Liver Disease Help

[Mdavchicks]

Hi all! I’m hoping to get advice about one of my buff Orpington chickens. She is somewhat lethargic for a couple days, still eating but not as much and the urate part of her poop is tinted green/yellow. I have seen this could be from fatty liver disease- which I *think* is the issue. I do feed lots of treats- scratch, corn, grubs, sunflower seeds. She is 2 years old. She was laying as of a couple days ago but has stopped. Her comb is bright red. I did treat her with corid, thinking her lethargy might be related to cociodisis since I could see nothing else wrong with her. Her last dose was given two days ago.

If it is fatty liver disease- what can I do to support her? Milk thistle? Antibiotics? I am definitely stopping fatty treats but can I still give veggies (squash, lettuce, tomatoes, pease, cucumbers, scratch without sunflower seeds)?

Is there anything else I need to do?

Is there anything else it can be or do I need to check for anything else?

Here is a picture of her poop in the poop bucket after I cleaned the poop shelf.

 

[azygous]

Is that photo of a container of poop after a daily cleanup of your coop? Or is it your practice to allow poop to accumulate for long periods between cleaning? If the latter is the case, poop buildup can cause its own set of health issues.

Your hen is more likely having a reproductive issue than a liver issue, especially if she isn't showing any signs of water belly (ascites). Has she been laying regularly? Have some of her eggs had shell quality issues? When was the last time you got an egg from her? How was the shell quality? Was it a paper thin shell or just a membrane covered egg?

Examine your hen for possible ascites which is a better indication of liver disease than color of poop. You would detect a swollen belly mostly in front of and between her legs. Usually ascites swelling pushes the legs apart and the hen's stance will be abnormally wide, causing her to walk like a penguin.

The beginnings of liver disease can appear as a fatty deposit behind the legs and under the vent. If your hen is developing liver problems, that would be more likely at her young age. Fat accumulation can also interfere with laying. It's good you've woken up to this risk to the health of your hens and decided to regulate treats.

 

[Mdavchicks]

Is that photo of a container of poop after a daily cleanup of your coop? Or is it your practice to allow poop to accumulate for long periods between cleaning? If the latter is the case, poop buildup can cause its own set of health issues.

Your hen is more likely having a reproductive issue than a liver issue, especially if she isn't showing any signs of water belly (ascites). Has she been laying regularly? Have some of her eggs had shell quality issues? When was the last time you got an egg from her? How was the shell quality? Was it a paper thin shell or just a membrane covered egg?

Examine your hen for possible ascites which is a better indication of liver disease than color of poop. You would detect a swollen belly mostly in front of and between her legs. Usually ascites swelling pushes the legs apart and the hen's stance will be abnormally wide, causing her to walk like a penguin.

The beginnings of liver disease can appear as a fatty deposit behind the legs and under the vent. If your hen is developing liver problems, that would be more likely at her young age. Fat accumulation can also interfere with laying. It's good you've woken up to this risk to the health of your hens and decided to regulate treats.

Thank you for your response! No, the coop is cleaned every morning. I scrape the poop shelf into that 5 gallon bucket (that stays outside the coop) and empty the bucket every 4 days or so.

She could be showing signs of ascites but I have never dealt with this so not entirely sure. Lately, I have noticed that she does seem more "full" in her abdomen when I am holding her. I put my hand in-between her legs and it's a full handful of abdomen when I hold her.

I would say the last egg I got from her was about 3 or 4 days ago (she usually lays about every other day). She has been laying regularly but has stopped recently. Her eggs have all been normal, no shell issues.

I will check for fatty deposits when I go out this afternoon.

Are you thinking this is a liver issue? With change of diet- can this be corrected?

 

[azygous]

She's very young, so if a liver issue is developing, it's very likely to be reversible. Do start giving the milk thistle each day and curtail all extra treats for a while.

My intuition is that she could be having an egg issue. The yellow poop is sometimes a sign of liver disease, but it can also be a symptom of a reproductive problem, either an infection developing or egg binding. If she is behaving lethargically, off her feed, avoiding the rest of the flock by trying to self isolate, those are symptoms of a reproductive crisis in the works. It won't hurt to give her a calcium supplement right now just in case. Calcium citrate with D3 works the fastest and is what I advise if egg binding is suspected. Just give the tablet directly into her beak, one each day today and tomorrow.

