hen with swollen abdomen

DrRock said:

Just went through something similar with my beautiful silver laced Wyandotte. She'd been walking with her legs splayed for several weeks and I initially thought she had injured her legs somehow so just continued to watch her. She seemed happy enough, eating and drinking well, and still hanging with the other girls. But over this week she started to sit more, and eat less. Also I noticed her abdomen start to bloat.

I examined her to see if she was egg bound but couldn't feel anything in her vent. Her comb was still beautiful and red and she didn't seem stressed so I took her to my avian vet to see what was wrong.

After examining her he put a needle in a sucked out yolky coloured fluid. Egg yolk peritonitis. Even though she seemed comfortable it would only be a matter of time before she succumbed so I made the heartbreaking decision to have her euthanased. Interestingly the vet said they can do a wash out and put an implant in the suppresses ovulation, but if your bird survives the surgery then they never lay another egg again!

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sorry for your loss. I would never do any surgery to my chickens. they are not tough animals and they easily get a heart attack or stroke. they should live as long as they are happy.

chickengr said:

sorry for your loss. I would never do any surgery to my chickens. they are not tough animals and they easily get a heart attack or stroke. they should live as long as they are happy.

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Yes totally agree. A part of me considered just taking her home because she did appear happy and comfortable despite her diagnosis. But the other part of me knew it was only a matter of time, and I didn't want to get her home and have her go downhill and start to suffer and not be able to do "the deed" myself... I've read that birds can "pretend" to be OK even hen they are not as a means to avoid capture from predators by not appearing as the weak one in the flock, so perhaps her red comb and good weight was just a rouse anyway. The vet commented that her breathing being rapid and shallow was a sign the peritonitis was affecting her lungs and I hadn't picked up on that sign when observing her with the flock (I just assumed her breathing was rapid from the stress of being caged and vet checked). At any rate, poor girl was better off being gently put to sleep in the end.

When the vet started talking surgery I knew it was over. I agree, the shock of surgery would probably be enough to do her in anyway, especially as you say how prone they can be! I guess there must be some people who chose this option but it wasn't for me.

chickengr said:

my hen did not get better. she was in pain and sitting in the corner or hiding under the coop. we killed her yesterday and found out she had salpingitis/lash egg. she would have died soon anyway.

we killed another one as well that was young. I bought her in may and she had been sick all the time (sneezing/rattle sound). she had like a ping pong ball size balloon full of water under her vent.

I am very sad for killing them but they had no future.

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Aw, I'm so sorry! (And I apologize, I have not checked Backyard Chickens for so long...) And like ABchickenguy said, you did the right thing.