EYP? Prognosis?

[Karhog]

I have posted previously about Bertha and she has now completed her A/B-she is much better but not 100%. I am almost certain now that the vet I took her to probably was right and that she may have EYP as I have now noticed her passing the odd 'lash' type substance.
I had a good poke and prod in one this morning and it does appear to be 'scrambled eggy'- she is not swollen or walking penguin like.
What should I do as I fear the prognosis isn't good- I have researched online and seen people do hysterectomys, hormone treatment etc (often unsuccessfully) Also- the fact that she is passing this 'eggy substance'- is that good as it means she is getting rid of the nastiness?
Do I take her back to the vet to see if anything can be done? - Or do I wait to see what happens and if/when she declines deal with things then? She seems happy and well at the moment apart from a messy bum and generally being slower, she is pecking and scratching round the garden so I believe still has good quality of life.
It breaks my heart to think I may lose her but obviously I need to do whats right for her

 

[chrismahon]

I thought EYP was when the egg breaches the ovaduct and ends up in the abdomen ? Sounds like she is just laying part-formed eggs, perhaps as part of the production process has broken down, possibly permanently. I agree she probably won't lay any more good eggs but if she is happy and you are with that situation why change it ? Or do you think it is causing some kind of infection?

We had two Blackrocks that shed their entire ovaduct. Comes out like a large flesh covered egg. One remained quite happy and with us for another 18 months.

 

[Karhog]

Hi, thanks for the reply- you have given me some hope! On my previous post I explained that Bertha was qiote poorly- the vet practically wrote her off there and then saying he thought it probably was EYP(didn't seem certain) but I requested A/B to give her a fighting chance. I also treated for Cocci as the other two seemed to get a bit of Diaorreah.
All treatments have now stopped and like I say Bertha is so much better than she was. She is still very underweight compared to the other two, her comb has flopped to one side but is still a lovely red colour.
She has a mucky bum (but she always has) so I am bathing her every week or so to make her more comfortable and apart from these weird eggy things she is doing all the usual chickeny stuff all beit a bit slower than the other two!
I hope it is the same as your two chooks as I never had them for the eggs so I don't care if she never lays again
Thanks again and I will just see how she goes

 

[foxy]

Egg yolk peritonitis can be "sterile" where the fluid simply builds up internally from the egg contents, the hen presenting with a typical "waddling" stance as fluid builds up pressure causing discomfort and sometimes an inflammatory response. Pressure can build around the air sacs potentially causing problems with breathing as the body struggles to absorb the excess fluid. Clues to this development will be tight drum-like abdomen, dark comb and strenuous breathing.

Sometimes a complication occurs when the egg contents themselves cause an infection, if you consider the high protein contents of an egg yolk this can be a breeding ground for bacteria leading to a very poorly bird which may take some time to recover, the prognosis in these cases is very poor generally speaking.
In this case it appears she seems to be slowly rallying round, and if there is still a discharge of sorts from her vent, she may need a continuing course of antibiotics.

Keep her fluids up you could add a good vitamin supplement. Ab lib food (normal, not high protein) and check her vent for any odours, keep an eye on her comb for colour changes.

Good luck with her and keep us posted!