is this Ascites? or a resporitory problem? or something else?

Hi, I have a hen that has been limping for maybe a year now? when it first started she couldn't walk. I put her in a sling and she eventually was up and hobbling just as fast as the others. the leg wasn't broken, and no swelling either, she just couldn't walk on it very well. (no bumble foot either, last I checked ). shes been doing fine and the others don't bother her, but recently shes been slowing down. I brought her in, thinking the rooster was hurting her because he had begun mounting her again. but I can smell infection, and she is sneezing a little and breathing a bit harder. there is a bit of clear discharge from nostrils. also, her abdomen feels a little squishy, but not swollen. she seems okay, I think I caught it early I gave her a mixture of bread, boiled egg, and a little olive oil. I put some antibiotics from the vet (not an avian vet, but they gave me something that's supposed to be for chickens and other livestock.) in her water, along with some ACV. I've recently had a lice problem, but I've been dusting them and I haven't noticed any more, I'm due to dust again tomorrow or the next day. so, I guess I'm wondering, what else can I be doing, is this respiratory or something like Acites, or is the Sevin I'm using irritating them? (I've noticed a couple other birds shaking there heads occasionally) any input will be appreciated!
PS: I can post pics tomorrow if they would be helpful, and she hasn't pooped since I brought her in, which was maybe a hour or two ago? her apatite and thirst are normal.
: ubadate! I forgot that she DID poop last night! It looked normal, she pooped again this morning, normal to runny

Does she have any wounds? I had a chicken that I had to put down recently because she was one of those chickens that pooped on her feathers and it would stick to her feathers normally I would clean her up but I was down off and on for 2 weeks with a intestinal virus and migraines so I hadn't cleaned it up for maybe 3 or 4 weeks when feeding the girls several days I noticed that she was not really interested and she was leaning up against the house. so I brought her in the house to clean her up with some warm water and it was horrible. a fly had laid eggs in the poop and maggots hatched had eaten into her abdomen about a inch away from her vent and up into her chest cavity. it broke my heart. there was no help for her, her organs were already shutting down I don't know exactly when it had began before I noticed but it just broke my heart. watch for wounds small or large it doesn't matter what size. The wound on my chicken was about the size of a quarter or maybe a half dollar when I finally saw it and it was full of maggots I know this is really a gross thing to talk about but I think everybody should be aware if they have a chicken who is a poopy chicken. I have 6 chickens and not one of them was like this one she was always a poopy chicken even when she was a baby at 2 days old. there was somebody who had posted on backyard chickens and he had mentioned that he had a poopy bird and he would cut her feathers off and I didn't want to do that and I wish I had.I didn't know that it was going to lead to the death of her I would never make that decision again I hope your bird makes it she has some type of infection going on

so sorry for your loss she has no wounds that I can see, and no poopy vent either, so that's good. I do have a different hen with poop clinging to her vent fluff, so I will clean her up and trim her in the morning. Thanks for the input

LittlePip21 said:

Hi, I have a hen that has been limping for maybe a year now? when it first started she couldn't walk. I put her in a sling and she eventually was up and hobbling just as fast as the others. the leg wasn't broken, and no swelling either, she just couldn't walk on it very well. (no bumble foot either, last I checked ). shes been doing fine and the others don't bother her, but recently shes been slowing down. I brought her in, thinking the rooster was hurting her because he had begun mounting her again. but I can smell infection, and she is sneezing a little and breathing a bit harder. there is a bit of clear discharge from nostrils. also, her abdomen feels a little squishy, but not swollen. she seems okay, I think I caught it early I gave her a mixture of bread, boiled egg, and a little olive oil. I put some antibiotics from the vet (not an avian vet, but they gave me something that's supposed to be for chickens and other livestock.) in her water, along with some ACV. I've recently had a lice problem, but I've been dusting them and I haven't noticed any more, I'm due to dust again tomorrow or the next day. so, I guess I'm wondering, what else can I be doing, is this respiratory or something like Acites, or is the Sevin I'm using irritating them? (I've noticed a couple other birds shaking there heads occasionally) any input will be appreciated!

PS: I can post pics tomorrow if they would be helpful, and she hasn't pooped since I brought her in, which was maybe a hour or two ago? her apatite and thirst are normal.
: ubadate! I forgot that she DID poop last night! It looked normal, she pooped again this morning, normal to runny

Click to expand...

Can you tell what end the infection smell is coming from?
Is it the discharge from the nostrils, her breath (does it smell sour) or is it coming from the vent?
When was the last time she laid an egg - was it normal?

Photos are always welcome.

