After my last post, Amber's condition deteriorated. Her abdomen became distended and hard and she was standing around with her legs apart looking hunched. Also her comb was looking bluish so I booked an appointment with the vet last night.
The vet removed 1ltr of fluid from Amber's abdomen. He said it was starting to impede her breathing (which was why her comb was showing a bluish tinge - something I wasn't aware of). She was immediately more perky! He said there was more there but he didn't want to risk removing too much.
He thought it was most likely peritonitis, although it could be tumour or cardiac but difficult to tell without running expensive tests. He prescribed baytril twice daily and metacam once daily. I dosed her with both upon arriving home in the evening and by the next morning she looked so much better. I have to treat her for 10 days. So far so good. The vet said that her body should absorb any further liquid as she recovered. Once treated with Baytril I've been told that her eggs are no longer suitable for human consumption.The vet did say I could use tylan since I already had a stock, but when I specifically asked which was better to treat peritonitis if that was indeed what she had, he said Baytril. I'd rather have a healthy hen and throw away the eggs than risk using a less suitable antibiotic so I went with that. Also, I had treated her with Tylan in November for her suspected Myco, so I wasn't sure it would be good to go again with the same anti-biotic.
I do hope this clears it up completely. Chicken keeping is a journey of discovery. I find the
Omlet forums very good and helpful for sharing experiences and advice - and the advice I got very rapidly when I described Amber's symptoms was to take her to the vet as she possibly had peritonitis. It can also get expensive but if you do decide to keep animals of any sort, it is really important to care for them properly, whatever that costs.
Sadly, after an initial improvement, Amber's condition worsened. Sunday morning saw her just sitting on the nest box. I had to go out that day, so I moved Maud to an adjacent run - for a while she was the only chicken in the large 10 chicken eglu cube! I wondered about dosing Amber up with metacam, but I didn't really want to disturb her as she was quite peaceful. When I returned, she had died in the same position so I think she was just drifting off.
These two photos were taken earlier this year, when she was her usual friendly, hale and hearty self. I'm sure her decline derived from that very first virus which I noted on 3rd January. Amazing how fast they go downhill.
