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

[Chucky Mama]

Hens with very heavy moults can get pretty low so it may be the sudden medication moult. I would support both hens in terms of food and particularly fluid/electrolytes. Dehydration is a real killer and the more dehydrated they get the less inclined they will be to eat. You can use critical care, avian electrolytes, offer porridge, weetabix (no milk) or syringe baby food. Also keep them warm and out of this awful wind as trying to keep warm will loose valuable energy. Good luck

[Egghead68]

Thanks very much, Chucky Mama. I will do exactly as you suggest. They are both still drinking, at least.

[Egghead68]

I think it was the moult, as Chucky Mama said. I have brought them in and have the poorly one on critical care formula and cat food, scrambled egg etc. out for both. They have both picked up and are spontaneously eating a bit.

[Lizzie]

HI

 

Thought I would share my experience of three hormone implants with upsides and downsides.

 

Alice was laying soft eggs continously and ended up with a pro-lapse. She was very unhappy and was not interested in doing anything as spent so much time trying to pass bits of yolk / shell.

Following our vets advice, she had a hormone implant (with the hormone injection at the same time) and after a very heavy moult is now a very happy hen and looks absolutely amazing.

She was "top hen" before, went slightly down the pecking order without any grief from the others and now back at the top again. We don't think she has started laying again, but the vet thinks she could and may well be cured of the soft egg problem. The hormone implant in my vets experience lasts about 4 months - Alice's would have worn off in August and so far she is still fine.

 

Next Scarlet. Diagnosed with yolk perionitis. Waddling / not eating much.

Hormone implant and injection (they have both as the hormone injection stops the yolk follicles producing anymore yolk which causes more yolk to potentially flood into the abdomen. She too went through a very heavy moult and this time as she as near the bottom of the pecking order in the first place, ended up being attacked by Milly. We had to seperate her off in their run until fully feathered and she too looks gorgeous. Her personality has returned and eating very well / enjoying life.

Her hormone implant is due to wear off in November, but we may have another implant done late October for two reasons; 1) to hopefully overt another heavy moult which could lead to her being attacked again. 2) to ensure that she does not get yolk perionitis.

However, vet again has advised that some birds don't get perionitis back straight away so you could be lucky and not have to repeat for some time - it varies bird to bird.

Scarlet had to be drained twice before things were under control.

 

Finally Milly.

Milly was fine then very rapidly went down hill (lethargic, not eating). Yolk Perionitis diagnosed again.

Hormone implant / injection (as well as metacam and antibiotic for all three)

However, Milly took longer to respond and in fact I had made an appointment to have her PTS.

This was a week last Tuesday.

But, I got home from work that day and she had perked up so we crossed everything and day by day she improved and now is great, eating well and chirpy. Normal chicken behaviour.

She has yet to go through the moult as she enevitably will but to us its worth it.

 

We have found that critical care is a great thing to give them on wet pellets as it really gives them a boost.

 

So, personally, I would do the hormone implant / injections IF the bird is otherwise bright and not too old

(Alice 2.5 and Molly / Scarlet 18 months).

 

But, be prepared for a change in their personality at the beginning and to give them extra care whilst they are building up their strength. They usually go to bed way earlier then any of the other hens.

Also consider that they may well need another implant. If you are not prepared to do this, then maybe you should re-consider your choice of an implant from the beginning.

 

Hope this helps

 

Good luck

 

Liz

[Egghead68]

Liz,

 

Thank you so much for posting about your experiences. This is the sort of detail that really helps people decide what to do and know what to expect.

 

I was absolutely horrified by how ill my hens have been in the past few days, as nothing I had read had prepared me for it. Two days ago I was seriously regretting having them implanted and was wondering whether they would ever pull through. I'm pleased to say they have perked up dramatically and I am back to being (cautiously) pro-implant.

 

I hope Milly continues to go from strength to strength.

[Lizzie]

I'm glad that the info has helped and I do hope your chooks continue to improve too.

It is a really satisfying thing to see.

 

I forgot to mention that we had to have Milly drained twice too (180ml Saturday on 1st October and 140 ml fluid on Monday 3rd ) and she did not pick up after the second drain as Scarlet did, ie remained very lethargic, not eating much.

 

We syringed critcal care into her twice a day and also mixed it into wet pellets which she would eat.

She started to really pick up by Wed 5th and has stayed bright from then on improving day by day

 

I took her back on Thursday (6th) and there was some fluid back in there but not very much

Vet said when the hormones had taken full effect the fluid would be absorbed and from checking her, we believe that it has.

 

Best wishes

[Egghead68]

Thanks Lizzie. It's really good they are doing so well.

