timebandit Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 One of my ex bat hens has recently been spayed. She'd been looking poorly (diarrhea, hunched shoulders and closing eyes frequently) and I thought she'd reached the end of the road. I took her to a local avian vet and to cut the story short, she had a hysterectomy and is now on her second life The vet removed 0.5kg of concreted egg from inside her Needless to say, she wouldn't have lived much longer without surgical help. She was on antibiotics for a while before the op but looked miserable a lot of the time and wasn't her old self at all. Obviously no hen lives forever, but from my experience and what I've read other people say, their demise if often brought about earlier than necessary by their reproductive systems being worn out and the hen then developing a problem such as peritonitis or prolapse. I wondered if anyone else has had a pet chicken spayed? What led you to do it? How long did your girlie live for afterwards? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Half a kg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Never heard of that before Timebandit. Sounds like a big operation and rather expensive too. Heard of hormone implants to do the same thing though. I guess the important thing was to remove the concrete egg though, so removing the ovaries was something that could be done at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timebandit Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 I have a photo of the gunk that the vet removed, if anyone's interested? I hadn't heard about hormone implants before. Can you still get them? They sound like the sort of thing DEFRA would ban the use of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolly Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Ooh yes, photo please! I' had a hen implanted a few years ago and she lived for a couple of happy years afterwards BUT the implant itself only lasted 5 weeks!! I wouldn't do it again though, it was a lot for her to go through and a lot of worry for me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timebandit Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 I am going to ask the vet about implants. In the meantime, here's what he found inside my chicken! Click on the pic to see everything... http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb109/wolfieUK_album/Chickens/IMG_3536-1.jpg' alt='IMG_3536-1.jpg'> [/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolly Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 O. M. G. That is incredible, your poor girl, no wonder she wasn't herself!! How is she doing now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieDust Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Can only echo Dolly's comments! Hope she is feeling better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 That's awesome! I can't believe how much they removed! Can I ask how much the operation cost? I guess the most expensive part would be the GA, especially tricky in birds but just wondering how comparable it is to hormone implants/injecting which need repeating every 2 weeks-few months. The implants suppress hormones so when people say their chickens are happier I'm not sure if she is, or if she's not actually feeling anything at all... I'm off to Vet School in September so always interesting to hear about this kind of procedure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 That's staggering Timebandit. They produce yellow rubbery stuff as a barrier against injury and infection. I've seen it several times. So some of that may be egg and some could be the stuff she has manufactured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Simply incredible that she could carry all this around in her. What a fab poultry keeper you are for doing this for her, I would imagine she is feeling soooooooo much better now. Would love to hear how she progresses. Axx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottage Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Oh my god, poor little chicken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timebandit Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 Edwina weighed 1.75kg after the op, so yes, it's staggering that at one time she was carrying half a kilo of excess baggage. There were complications before the op, which put the cost up, but it was a few hundred pounds to get her sorted. Something had ruptured and stuck to Edwina's intestines, which further complicated matters. It's quite incredible that she came through it all and is a credit to the skill of the vet. He used a tool called an ultrasonic scalpel, which I believe not many veterinary practices have. Without this, the surgery would not have been possible, but Edwina was in the right place at the right time My hen had to have the 'full works' so to speak but if you were just spaying a healthy hen to prevent trouble in the first place it would be cheaper of course. I seem to remember my vet saying that he has tried out a technique for spaying a chicken which is simpler than the normal procedure but anyone interested would need to ask him for more info about that. She is doing wonderfully so far, walking about as if nothing has happened, still 'beating up' her underlings if they step out of line and has easily retained her rank of hen house madam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottage Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Timebandit, would you mind messaging me with details of your vet that carried the operation out please, just in case an implant doesn't work for Lola. I'm in Bedfordshire so not an unreasonable traveling distance should the need arise. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timebandit Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 I can't get the PM to work, it's freezing on me I don't think there's any harm in me naming the vet here is there? And it might help other people The vet who helped Edwina is Clive Madeiros of West Bar Vets in Banbury. The phone number is 01295 262332. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I saw your location and did wonder if it was Clive. I went to see him a few years ago with Dogmother when she took a chicken in to see him - I was interested in seeing practice with him but distance and other things meant it didn't happen. Hope she's doing well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 I can endorse those vets - what Clive doesn't know about avians isn't worth knowing... he writes research papers on a regular basis and travels to lecture on Rheas - his specialist area. He's an old acquaintance of mine, and once you get past his 'consultant-type' demeanour, he is very interesting. David Shepherd (his practice partner) is also very knowledgeable and has an easier manner. You must be near me timebandit.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timebandit Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Dogmother & lwescott, I'm lucky to have Clive nearby & yes he is interesting and obviously loves what he does. I like the bits of information that he tells me about surgery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevex2 Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 On 07/07/2014 at 12:13 PM, timebandit said: One of my ex bat hens has recently been spayed. She'd been looking poorly (diarrhea, hunched shoulders and closing eyes frequently) and I thought she'd reached the end of the road. I took her to a local avian vet and to cut the story short, she had a hysterectomy and is now on her second life The vet removed 0.5kg of concreted egg from inside her Needless to say, she wouldn't have lived much longer without surgical help. She was on antibiotics for a while before the op but looked miserable a lot of the time and wasn't her old self at all. Obviously no hen lives forever, but from my experience and what I've read other people say, their demise if often brought about earlier than necessary by their reproductive systems being worn out and the hen then developing a problem such as peritonitis or prolapse. I wondered if anyone else has had a pet chicken spayed? What led you to do it? How long did your girlie live for afterwards? Chris Hi, I know this is an extremely old post but good to get advice from someone with experience of hen spaying, I have recently had a hen successfully spayed and the vet doesn't advice giving her the suprelorin implant as well, I'm getting conflicting advice on different forums with the majority of people saying I must get her implanted as well or she will start ovulating, can you tell me if your vet advices implants alongside surgery. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 TBH, most poultry vets I know don't advise either procedure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 I would ignore the forums and listen to your vet, Steve. If she's been spayed the ovaries will have been removed and she can't ovulate... so the suprelorin implant won't be needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
