Ascites?? Swollen, squishy abdomen - WITH PICS & VIDEO (page 9)

[Pinolechic]

Hi TamTam/everyone. I'm terribly sorry to hear that Buttercup past away. This is going to sound so crazy but I lost my sweet little Petunia yesterday too from the same problem. She was my 3 year old RIR. I was reading this thread over the past few days hoping for a happy ending. I took Petunia to the vet about 3 times since June when her belly started swelling. I took her last Tuesday because I was too afraid to do the draining myself. He did a rectal exam and told me he found a lump which he said was cancer. After the doctor drained the fluid I noticed she was so skinny. She was interested in food but would not eat her layer food and turned her nose to most of what I gave her. She would still eat bugs and worms and a few other things. By Sunday I started to feed her by hand because she just turned her nose to everything and her comb was purple. She past away in my arms too Hearing your story made me realize there was nothing more I could've done.

 

[tamtam84]

guesswhatchickenbutt - Thank you so much for the kind words. I really appreciate it

Pinolechic - I am so sorry about your Petunia! I know exactly how you feel. It's so strange how her story sounds so much like Buttercup's. I think this sort of thing happens a lot more than we realize. There is definitely nothing more that you could have done and you tried everything you could to help her. Sometimes things are just out of our hands. I'll be thinking of you and sending positive thoughts your way. Take care!

 

[arkansaschicks]

Tamtam- My thoughts are with you and I am so sorry about Buttercup!!

Pinolechic- So sorry about your Petunia!! The loss is very hard especially when you fight so hard to try and make them better. My Shelby has the same problem and along with Tamtam we have tried everything to understand what the problem was and to correct it. I agree sometimes we can only do so much and we have to accept it is just out of our hands. I know Shelby's days are numbered so I just enjoy the time I have with her.

 

[Ruby55]

hiya,i've just read this thread from beginning to end this morning and was so hoping for a better end result,i'm so sorry Buttercup and Petunia died inspite of all your best efforts.
I've had ascites in 2 hens,both ex-batts,both started between ages 2 to 3.I,like you tried everything to save my girls but sadly they died as well.The first 1 i had,i drained her and put her back in the coop the same night but the next morning she was dead.I had better luck with Missy,the second one and she managed to live for 6 months after treatment started,draining her when necessary,giving her milk thistle,yoghurt and anything else i could think of,Twice she was on antibiotics and for the most part she was bright as a button for those 6 months so i'm glad i gave her a chance.She died on a summers day (not that we get many of those in England) while she was sunbathing and seemed to just go to sleep in the little hole she'd made.
I didn't find out what caused her 'waterbelly' but draining it periodically and her supportive treatment seemed to make the last few months of her life much better for her and at least she lived as a hen should live instead of the tiny battery cage she started out in...hugs to you all..

 

[Pinolechic]

Thanks so much for the kind words everyone about the loss of my Petunia. I'm so happy to have found this website! I've learned so much over the past couple of months. I'm wondering if her cause of death was from too much fluid being drained at once because I read somewhere that doing that can cause cardiovascular colapse? She died a week after her last fluid draining. I do understand that she eventually would die from Ascites. It just all seem to happen so fast. I'm also wondering if this all started from the broken egg stuck in her vent causing an infection?...that was the first issue I had with her back in June. She had laid a couple of soft eggs prior. Doc told me to get her off of the "crappy organic food" and back on Purina. Her first fluid draining apointment was on August 18th (I mis-posted earlier) and a second draining was in September 20th. I read somewhere that an ecoli infection from the area becoming loose or a tear can cause the tumors? He found no lumps in that examination in June. It wasn't until her last examination Tuesday Nov. 27th that he found a tumor which he said was a little smaller than a golf ball. She passed way on Dec.4th. What do you guys think?

 

[tamtam84]

Ruby55 - Thank you for the comment about Buttercup. Her case seems similar to your Missy. I had another hen named Penguin who passed suddenly from internal laying like your first hen to pass. It seems like it can present very differently in different hens.

