How long they live depends on how bad the infection is. We usually don’t know they have the infection unless we see lash material. Otherwise we try to rule out other possible illnesses. As I said, I had some hens who lived a couple of years with swollen lower bellies, and who had yellow urates in their droppings which would sometimes get stuck to feathers. If they are showing signs of weakness, not eating, crop problems, walking upright or lying around, they are pretty sick. Unfortunately this is just a common illness in chickens who lay a lot of eggs. Antibiotics such as amoxicillin or enrofloxacin can sometimes help if it is caught early, but that is nit usually the case. The high production hens are more affected. It helps us to learn by doing a necropsy after death to actually see what was going on inside their abdomens. If we can keep them eating and interested in food, they can live longer.
