Pekin is a belly dragger!

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Alexc844

Alexc844

In the Brooder
Oct 5, 2015
59
2
31
Hey all,

So, one of my Pekin hens has slowed down quite a bit and when I grabbed her to investigate, I noticed her belly is bald. Her belly does hang lower than my other hen. They eat the same food, out of the same bowl. Could she just be fat? Or could something be wrong with her? She holds her tail down when she walks, also. But, I checked and she doesn't look to be egg bound or anything.

Any suggestions on what may be wrong?
 
SydneyAshcraft said:
I was thinking egg bound but if she doesn't look to be then maybe she just need to cut down on her food.
Click to expand...

How would I know for sure that she is not egg bound? I t looked at her vent, which seemed took normal. She's not lethargic or otherwise acting sick.
 
Sometimes they get a condition called water belly, or ascites. Do you have a good duck vet?

And on the less serious side, I think some ducks do get overweight.
 
Last edited:
So, just an update -

I checked her vent with a gloved finger and I do believe she IS egg bound. I put her in a warm bath last night, and lubed her up in hopes that she could pass the egg on her own. As of this morning, no luck. I have an appointment with the vet today at 2 pm. Hopefully there will be a positive outcome.
 
Amiga said:
@Alexc844

Any word on duckie?
Click to expand...

Took her to the vet, where they did x-rays and an ultrasound. X-ray didn't show much, except that what I thought was an egg, was actually her gizzard, pushed off to the side by a large mass in her abdomen. Vet said the mass could be eggs, or a tumor. He did a procedure where he stuck a needle in her to withdraw some of the fluid, to see if it was yolk. He said he was fairly sure it was, meaning the masses were probably eggs. He gave her a drug (pitocen, I think?) to try to help her uterus contract to get the eggs out. He is going to check up on her in the morning to determine if she is looking like she will recover, or if putting her down would be the most humane thing to do.

Fingers crossed she's able to turn things around.
 

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