Nature Chick Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 (edited) Hi Lovely Lily has a swollen abdomen and isn't very happy Strange thing is that she is eating and drinking okay and I am pretty sure that she is still laying. I will take her to the vet tomorrow but I have that feeling of impending doom I also just noticed that one of her pupils is a funny shape and smaller - she doesn't seem to have much vision either. I am hoping this is from an injury or something rather than a neurological problem. Oh dear - I am flying into a panic, and its bank holiday so the vets are closed I saw that Marek's has funny eyes but hers don't look like the picture on wikipedia. We are due to go on holiday at the weekend......feel sick s Edited August 30, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 The swollen abdomen points to peritonitis I'm afraid. Good idea to take her to the vet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nature Chick Posted August 30, 2011 Author Share Posted August 30, 2011 I have almost recovered from the trip to the vets...... The vet extracted the remains of about 10 eggs from Lily and loads of fluid, blood etc. It was so horrendous I nearly keeled over and I am usually very good with gore He gave her a jab of antibiotics and a painkiller and anti-infammatory. The long-term prognosis is not good I know but we thought that this experience might finish her off - on the contrary, once at home in a pen in the utility room she started to clean herself, then had a drink and ate some pellets......the she was off down the garden!!!! Unfortunately this makes everything harder, it was be an easy to decision to PTS if she was depressed etc. but she is perkier than ever. We are going back to the vets on Thursday for more drugs but we may make the decision then not to keep going. If anyone has experience of this I would be really grateful for your input. We are off on holiday for a week on Saturday so I don't feel we are able to give her a good go....... ......thanks S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarlettohara Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 How awful for you and your girl, sending lots of good vibes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyripkim Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 What a horrible experience, she did well to come through it ok and fingers crossed that she keeps on doing so. Why do things have to happen just when we are going away! Who is looking after them while you are away, would they be able to manage if she got poorly again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 What a shock for you On the positive side, if she survives the initial shock of treatment she could go on for some weeks/months now that the fluid and debris has been removed. The long term outlook is not good but they can live quite normally until it crops up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurmurf Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 I had my head chook wander around with 'sterile' peritonitis (internal egg laying) for 4 years. She was always fine with it and just towards the end of her life got a bit puffed when she sat down. She would seasonally reabsorb some of the eggs so her tummy would shrink a bit. It's not a terminal diagnosis by any means if she's not showing signs of infection from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 By the sounds of it, it's sterile peritonitis rather than septic - I've had hens with both. Some hens can survive with sterile peritonitis - they can cope with it, it's a bit like having a pendulum beneath them. There is a risk that sterile peritonitis can turn septic, but there are things you can do to control it - you can give your girl a hormone implant (Suprelorin) that stops her laying - effectively it puts her through the menopause. It lasts between 6 months to a year, and you have it implanted (costs about £60or so a time), you then get the fluid drained again and hopefully it doesn't return as long as the implant is active. Here's what happened to mine, Kiki http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=75752 - sadly it didn't have a happy ending in this case, but in fairness, she was unlucky that it turned septic before we managed to get the implant in her. I've added the link so you can see how similar it looks in terms of symptoms. It's up to you whether you want to have her PTS or not, but it may be worth looking into the implant - many on the forum have tried it and had success. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Dont give up my chicken henrietta had peritonitis and the vet wanted to put her to sleep i said no and had her drained and she had another 16 months of running round the garden and beating everyone up sadly i lost her about a month ago i still miss her now leanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nature Chick Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 Thank you all so much for your replies - I really appreciate your support. Why is always the adorable ones that get sick?! I managed to persuade OH to give her a go (she is his favourite and once he saw how bright she was I think his heart melted!!!) I have emailed my vet about the implant so fingers crossed he looks into it before tomorrow's appointment. I think I would like to give the implant a go. In the mean time I will swap her onto corn as it sounds like that will help slow the egg production...... I