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Post by cks4me on Sept 10, 2012 13:00:35 GMT -6
I cam across this info when I was researching fertility/infertility. Thought I would pass on. edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps029
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Post by ellisfarms on Jan 31, 2013 22:52:35 GMT -6
I sold some hens end of last summer . Woman called and told me they have not layed a egg yet hens are little over1yr . Anyone have any ideas on what's going on
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Post by chowdownsilkiefarm on Feb 1, 2013 10:42:47 GMT -6
I have a hen thats over a year old and has yet to lay an egg, I had an ameracauna hen that never laid an egg either. One of the hens I bought from the lady in florida will never lay an egg. Turns out she's an internal layer. After doing some research and talking to various people there are 2 options to at least keep the bird alive. a hysterectomy is the drastic option and the other is to keep food and light limited to keep her out of "production mode" That way she won't produce an egg that only poisons her system. This hen was "sick" since august of last year. I've kept her alive with antibiotics and a cocktail of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. I brought her back from near starvation and infection. The egg actually forms in her gut instead of her uterus but it don't form a shell and the yolk gets absorbed thru her blood which in turn gives her an infection because her blood fights it off as if it's a foriegn object. An untreated hen will get ecoli and end up with sepsis and die. I unknowingly kept her alive with antibiotics. But with her living in the house she gets more light than she needed and with feding her everything under the sun to put weight back on her I triggered her production mode so I had to give more rounds of antibiotics. I finally got it together so now I give her 3 meals a day or rather I just put a little bit of feed that she will eat in 30 minutes and I do that 3 times a day and I cover her up after she's had 8 to 10 hours of light. She has been doing great since. I do wish I could still have the surgery so the build up inside of her from the white part of the egg could be removed. I think if her ovaries where removed it would do the trick instead of a complete hysterectomy. Most people wouldn't bother. Without the eggs the hen would be useless but she is still showable. So she isn't a complete loss. Plus i've gotten attached with so much attention devoted to keeping her alive.
I read that one person did find a vet to do the hysterectomy but there is no vet other than in nashville that can or will do it. Putting a chicken asleep for surgery is tricky enough without all the veins and the urethra having a possibility of getting severed by accident since everything in there is so compact. The person that had the hysterectomy on her bird done got the "tube" that goes from one of her kidneys to her bladder severed and the doc tied it off and her body will make the adjustment to use just the one kidney. I think I got that name wrong "urethra" Thats in a different spot or maybe it's just people that have that. I'm not all educated on the names of all the organs but you all get the idea.
If you have a hen that appears to be trying to lay an egg by standing with her legs apart and walks slow and as if she's ice skating. You have determined that she isn't egg bound then she is most likely an internal layer. If you do nothing she will get an infection and eventually either die from ecoli and sepsis or starve to death. If you want to keep her alive get some terramyacin and probiotics and keep them on hand. You'll know when she needs a dose. I give mine 1teaspoon per half gallon. I usually breka that down to 1/4 teaspoon per quart because it has to be made fresh every 24 hours. I give it to her for a week then I mix a gallon of probiotic and keep it in the fridge and give that to her for a week after the antibiotic. She always pulls right out of it. I haven't had to do it since I started limiting her food intake and light. I can't take her out for longer than 30 minutes because she always starts to go down after that pretty quick so I'll take her out for a short romp in the yard for some fresh air then back in the house in her cage. Also she don't tolerate the cold at all now so she is a living room chicken not a porch chicken. It's alot of work but I think it's worth it. A life saved and a sweet thankful pet in return.
I hope that is helpful to anybody that may encounter an internal layer. I hope it never happens though.
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