LunaKiw1 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Could someone please summarise the classic symptoms of peritonitis for me please and what the prognosis is for a chicken that develops it? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Fat-looking hen but on inspection they may be quite skinny except for having a swollen abdomen. It may be red and hot and may feel squishy. The hen may develop a distinctive 'John Wayne' waddle with legs quite wide apart. The abdomen can be drained of fluid by a vet, and any infection can be treated with antibiotics, but unfortunately the long-term prognosis is not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I had a girl with it recently (and she showed exactly the symptoms Olly describes). She completely recovered after treatment although I'm aware that it may recur and she may not be so lucky next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaKiw1 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 Ginger (age 2 and a half) has the waddle and fluffed up look but is also not eating much whilst passing very watery poos - sometimes yellow and even a bit green. At other times there's a lot of mucous and the poo is yellowy and foul smelling. And there have been a lot of small lashes in their poo tray overnight. But on the other hand at times she still acts quite chicken-y and potters round the garden with Pepper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen1962 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 egg peritonitis symptoms include bright green runny pooh, swollen belly, awkward John Wayne gait, depression in birds and sitting on nest for ages without producing anything. Two of my ex-batts ended up with that and I had to have them put down. Vets will consider hysterectomies but told me putting her to sleep for the operation would probably kill her anyway so I did the kindest thing for both of them. Helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 You may also notice that they pant and their combs go purple/blue when they sit down; the fluid build up increases and puts pressure on their internal organs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaKiw1 Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 Thank you everyone. She's regularly passing mini lashes at night and the runny poo in the day so i think we need to take her to the vet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaKiw1 Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 I now know it was egg peritonitis - and acute stage. The vet said there was nothing he could do as seh was basically just expelling her insides. She was PTS last night. He said the problem with chickens is they don't show they are ill until basically it is too late to do anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 I'm so sorry, what a shame . I'll lock this up as there is similar thread running here . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