If the infection smell is coming from the mucous/discharge from the nostrils, then she may have a respiratory infection. What type of antibiotics do you have?
Clear away the mucous and make sure she is drinking well. Offer her some vitamins in her water and give her the chopped egg or some tuna along with her normal feed. Antibiotics won't cure a respiratory disease, but will help with secondary infections.

If it is her breath - check her crop to see if it is squishy - she may have sour crop. Give wet feed only and add some probiotics/yogurt to her feed (just stir it in). Make sure she is drinking plenty of water and offer some poultry grit free choice.

If it is coming from the vent. Wash/soak her vent and inspect it for any signs of injury or wounds to make sure there is no infection externally.
Ascites, Peritonitis, Salpingitis, cancer or tumors are fairly common in laying hens. Any of these can cause bacterial infections. Antibiotic treatment can sometimes help, but once infection starts it may be hard to stop. If you have a vet that can do some testing, that would be helpful. They can usually give you stronger antibiotics than what you can find at the feed store.

Keep us posted.

the smell is coming from her vent, but now my rooster is lethargic, and when I cleanded and trimmed my other hen her abodmen was a little squishy and now she is puking water! also, I have an older hen that I think has bumblefoot! arg!! not to mention, I have a mice problem, and I need to clean the coop, unfortunatly I dont have clean litter avilable just now. any advice?. also, here are some picks of sick hen and the hen with bumblefoot, or whatever it might be. I put some of the antibiotic and ACV in the rest of the chickens water.





















this is the old hen with the foot problem^

also, dont think first hen has layed in a while.

Can you take one to the vet?
What dosage Aureomycin are you using?
If not can you take a fecal sample to your vet for a fecal float test and gram stain, to look for Coccidiosis, worms, and bacterial infection?
Do you see anything unusual with her vent - swelling, prolapse, wound/injury, scabs, etc.?
What type of food/treats do you feed?

I notice looking back at your history, you have had some hens die recently. Did you send one for necropy/testing at your state lab?

Since you have a rooster that is lethargic and showing symptoms as well, inspect your coop/run and feed for any evidence of mold/mildew. Also if you have a mouse problem, look at the feed to make sure it hasn't been contaminated with droppings.

Even if you don't have fresh litter for the coop, try to rake/scoop up as many droppings as you can this may help with ammonia and the spread of any illness/bacteria. If you have access to clean dry pine needles/leaves you can use some of those in your coop as an alternative bedding until you can get more litter.

The older hen with a hurt foot - do you see a scab on the bottom of the foot? It looks like the foot is infected. She may have bumblefoot or some type of staph/bacterial infection. You can soak the foot in a warm epsom salts solution to clean it and hopefully this will start to reduce some of the inflammation. If there is a scab, then you may need to treat her for bumblefoot (surgery). Some people have reported good results in soaking with Tricide Neo, keeping the hen on clean dry bedding would be essential.

Keep us posted.

I'm afraid the local practices around here have little knowledge or interest in chickens. and I did the nerocropsy myself, but I will check around for labs in the area. When I used the antibiotic last time I put in 1/8th of a teaspoon into a gallon of water, this time I had a teaspoon available, so I just added a little until the water was the right color.(maybe that was a bad call? idk) .I will clean and check the coop, and I will soak the older hens foot, thank you for your advice, I will keep you posted. also, all we feed them is regular layer crumbles, scratch grains and some veggies from time to time. back to the first hen, the only thing I can see is a tiny fleshy ball on the outside of her vent. I have been watching it since around the time she went lame, and it hasn't showed any signs of change or infection. also, I'm going to postpone dusting with Sevin until tomorrow, do you think it will be okay to dust them? Also, what should I do about my hen that is puking water?

Btw, the hens I had die I'm pretty sure had Ascites, or something like it, so that's why I keep mentioning it.

She may well have Ascites, Peritonitis or some other internal laying/reproductive disorder. Any of which is can result in bacterial or e.coli infection. This bacteria would be expelled in the poop, so cleaning up the excess poop in the coop and run would be a good idea, so the rest of the flock doesn't have as much exposure.

For the hen that is vomiting/expelling water. How does her crop feel? She may have a sour crop or impacted crop. Make sure they have fresh water and feed available as well as a source of poultry grit. Monitor the hen's crop. Feel of it when she goes to bed (roosting tonight), then first thing in the morning before she has has anything to eat/drink. Her crop should be full at roosting time and empty in the morning. If it still has food in it in the morning then you will need to treat her for a crop problem.

Peritonitis:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/poult...eproductive-system/egg-peritonitis-in-poultry

Ascites:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/poult...itions-of-poultry/ascites-syndrome-in-poultry

Salpingitis:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/colibacillosis/overview-of-colibacillosis-in-poultry
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/disorders-of-the-reproductive-system/salpingitis-in-poultry

Crop issues:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments


Necropsy and State labs:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf