Hen with Blue comb, fluid filled belly

[honeydoll]

Ok, I have never had to deal with illness in chickens and now I have had two hen issues. My one hen had an egg break in her two weeks ago and succombed to the cold, she died. I went to the coop today, and another one of my hens is not doing well!! I am really upset now. Two years almost and no issues then all of a sudden we get hit. So I am worried about anything contagious. Both were Comets.

I will be treating the hens myself, no vet will even check stools of chickens in our area. At least all the ones I called. I would like to avoid the large vet bill if possible.

Ok, I have a flock of 14. Plenty of room. Two coops. Both coops were dusted with Poultry Dust from TSC for a possible lice problem. I got three new hens, in quarentine, but the owner called the day after and said she found lice on one of her hens, so I treated to be safe but saw no lice when I checked. I treated my quarenteen coop and regular coop as well, to be safe. THey are on pine shavings, get fed layer mash from local feed mill, oyster shell in seperate dish, grit in seperate dish.

About two months ago I noticed a decrease in my Comets laying. Then it stopped all together. Now it is starting up again. I chalked it up to the cold. It's warming up and I am getting eggs again. Combs look dry but no peeling (as seen in favus).

When I went out this morning one of my hens was standing in corner, fluffed up, with a purplish comb and felt like fluid build up in the belly. Not sure what it is. Eggbound maybe? But why the purplish comb, which I know means not enough oxygen. She shows no interest in eating. I wormed my flock two months ago for lots of gaping and headshaking, used Ivermectim Pour On. I was thinking gape worm. Blue comb would make me think that again but she has the fluid build up too. Ugh, so confusing.

So far these are the only two hens that have been sick. Only my Comets. Comets will be two in May. I am really confused. IS it coincidence or does this sound like illness spreading thru my flock? ANy advice would be appreciated. My Roo seems a little lethargic too, but is eating and moving around as well.

Another thing I have noticed is runny poo on the roosts, green and runny, and light brown and runny. THere is lots of normal poo, but for the two weeks I have seen this, one seemed to have a little blood in it. , I have done thorough poo checks since, no blood again, but still some watery poo. The last hen I lost I thought was to blame for that, because the green poo stopped after her death, but I still see the very runny light brown diarrhea. See no worms in poo.

One of my other Comets has developed a partly floppy comb, but laid an egg today asnd seems fine.

Carolyn

 

[Terri O]

Carolyn--sorry you are having trouble with your hens. I seem to get that same thing with my production type birds! I think maybe you have ascites if she is not egg bound. It is a fluid build up in the abdomen that gets big and balloon like. I drained my hen that had it with a large gauge needle--actually just poked it and then pressed the fluid out. My hen turned out fine and lived another year and a half. Do a search and see what you come up with. HTH--Terri O

 

[honeydoll]

Terry O thanks for the info.

I cannot seem to find any direct info on AScites for egg layers. It is only talking about meat birds. I tried following some links but it wouldn't let me get the pages. Would you give me some info on Ascites? Is diarrhea part of it?

 

[speckledhen]

It's not necessarily simply ascites, but you have a hen with egg peritonitis/internal laying. Look for my thread called "Drained a Hen's Abdomen" and you'll see what's in your hen. High production breeds like your hybrid layers, and even the most common hatchery types like Production Reds, are especially prone to it. Sadly, there is no cure and no prevention.

The purple comb means the fluid and infection is putting a strain on her organs, especially her heart and lungs.

 

[honeydoll]

Quote:
Oh no! That's what I was worried about. I feel so sad, these were my first chickens and have been such good girls, well a little naughty at times too. So egg peritonitis can mimic a illness going thru your flock. Oh man, I hope my others are ok. So it sounds like putting her out of her misery is the only real cure, or I could drain her and it will happen again.

This really stinks!

 

[gallusdomesticus]

I have a hen that I've been treating for ascites for two years. The vet drains her about every 4-6 months when her abdomen swells to a point she is no longer walking normally, each time he takes about a pint or so out of her then she's back to her old self. He says the most common cause of ascites in chickens is either fatty liver syndrome or congestive heart failure. In both cases, fluid builds up in the abdomen which exerts pressure on her circulatory system and eventually respritory system. Left untreated, it will eventually kill the bird. The dark comb of your bird indicates she is experiencing some circulatory restriction.
In my case, after some lab tests, the vet determined she has fatty liver syndrome and I treat her with a daily dose of milk thistle extract which slows, but does not entirely prevent the fluid from returning.
There are several threads on this board relating to how fellow members have sucessfully drained their chickens abdomen. It's something you need to do soon. Good luck with your girl.

 

[honeydoll]

Oh man, Cynthia, it sounds just like what most of my Comets are doing? They act like thy are going to lay, do the song and all, get up and there is nothing. I am almost sure that is what we are dealing with, as all my other breeds are fine and laying. I am so sad, and not sure what I am going to do yet. These were my first chickens, a Mother's Day gift from my DH and three DS. I can't believe how sad I am. THis has really bummed me, but mine seem so young for this to happen to. Is it my fault, am I doing something wrong maybe?

Carolyn

 

[speckledhen]

Carolyn, it's really very common, but some folks just notice when a hen is found dead. I've lost 9 to it and my Lexie is going the same way-she hasn't laid an egg in about a year and her abdomen is just starting to enlarge with fluid. Sadly, there isn't anything you can do other than a complete hysterectomy (well, a vet would do it). Most don't want to spend that kind of money on a hen whose primary purpose in the flock is to lay eggs. If you saw that thread, I drained Olivia's abdomen about four times and she was again getting the fluid buildup then I think her lungs were compromised in the end with fluid there as well. She lived a good long time with all the care, but we knew from experience that it was only temporary relief to drain her.