 

Colin still has some fluid left even though she has gone through the moult. I hope this is not a bad prognostic sign...It doesn't seem to be bothering her. The vet won't drain her as he is worried about puncturing an air-sac.

[Lizzie]

yes, my vet said the same about the remaining fluid

Just keep an eye on how much fluid there is and if she has more than obviously take her back

 

Best wishes

Liz

[Egghead68]

Thank you again, Liz - that's really helpful.

Best wishes,

Kate

[Egghead68]

Just wanted to update to say that, although it took a month and there were lots of hurdles on the way (very poorly after moult, systemic fungal infection, crop impaction), Colin has been back to her normal self for over a week now, which is a joy to see. Thanks to everyone for your help.

[gongladosh]

good stuff (glad to hear it's working out) - let us know how long the implant lasts!

[Lizzie]

Great news - really thrilled to hear your news.

 

Just to update further on my three :

Alice, still fine. Hormone implant expected to have worn off back in August. Keeping a close eye as there have been a couple of softies laid, but I don't know if its her or not.

 

Scarlet, what a picture she is. Vet could not get over how well and in good condition she looked. She has had a second implant now (Friday 4th November). This is to keep the hormone levels the same and therefore hopefully avoiding a moult and her having to go through what happened before. We don't know yet if this will work and the vet has not tried before so we are keeping everything crossed (including Scarlet)

 

Milly, very well, (eating, happy etc) but went through a very heavy moult. Her feathers have nearly grown back though. We kept her sperated off in the same run for three weeks and this weekend we will put her back with the others. She is fine (ish) in the garden with them, just a bit vunerable when in their run.

If Scarlet does not go into a moult, we shall do another implant in Milly before the current one has "expired".

 

The vet has advised there is a good chance that they will start laying normally again, but even if they do, they are likely to get yolk perionitis again which is what we are trying to avoid.

 

Best wishes

Liz

[Egghead68]

Thanks, both of you. So glad all your girls are doing well Liz, especially Milly. I'd be very interested to hear what happens with the second implant as I plan to get Colin redone in a couple of months (3.5 months after the first).

[Lizzie]

Hi

 

Quick update on Scarlet and Milly.

 

Its two weeks tomorrow since Scarlet had her second implant just before the original one wore off (by a matter of two weeks or so).

No feathers lost (ie moult) which means the others did not attack her as before. She has become a little more timid but keeps herself out of the way and seems fine. No obvious signs of having problems, eg cuts on comb, but we keep a close eye.

 

Milly - nearly there with her new feathers, she looks lovely. Will see a big difference on Saturday as not seen them all week due to short days. Husband on chook care now bless him.

 

Anyhow, we are quite sure (from what we have seen so far) having the second implant done before the exisiting wears off (so at about 3.5 months ) seems to stop the hen going into the heavy moult.

 

Hope this helps

 

Regards

Liz

[Egghead68]

That's good to know. Thank you for the update. Glad your girls are doing well.

[Egghead68]

Just nine weeks after the original implant and Colin is crouching again. We're off to the vets on Thursday to have her redone. Really hoping that she doesn't get ill again before that and that she doesn't have to go through a second heavy moult. It's disappointing that the implant didn't last longer.

 

Sarah's implant is still going strong and I plan to have her redone at 3.5 months.

[sandyhas3chucks]

fingers crossed here for them x

[Egghead68]

Thanks Sandy!

[Egghead68]

Colin's been reimplanted. Just as well as she has already got some swelling back. Will get her done in another 7 weeks and will update on how she gets on in the meantime (might be of use to someone).

[sandyhas3chucks]

???

just to say I have heard of someone that implant did not work, but I thought in general they lasted min of 6 months???

[Egghead68]

I think one other omletteer found theirs lasted only a few weeks, too. The average seems to be ariung 4 months. I do wonder if Colin's old one had somehow fallen out, as the vet couldn't feel it anywhere.

[Egghead68]

Just to say that Colin didn't moult after her replacement suprelorin implant, even though the first one had worn off six days beforehand.

[sandyhas3chucks]

can you tell us how you new it had worn out 6 days beforehand please

[Egghead68]

She started crouching (and then a few days later had early signs of peritonitis (slightly squishy abdomen)).

The vet could not feel the original implant - I don't know whether they can somehow work their way out.

She stopped crouching and the fluid went away a few days after the second implant.

[sandyhas3chucks]

ok, thanks ...

Had you noticed her comb shrink when she first had the implant and or notice it get bigger again?

maybe not if it only last 9 weeks..

Was it very expensive?

And another question,... how much does she weigh?

hope all continues to be good