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 X rays or an internal exam would not be necessary as you can diagnose peritonitis just through feeling their bottoms (my vet is a great chook guy and that's all he needs to do) so Donna would not need to go through stressful proceedures just to be diagnosed. As Gladys' bottom was a lot larger than Stan's was, and it was obviously uncomfortable for her I asked if he would drain some of the fluid as that would give her instant relief, as well as injecting the implant. He then gave us a few days worth of antibiotics just in case of infection. There was an immediate change in her, she was slower than the others, stood around a lot with her bottom very low to the ground and her tail feathers were right down, but now bottom and tail are up and she is back to her lively self and keeping up with her mates (and her bottom is nice and small again). If Donna is at the waddling stage I would guess she is quite large so draining will give her some relief, but do bear in mind that the fluid will build up again, so it is usually just a temporary relief. I opted for the implant as well as this would stop Gladys ovulating and will prevent it building up in her again. I can't yet vouch for the implant long term, but a month down the line with Stan the signs are looking good. Hope the info and my thoughts are of help. Nicola Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola O Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Just resurrecting this for an update. Sadly Gladys passed away this evening. In the last couple of days her belly ballooned up again and was clearly quite poorly. We went back to the vets and saw a great vet who is still training for her avian certificate, but was so good, knowledgable and went through all the options - she even discussed spaying her !! We settled on draining to give her immediate relief and then seeing how she went. But just after we got home she suddenly collapsed and died . I feel quilty that her last couple of hours were a bit stressy, but I know I tied my best for her and she passed away in my arms . RIP Gladys. Nicola Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counturchickens Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Sorry about your girl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
