Water belly and vent gleet

[JAR26]

It has been a sad day today. We had to put down one of our first hens we got as a pullet in the spring of 2019. She hadnt been herself in a while and I had posted about her in the past having some kind of eye bubble. This time around, she looked like she was egg bound but still eating and drinking and pooping. I checked on her today and her abdomen was very very swollen and warm. She felt unusually heavy. I'm suspecting water belly rather than being bound since being egg bound, I read she would have died very quickly. Her belly felt like a balloon...more firm than squishy. I'm hoping it is nothing contagious and just one of these things that happen.

One of her sisters we got at the same time is having issues. We have tried everything we could read from people on this website for hens with sour crop and or vent gleet. She has had a pretty bad impacted crop in the past that we were able to cure her from but left her with a pendulum crop. So I imagine she is having some issue with sour crop due to her pendulum crop and now it is to the point of her having really bad trush. Her butt is quite discusting and even if she acts/eats/poops and even lays eggs as per usual, I can't imagine she is very comfortable. I read it is not contagious but a few more hens have dirty butts today (could be coincidence). I put ACV in their water and they get plain greek yogurt once in a while. Should I get powder probiotics to put in their food or would it do more harm than good? I don't want to overdue it but I don't know what to do about the one with vent gleet. Baths, and creams (canestin on vent and orally) and acv have not helped.
Thanks for any help.

 

[coach723]

A swollen belly is very often a reproductive problem like cancer, infection, internal laying etc. The fluid that makes it feel like a water balloon is usually from a liver that is overtaxed and/or failing, it can also be from a heart failing. Any hen over the age of two can be afflicted and it's not uncommon. A poopy butt is often a symptom due to them having difficulty pushing droppings out because of the pressure in their abdomens.
If your other bird has a pendulous crop then a crop bra might help her to digest better. Just a piece of fabric to support the crop in a more normal position so it can empty better. Some birds tolerate them well, some do not, and it can take some trial and error to get them properly fit and adjusted, as well as time for the bird to accept it. Picture of one in this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
If you have a lot of poopy butts then possible causes could be dietary (look at what you are feeding including all treats - too much dairy can cause digestive upset), or if you have never wormed your birds then getting a fecal test done to check for internal parasites might be a good idea. Some vets will do for chickens some will not. Internal parasites can cause runny droppings and dirty butts. There are also mail in options for a fecal:
https://www.horsesupplies.com/item/fecal-worm-testhome-kit/E013362/?srccode=GPHRSSUP
Or if you've never wormed, you could just do that.
Probiotics are fine and might help, won't do any harm.

 

[JAR26]

A swollen belly is very often a reproductive problem like cancer, infection, internal laying etc. The fluid that makes it feel like a water balloon is usually from a liver that is overtaxed and/or failing, it can also be from a heart failing. Any hen over the age of two can be afflicted and it's not uncommon. A poopy butt is often a symptom due to them having difficulty pushing droppings out because of the pressure in their abdomens.
If your other bird has a pendulous crop then a crop bra might help her to digest better. Just a piece of fabric to support the crop in a more normal position so it can empty better. Some birds tolerate them well, some do not, and it can take some trial and error to get them properly fit and adjusted, as well as time for the bird to accept it. Picture of one in this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
If you have a lot of poopy butts then possible causes could be dietary (look at what you are feeding including all treats - too much dairy can cause digestive upset), or if you have never wormed your birds then getting a fecal test done to check for internal parasites might be a good idea. Some vets will do for chickens some will not. Internal parasites can cause runny droppings and dirty butts. There are also mail in options for a fecal:
https://www.horsesupplies.com/item/fecal-worm-testhome-kit/E013362/?srccode=GPHRSSUP
Or if you've never wormed, you could just do that.
Probiotics are fine and might help, won't do any harm.

Thank you for your response. I agree that the hen we put down most likely had something beyond my abilities, I only wish I would have spotted it sooner.

For the other hen, I have heard of crop bras and I'm actively trying to find someone with sowing skills to make one. I have never dewormed my whole flock (11 birds) but only the ones that I had isolated in the past because they were not well (including this particular bird). I used horse dewarmer that I diluted but the instructions on how to do so and at what frequency were so varied on these forums that I was never really sure I did it right. I never found any visual evidence of worms in the droppings.
The test kits you showed are very interesting! If I could find a canadian equivalent I would most certainly pay the cost of having this tested for my flock as I have yet found a vet that does it in my area.

Thank you again!

 

[coach723]

What wormer are you using? A picture of the label might be helpful, for dosing.

 

[JAR26]

What wormer are you using? A picture of the label might be helpful, for dosing.

I used safe-guard.

 

[coach723]

Ok, you don't need to dilute that. Correct dose is .23 ml per pound of bird weight. If you are treating for roundworm only, then do two doses 10 days apart, for all other parasites you dose 5 days in a row. If you don't know what parasite you may have then do the 5 days in a row. That will take care of all except tapeworm (for tapeworm a medication containing praziquantel is used). Give it orally, directly in the beak, it won't mix with water so you can't mix in their drinking water it will settle out. Some threads say use a pea sized, that is not correct as 'pea sized' is subjective. Use an oral syringe to draw up the correct amount. Give .5 ml at a time and let them swallow it, repeat til the whole dose is given. With some worms (like roundworm in particular) it's usual to worm the whole flock as they have all been exposed and it's easily picked up in the environment. With some others (like tapeworm) you can just treat the ones who you know have it or are having symptoms.

 

[JAR26]

Ok, you don't need to dilute that. Correct dose is .23 ml per pound of bird weight. If you are treating for roundworm only, then do two doses 10 days apart, for all other parasites you dose 5 days in a row. If you don't know what parasite you may have then do the 5 days in a row. That will take care of all except tapeworm (for tapeworm a medication containing praziquantel is used). Give it orally, directly in the beak, it won't mix with water so you can't mix in their drinking water it will settle out. Some threads say use a pea sized, that is not correct as 'pea sized' is subjective. Use an oral syringe to draw up the correct amount. Give .5 ml at a time and let them swallow it, repeat til the whole dose is given. With some worms (like roundworm in particular) it's usual to worm the whole flock as they have all been exposed and it's easily picked up in the environment. With some others (like tapeworm) you can just treat the ones who you know have it or are having symptoms.

Thank you, that is very helpful!