I'm really interested in rescuing some battery hens, but it seems like there aren't any resources for it in my area and I have no idea where to start. From what I've researched, it looks like it is very popular in the UK. I wish we could get something going here in the States! Kudos to you for rescuing your girls and giving them such a happy life. Battery cages are some of the cruelest factory farm practices there are.

Pinolechic - This website is great, right? I found it when I first started keeping chickens over 3 years ago, and everything I know I can attribute to this site! I've actually never heard of the cardiovascular collapse from draining too much, but it is odd that I drained Buttercup for the last time nearly a week before she passed, just like your hen. I did get a lot of fluid out of her, too. Maybe you're onto something??

From what I understand, ascites (in this case) is caused by internal laying, not necessarily an egg that was broken inside the vent. Although I'm sure that could lead to infection, which I suppose could lead to fluid building up. I feed my flock Purina Layena but I don't necessarily think organic food is crappy! If I had access to it, I would use organic feed.

My vet never did a thorough enough examination to check for tumors, but I am almost certain Buttercup had some. I don't know what all was going on inside her and I didn't do a necropsy so I can not be for sure, but I do suspect tumors. I'm not sure about E Coli causing tumors, so I can't comment on that. But I think in many cases their reproductive systems just get out of whack from working overtime for 3 years and things go wrong. It is very sad and in the future when I get more chicks, I'm definitely going to get some that are NOT known for egg production to reduce my risk of dealing with this stuff again. Eggs aren't as important to me since my chickens are my pets.

 

[arkansaschicks]

Pinolechic- I had a hen that had ascites and she all of a sudden just stood in one place all day and stopped eating and had labored breathing. I brought her inside for the night and took her to my vet the next day. He started draining her and could not get anything out. He used a bigger needle and she started draining and clumps of stuff came out along with the fluid. He said the clumps indicated a tumor. She died on the table and he said he believed the draining caused her to have a heart attack. I do not think that Buttercup or Petunia died from the draining because I think it would have happened sooner than a week. Also he said when she was drained he could feel the tumor and it felt about the size of a golf ball. He said the tumor had grown to a size that was making it hard for Maddie to walk and was making her breathing labored.She was going to die it was just a matter of time.

About the Ecoli I have had a couple of hens get it and their poop was very runny and was neon green and yellow. Each time I started them on Baytril and they recovered. Did you see any difference in her poop? I do not believe at all that ecoli would cause tumors. I think it is just a health issue that some chickens can be prone too. Maybe it is hereditary. I think the main thing is to try and find breeds that do not have reproduction issues. If eggs are not the most important thing then there are breeds that yearly produce less eggs and are not prone to having issues.

Ruby55 So sorry about your girls!! That is great that you rescued the battery hens! I know they were so thankful that you gave them a loving home. I would love to do that too. Boy I would be worried that I would end up with 100 girls!! I would have to take every last one of them home!
Hugs to everyone! Dealing with health issues or predator attacks is no fun!

 

[PerfectPoultry]

Ok, I'm freaking out cause I'm so excited I found this thread...
My hen I've had for a couple weeks has a HUGE belly ( same spot as buttercups ). She hasn't laid an egg and wobbles. Lady I got her from says she's never laid an egg and has always been like this... Anything here?? She seems SUPER uncomfortable all the time. Please help! This poor hen is always left out! Thanks!

 

[PerfectPoultry]

... I'm pretty sure mine has a tumor that's the size of two tennis balls... No joke!

 

[Pinolechic]

Thanks so much guys for the input! I agree TamTam and Arkansaschicks that getting a chicken that's not known for high production is a good way to avoid the reproductive issues. I don't care about having eggs I just want a little yard buddy! I also don't want anymore hatchery birds. To answer your question Arkansaschicks about Petunia's poo... it was runny, bright green with a yellow-ish liquid. Just as you described in your chicken. It was like that on a regular basis for about a month before she died. Between the months of June (after her broken egg stuck in her vent) and November it was like that only sometimes. The vet put her on antibiotics after getting the broken egg out and another round of antibiotics after her first fluid draining in August. I wish I could just get a hysterectomy for my next one! But that seems risky too.

PerfectPoultry- do you have access to a vet to get her drained? Or, you can do it yourself. TamTam84 posted a video in this thread.