Bald butt and swollen below vent. - Page 5

  and YES!  I agree!  what is this mystery jelly belly soft mass that is common??? 

I too have a 14 month old Buff Orpington with these symptoms. I found this thread a few days ago and have been following it. I did a search and think that my hen has egg peritonitis. I am not sure if she is laying or not. Her comb is bright red and she doesn't seem to be in distress. There is septic and non septic egg peritonitis.

I found 2 sites that explain it well.


http://www.avianweb.com/eggyolkperitonitis.html

Warning the following video is extremely graphic of a vet draining the fluid/discharge from a hen.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid 737508337#

Up until now, all the birds with this problem seem to be hens of laying age.  I'd like to add an element & "stir the pot" so to speak, in hopes of figuring out the problem & the cure.  I have Silkies & I have had 2 chicks now with a problem that seems very similar.  I noticed the first one when it was just a week or so old, mainly because it was bald all around the vent & about an inch down the abdoman.  When I examined it, the whole bald area was enlarged & very soft & squishy.  The chick is about 2 months old now & the condition is still the same.  I have it marked so I don't accidentally sell it to someone but apparently I did just that with a 2nd chick.  One of my buyers came out to buy more chicks & she asked me to look at one of the ones she had bought last time she was out.  It has the very same thing!!  She said the chick was that way when she bought it but she thought it had just been picked on so didn't think anything about it until it started isolating itself from the other birds, at which time she brought it inside.  It's now about 3 mos old & she's attached to it & wants to keep it & try curing it.  Since she is so willing to try & help the chick, I gave her another chick anyway & now I'm on the hunt to try & find out what's going on with these two & to see what we can do to help them.  Remember, this started when they were young chicks, don't know if they are hens or roos & the abdoman is swollen & squishy, like an underfilled waterbed.  Any suggestions?
Country

My Black star hen has this problem - I posted about it but no one replied; just lucked into this thread.  I guess I'll be a little less panicky, but I'm concerned too - if it's this common how come nobody knows what it is?  I plan to try antibiotics on her because it looks like the feather follicles are particularly inflamed, but perhaps isolation is the first and best idea.  (Gawd - I can't imagine the catastrophe that will be the bathroom.)

let us know how your treatment works, my hen still has the weird condition, but looks healthy besides having a humongous soft growth on her rear end!

Starting to look for antibiotics - are they generally available OTC from Agway?

Wow

Antibiotic availability?  Anybody?  Which one is the best broad-spectrum one for adult chickens?  Wher do I get it?

I like Gallimycin - available in both injectible & water soluble.  It should be available at Twin Cities Poultry & also Jeffers Pet Supply in the livestock section.  Check each for the best price & to figure in the shipping.  TCP has a rate of $6.50 shipping no matter what the order.
Good luck.  Sheri

Was about to quit searching but then I found this thread.  I just noticed my 18 month old barred rock with a condition like you all are describing.  She started limping the day before yesterday but that seemed to improve itself.  Then I noticed she was spending more time resting than usual and when she walked her hind end looked lower and seemed to "pulsate" as she would stand still.  I picked her up this evening and felt the area under her vent and it feels like a small orange sized water balloon.  I couldn't feel anything that felt like a shell or and egg but I didn't want to squeeze too hard and do damage.  She doesn't have a bald spot yet and she comes for treats and follows the flock around - though lagging a bit behind the rest. 

Tomorrow I will try the warm soak in ES and olive oil lubrication to see if anything changes.  I can't believe so many of us are experiencing this with no solid answers.  I hope we can get more information.