EYP hen (pictures) (please help!)

[guest226]

This is her belly. It’s only swollen in her rear area (the noticable swelling starts in the space right between her keel and vent)
It isn’t red. It is firm but not completely hard. The vet said it’s not fluid, so it’s not ascites. Her comb is bright red and her crop empties like normal. I saw her poop a healthy looking poop yesterday.

From the front, I can’t see her belly hanging low. There is a sideways fist height distance between where her belly ends and the ground.

Today she went into the nesting box and came out an hour later with no egg. I can’t feel any egg in her abdomen and she is standing and walking around regularly

Right now there was a gurgle in her belly like she was about to poop but nothing came out.

I can either keep monitoring if she lays or not or I can bring her in to get an injection that stops her from laying. What should I do?
Is a regular hen’s butt supposed to be a little hard?

 

[Eggcessive]

Her lower belly does look enlarged under her vent. How long ago has she laid an egg? Gurgling in her belly may be normal bowel sounds. Did you realize that she has some scaly leg mites? You can apply some vaseline to her legs and rub it in twice a week to smother the leg mites. As I said in your other threads, it can be difficult to tell what may cause the enlarged lower belly. It could be internal laying, infection, water belly, or fat.

 

[guest226]

Her lower belly does look enlarged under her vent. How long ago has she laid an egg? Gurgling in her belly may be normal bowel sounds. Did you realize that she has some scaly leg mites? You can apply some vaseline to her legs and rub it in twice a week to smother the leg mites. As I said in your other threads, it can be difficult to tell what may cause the enlarged lower belly. It could be internal laying, infection, water belly, or fat.

She hasn’t laid an egg since all my hens stopped in the winter. My other hens started already.
I thought she had scaly leg mites, but I realized that she has feathers they grow under her scales (she is a buff cochin) that make them raised. The vet cut most of her foot feathers off so they look like pinfeathers.

 

[guest226]

View attachment 3782835View attachment 3782827View attachment 3782830
This is her belly. It’s only swollen in her rear area (the noticable swelling starts in the space right between her keel and vent)
It isn’t red. It is firm but not completely hard. The vet said it’s not fluid, so it’s not ascites. Her comb is bright red and her crop empties like normal. I saw her poop a healthy looking poop yesterday.

From the front, I can’t see her belly hanging low. There is a sideways fist height distance between where her belly ends and the ground.

Today she went into the nesting box and came out an hour later with no egg. I can’t feel any egg in her abdomen and she is standing and walking around regularly

Right now there was a gurgle in her belly like she was about to poop but nothing came out.

I can either keep monitoring if she lays or not or I can bring her in to get an injection that stops her from laying. What should I do?
Is a regular hen’s butt supposed to be a little hard?

Update a few weeks later. She started laying eggs for a week or so then suddenly stopped. Her belly is still enlarged and bare. Note that her belly has always been bare, since she was around 2. She was laying consistently all year dispite this until her winter break. I have also never seen any lash or weird eggs from her or any weird stuff in her poop. I’m not sure if she stopped because she is starting a molt or because of something else. Her belly feels firm but not completely hard. She eats and runs around and poops fine although her poops are small.

I saw some of her feathers on the ground but I also witnessed another one of my hens plucking it out from curiosity

Gave her a little calcium just in case she needs help getting anything out.