have a fabulous chicken sitter, she loves the hens but isn't that experienced. We do though have friends in the next town who have had a crash course in chicken keeping after rescuing ex-batts last year!!! If we need to medicate while we are away I am sure they can manage between them (they happen to be friends as we all work together). We have decided that we will divide the eglu run and get Lily in our wooden house at one end - at least that way she will be easy to reach if need be (the house detaches easily from the run unlike the eglu). Lily was a bit down this morning but still up and about and eating my husbands cherry tomatoes I am putting that down to the antibiotics kicking in. I can't wait to go home and see her - I will keep you all posted to her progress Thanks again for your support - it means so much to hear from you all!!! S x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 good luck, let us know how it goes. The draining my take a couple of goes as when the gunk is drained, it takes a lot of protein out of the bird, so your vet may not fully drain her in one go due to this - it purely depends on how much gunk there is. One other thing that may be worth doing is getting your vet to prescribe some 'good bacteria' powder (we mixed ours in with porridge for Kiki) - antibiotics can kill off good bacteria also, and the powder is better than giving active yogurt (the digestive system of a bird is not set up to take dairy products). It costs about £6 or 7 a sachet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 There is also a little mentioned other alternative to the superlorin implant and that is a simple inexpensive Delvosterone Injection that needs repeating every 6 to 8 weeks or just a one off to give her system a break from laying. There seems to be one vet that says it causes fatty liver, however there is so little data available even to vets that this is controversial. You have to weigh up the pros and cons to you and your personal chooks/cicumstances/age etc. good luck with her Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nature Chick Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 Thanks again for the replies. I was a bit upset to find Lily really down when I got home from work, just lying down and not interested in much. I brought her in a put her in her box and gave her some nutri-drops. I mixed some bokashi in with some mash and dry mealworms but she isn't interested. I have just syringed some water down her to keep her hydrated but I am not sure will make it through the night. One hopeful thing is that she doesn't seem to have a temperature - her comb is cool and her mouth isn't dry. She does seem swollen though so maybe there is more gunk to come out. I had a call today from the vet to say that he has done some research into the implant which we can discuss tomorrow (fingers crossed Lily is still with us then). They said they might call me this evening but it is getting late now. Thanks for the advice on the injection - I will write it down and take it with me tomorrow. And a reminder about the biotic powder - Hattie had some when she was poorly but I had completely forgotten about it. Appointment is 4.30pm tomorrow so I will let you know how we get on. Thanks again S x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 She sounds like she has had a lot of fluid and gunk removed. They tend to either perk up and act 'normally' pretty much straightaway or they can go into shock and remain poorly for a few days requiring TLC support, or sadly they can die. Personally I would not have an implant or treatment beyond draining +/- antibiotics. Fingers crossed that she picks up tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I would but not till she has recovered from this treatment. I had less and just fluid removed on 2 occasions, the 2nd lots more fluid and a GA as she had xrays too, But OMG the hock for her, I thought she would not make it home. Awful. Both were evening apps and by the morning she was clearly feeling more comfortable as she was laying down at night. She was also on very high dose of antibiotic and anti inflammatory for 2 weeks! before really being clear of gunk etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nature Chick Posted September 1, 2011 Author Share Posted September 1, 2011 Sadly Lovely Lily died in the night. My husband and I had a good cry this morning, we are both devastated. We buried her near the others and will plant some spring bulbs on her grave tonight. I am so sad that we didn't catch it in time and I feel so guilty that I hadn't spotted it before, she hid it so well in those fluffy knickers of hers. Thanks again for all your messages. Rest in peace little Lily S x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 RIP Lily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 big hug x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 So sorry to hear that . You did all you possibly could have for her . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Sorry to hear that she didn't make it. Don't feel guilty, you did your best and that is all that you can do. The fluid can build up to a critical point very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nature Chick Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 Thank you, we miss her already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 So sorry to hear this, Nature chick. RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
