Unsure what’s up with our hen…

[kbgrover]

Hey all!! I made a post a little while back about my hen having worms. We treated for worms and she seemed to be getting better!! We did the dose each day for 5 days and then we did one more at the 14 day mark just to make sure we got everything. Worms were never present in poo. Now she is walking slow, she’s ruffled a bit and her comb is pale and starting to have a blue tinge. I know this can be signs of issues with heart, circulations etc. Her abdomen is also swollen, I’m not quite sure if it’s water belly or coccidiosis. He poops have ranged from normal to that not so great green color but are much more solid than when she had worms. I’m not sure if she’s egg bound…there’s so many things it could be. I’m treating with Corid at the moment and treating the rest of the flock. I haven’t orally to my sick hen, and also have put some corid/water mixture out. Anyone have any ideas on what may be wrong wrong with my hen? We have had 2 chickens pass this year, 1 I believe from worms (we didn’t know, now we do a fecal float test if this is expected) and the other was very similar situation to my hen now…not sure what is happening with our girls .

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is your sick hen? Does she still lay eggs? What state are you in? It can be helpful to have your state vet perform a necropsy on any chicken you lose, which can tell you the cause of deaths. Some things may be spotted with a home necropsy. If you chicken is developing ascites/water belly, that could make it hard to breathe. A picture of her vent and below might be helpful. Have you checked her over for lice and mites? Mites can make them pale and anemic.

 

[kbgrover]

She is about 3/4 years old. She was laying eggs up until recently I believe, we live in Maine. There’s not a whole lot of places to perform a necropsy in my area. I was thinking our last chicken had water belly, but there’s not a whole lot we can do…I just don’t know if this is another case and if so how we can stop this from happening or what we are doing wrong

 

[Eggcessive]

It may not be something you are doing wrong. It could be because many hens will suffer from reproductive issues or cancer after they are a few years old. What breed is she? The hybrid breeds may have the most problems. Some people do try and remove some of the ascites fluid from the abdomen with an 18 gauge needle inserted just into the abdominal cavity. That can diagnose water belly and may relieve some pressure, but it is not a cure, just a short term fix.

 

[kbgrover]

I believe she is a Rhode Island red, our last chicken that passed from water belly (I think) was the same age and she was a barred rock