Is this egg yolk peritonitis?

[Tracy in MO]

Almost 6 year old Rhode Island Red has been lethargic for 2 to 3 weeks. Droopy messy butt. Very withdrawn. Her poop is pastel yellow, clear and white and blobs of dark green (picture attached). Can anyone tell me if there is ANY other reason that could cause this kind of poop? I’m so scared this is egg yolk peritonitis (google it, it’s not good).

Thanks for anyone’s ideas

 

[Eggcessive]

The yellow in the poop does look abnormal. It could be from a bacterial infection, possibly E.coli which is common in the reproductive tract, and in egg yolk peritonitis. The green poop is from not eating much. How long has it been since she was laying eggs, and were they normal? Some symptoms of egg yolk peritonitis can include a lowered tail, waddling or standing more upright, sitting a lot, poor appetite, runny poops, weight loss, possibly an enlarged abdomen. Antibiotics are not usually effective as a cure, unless they are started very early. It can be a common cause of death in hens. Sorry about your hen. Here is some reading:
http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/backyard-poultry/egg-yolk-peritonitis/

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/egg-peritonitis

 

[Tracy in MO]

The yellow in the poop does look abnormal. It could be from a bacterial infection, possibly E.coli which is common in the reproductive tract, and in egg yolk peritonitis. The green poop is from not eating much. How long has it been since she was laying eggs, and were they normal? Some symptoms of egg yolk peritonitis can include a lowered tail, waddling or standing more upright, sitting a lot, poor appetite, runny poops, weight loss, possibly an enlarged abdomen. Antibiotics are not usually effective as a cure, unless they are started very early. It can be a common cause of death in hens. Sorry about your hen. Here is some reading:
http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/backyard-poultry/egg-yolk-peritonitis/

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/egg-peritonitis

Thank you so much Eggcessive! I appreciate the information you’ve provided. To answer your questions, it has been a little over 2 weeks since she laid an egg... and that’s my best guess. I THINK she was laying. It so hard to know exactly who is laying which egg. No abnormal eggs from the appearance of the shells but we haven’t eaten all of them yet to say from the inside.

she does have a very lowered tail, and very messy butt. She does nothing but bunker down and sit. I will take her outside by herself and she will take just a few steps. She will eat leaves of weeds and grass but not a lot. She has a poor appetite for mealworm treats and crumble. She has extremely runny poops, thus the very messy bottom. She has probably lost weight. On an enlarged abdomen, I am having a hard time telling exactly where she is big. I think I will give her a bath tomorrow and try to get her to relax... and that way I can really inspect her abdomen. Tomorrow is the first warm weather day that I can do this and not worry about her getting cold at night.
If it is this, I don’t want her to suffer and I want to do the responsible thing, for her sake. Ginger has been a real joy. Thanks again!

 

[Eggcessive]

Since you think she has laid within 2 weeks, I would try to treat her with Baytril, a strong antibiotic that is banned for chickens. However many vets will prescribe it for reproductive infections since it treats E.coli and many other bacteria. There is a long egg withdrawal with Baytril. You can get it here:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/enro/
Dosage of the 10% liquid is 0.25 ml for a 5 pound chicken given orally twice a day for 5 days. It is 0.05 ml per pound if she is larger or smaller.