Chicken Health | EGG YOLK PERITONITIS
What is Egg Yolk Peritonitis?
Egg peritonitis occurs when the hen matures too many egg follicles at once and is sometimes the result of a condition known as EODES
(erratic ovi-position and defective egg syndrome). With this illness, the yolks inside the hens' body become infected, often with E. coli bacteria.
Egg Yolk Peritonitis occurs when the yolk released by the ovary travels into the abdominal cavity instead of the oviduct. The infection can spread and make your chicken very unwell. A lot of the time this can be fatal as by the time your chicken shows symptoms they are close to death.
Symptoms
If caught early chickens can recover. Diagnosis is pretty tricky as sometimes a chicken won’t show any symptoms before death.
There are a few signs you can look out for below.
- Pale comb and wattles
- Looking unwell- closed eyes, sitting still, looks droopy and deflated, lack of interest in surroundings or food.
- Drop in egg production
- Lack of appetite
- Penguin stance
Treatment
If caught early enough antibiotics can work to kill the infection and your chicken will recover.
Unfortunately, a lot of the time Egg Peritonitis isn’t caught in time and will kill your chicken.