 

[Mdavchicks]

She's very young, so if a liver issue is developing, it's very likely to be reversible. Do start giving the milk thistle each day and curtail all extra treats for a while.

My intuition is that she could be having an egg issue. The yellow poop is sometimes a sign of liver disease, but it can also be a symptom of a reproductive problem, either an infection developing or egg binding. If she is behaving lethargically, off her feed, avoiding the rest of the flock by trying to self isolate, those are symptoms of a reproductive crisis in the works. It won't hurt to give her a calcium supplement right now just in case. Calcium citrate with D3 works the fastest and is what I advise if egg binding is suspected. Just give the tablet directly into her beak, one each day today and tomorrow.

As far as the Milk Thistle- is it 15-20mg per day?

She has been occasionally self isolating but did not yesterday or so far today. If this is a reproductive crisis how will I know if it is an infection versus egg binding at this early stage? Should I do anything else other than the calcium citrate?

Thank you so much for your help and guidance!! It is very much appreciated!

Here are some pictures of her from today- I know you probably can’t tell if she has water belly from these.

 

[azygous]

She appears not to have water belly judging from her stance. I don't know the precise dosage of milk thistle. You shouldn't go wrong with one whole capsule daily.

Her photos reveal a perky little hen interested in life in general. But because of the yellow-tinged poop, you would do well to keep a close watch on her. Just do the milk thistle for now. But if she suddenly has a change in behavior, if her posture is hunched with tail held low and she's fluffed up, give a calcium tablet immediately. I keep a bottle of citrate with D in my run all the time to have it convenient to give a hen that shows sudden signs of having a egg-binding problem. It can work as quickly as an hour to get a stubborn egg out, avoiding all the grizzly complications of egg binding.

Should she lay an egg with a thin shell or no shell, start her on a calcium citrate capsule daily until her eggs are coming out with normal shells.

I may be cut off from responding as the day progresses as I'm in the middle of a heavy spring snow storm and the power and internet has been very spotty due to heavy snow bringing down power lines. I won't be ignoring your thread.

 

[Mdavchicks]

She appears not to have water belly judging from her stance. I don't know the precise dosage of milk thistle. You shouldn't go wrong with one whole capsule daily.

Her photos reveal a perky little hen interested in life in general. But because of the yellow-tinged poop, you would do well to keep a close watch on her. Just do the milk thistle for now. But if she suddenly has a change in behavior, if her posture is hunched with tail held low and she's fluffed up, give a calcium tablet immediately. I keep a bottle of citrate with D in my run all the time to have it convenient to give a hen that shows sudden signs of having a egg-binding problem. It can work as quickly as an hour to get a stubborn egg out, avoiding all the grizzly complications of egg binding.

Should she lay an egg with a thin shell or no shell, start her on a calcium citrate capsule daily until her eggs are coming out with normal shells.

I may be cut off from responding as the day progresses as I'm in the middle of a heavy spring snow storm and the power and internet has been very spotty due to heavy snow bringing down power lines. I won't be ignoring your thread.

Thank you so much! I will keep monitoring and start milk thistle. Fingers crossed starting that and cutting out the fatty treats will help her improve.

Good luck and stay safe in your snow storm!

 

[Sally PB]

Following. What is milk thistle supposed to do? I'm always interested in learning about alternate treatments.

 

[azygous]

Milk thistle is said to improve liver function and health.

 

[Mdavchicks]

Following. What is milk thistle supposed to do? I'm always interested in learning about alternate treatments.

I got this from Poultry DVM:
Silymarin's natural antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties make it useful in the treatment and prevention of liver disease in poultry. Silymarin also has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, protein synthesis-enhancing, and anti-fibrotic activities. These activities have shown promising effects silymarin may also have in protecting the pancreas, kidney, myocardium, and central nervous system.

I also found the dose on that site as well:
50-75 mg/kg PO q12h

https://poultrydvm.com/drugs/milk-thistle