Distressed Chicken with distended abdomen

[rogerf]

Hi...I'm new to the forum but to to raising chickens but I have a situation that is new to me.
One of my 3-r old black sex-links has an extremely distended abdomen. (painful looking) Her vent is clean but she is very swollen.She looks and acts very listless but is very quick to eat or drink. I'm not sure if she is laying since there are 4 other hens all laying on and off. I'd like to save her if I can but am debating putting her out of her misery.
I was thinking possibly worms but since they all share the water dish I don't want to give medicine to all. Plus these are egg layers and I don't want to add chemicals to their diet.

Any idea what this could be or what possible treatment I should be looking to do?

Thanks

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

yes it is not worms
she may have a situation where the egg is absorbed into her body
for this situation the vet can give high amts of calcium to get the egg bsack in the laying tract

BUT MY FEELING is she has a cancerous growth in the body
which at her age is very likely
this large cancerous growth will be yellow and hard yellow solid tissue
laying in the vent area to the back
it then gets much smelly liquid around it thus the swelling

NO there is nothing you can do for her
so let her live out her days or dispose of her

the older hens get this due to laying so heavily

sorry to tell you this but have done processing of old hens and found this present in old hens and had to throw them away and not sell for meat

there is nothin you can do to avoid this problem in older laying hens

 

[Year of the Rooster]

If you do believe it is worms then give her some Pumpkin seeds, raw. These are a natural dewormer so you will still be able to eat the eggs. It may help to break them up too.

Another possibility is that she is eggbound. Watch her to make sure she lays. If she is having trouble laying she may be blocked. She may also be an internal layer. A more experienced BYC member can explain that.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

pumpkin seed can be fed her
but in reality they DO NOT worm chickens
I know some feel they do
but there has been tests done and NO they do not worm chickens
you can feed them to her she may like to eat them

I gave my personal professional opinion and hope things go better for her

 

[rogerf]

Thanks for the quick responses.
To be honest I can't tell what it is.
I read online that diluted apple cider vinegar works as a natural dewormer and have had all my birds on it for the last few days with no improvement or indication of any effectiveness.
I called a local vet and they do not treat livestock but if I choose to put her down they will do it for $25. Is there a humane way I can do it myself without the added cost.
I'm going to give it another 3-4 days to see how it progresses.
I'll try a warm bath tonight (for the chicken) to help the distress or pain and see it that does anything.
If it is as serious as you say I'll have no choice but to put her down.
thanks and I'll keep you posted.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Quote:
If this isn't reality then those who DO worm their chickens are living in a fantasy world? You should say MOST large scale farms DO NOT worm because they do not want to waste the time or the money.

Hobbyists however DO worm their chickens because they care.