Egg Yolk Peritonitis?

[servant_of_fluffs]

I have an almost 5 year old hen with vent fleet and bumble foot. She constantly has gurgly sounds coming from her belly. I don’t think she’s laid an egg in four months or more. At night she pants (it’s like 60 degrees) and blinks super slowly (maybe she’s just tired) like she’s dying, but in the morning she acts more like a normal hen. She still pants occasionally and is lethargic in the day, but not as bad as the night. Currently she’s in a dog crate, inside. She lives with 13 other hens and a Plymouth Rock rooster. The chickens are in their coop for the winter as it’s super windy and below freezing. She poops out tiny watery poops almost whenever she stands up. Is this egg yolk peritonitis?! If it is can I give her Amoxicillin to help crack down on any infections and what dosage should I give? Any advice for the bumble foot and vent gleet? I’ll post pictures in a bit when I give her her Epsom Salt bath.

 

[servant_of_fluffs]

This is a picture of her vent after her epsom salt spa.

I forgot to add this but she also feels very skinny and her keelbone sticks out.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Are you keeping them confined to the coop with no outside time at all? For how long? How big is the coop in feet (L x W) ?

You say it's below freezing yet it's 60° at night. Chickens are far more tolerant of cold than many people seem to believe. They have down jackets to protect them. They are BIRDS, just like sparrows, cardinals and blue jays, which live, survive and thrive outdoors in the winter just fine. It's possible she's being feather-picked by other birds due to over-crowded conditions and boredom, and being denied access to the feeder(s).

Let them out and provide multiple feeders out of visual range from each other so she can eat without other birds seeing her. And provide "clutter" in the run, things she can hide behind, get on top of, etc., but make sure there are no places she can get trapped into.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@Eggcessive, any other advice?

 

[servant_of_fluffs]

Sorry when I said 60 degrees I meant the indoor temperature.

 

[servant_of_fluffs]

Thank you for responding! The coop is 16 x 12 ft. Last year they were cooped up from November to June since we still had about 3 ft of snow in their run. There are usually whiteout blizzards once a month. Unfortunately there are a lot of loose dogs and foxes nearby so we can't free range them. The temperature currently is about 20 F and usually is -20. Do you have any ideas on how to provide more enrichment? Have you ever used cardboard boxes inside their coop for hiding spots? I made a giant flock block a bit ago to have something fun to do, and they ate it in 2 days

 

[BigBlueHen53]

16 x 12 is enormous! That's not counting their run? Wow. No, there's no room for cardboard boxes or toys in MY coop, it's only 8 x 10, lol! We do have what we call the "bus stop" in their run, it's a sheet of corrugated roofing material screwed to two sawhorses, one at each end. In inclement weather they huddle miserably under it, waiting for a bus to take them to Miami, I assume; in good weather they perch on top if it and preen their feathers or, in Rojo's case, crow with pride. Chairs, ladders, cinder blocks on which to perch, cabbages hung from the ceiling - these are all good bets for enrichment.

 

[servant_of_fluffs]

That's a really good idea! I'll try it out in the summer!

 

[servant_of_fluffs]

Yeah, not counting their run.

After her bath, the hen was more active and was doing less open mouth breathing. Is it possible the steam helped her breathing? I've heard that helps for humans. She looks like she has some yellow discharge around her nostrils, but I had just fed her some egg yolk so maybe she got it on her face. I'll post some more pictures in the morning.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you get a picture of her nostrils? Does she have any bubbles or foam in either eye, or swelling on her face or eyelids? Those can signs of a respiratory infection. If it is just egg or feed on her nostrils then it is not. Her vent area looks messy after her soak. I would use warm soapy water and try to clean that poop off. Have you trimmed her feathers back there or are they broken off from pecking? Her lower belly below her vent might be enlarged either by fluid/water belly or salpingitis/internal laying. Hard to know for sure. Water belly or internal laying can cause some labored breathing. I would use some probiotics or plain yogurt with live cultures to firm up her poops. If she has vent damage or vent gleet, then it may still get messy from time to time. A spoonful daily of this new cottage cheese product Good Culture with live cultures may also help with probitics:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Good-Cul...MIys2l-I6CjAMVSEf_AR1J1hD3EAQYBSABEgJB6PD_BwE