Any tips for shifting constipation?

MandS

Songster
7 Years
Apr 14, 2016
338
359
206
Berkshire, UK
HI

I have a hen who is very swollen in the rear. We drained a little fluid out of her (not much at all 25ml - and it was completely clear yellow) thinking it was ascites. She was 100% OK 2 weeks ago but has gone downhill quite suddenly.

I have separated her, taken her to the vet, who has checked her vent for eggs (all clear and she hasn't laid for 7 or 8 months) and her bowel for blocked poop. He only saw urates coming out when he did that too. So he has put her on antibiotics. She is just over 4 years, a red sexlink.

However, what I have noticed is that, despite her eating, she is still passing just white watery poop - urates. No hard lumps and nothing that isn't white.
20190519_083715.jpg

I am beginning to think she is very blocked and I don't know what to do to free her up. She is getting weaker and although she will eat something special (grape, lettuce etc), she is losing interest daily.

Also, I noticed that when I put layers pellets and grit in the cage, she went for the grit immediately. Her crop is not blocked or sour. It is clearing daily and I can see no issue. It's further down the digestive system. Considering she has eaten grit as well as other food, there is none coming out.

I bathed her in warm Epsom Salts yesterday for about 15 mins but to no avail.

Any suggestions appreciated
 
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You could try giving her a tsp of cold coconut oil chopped into pieces once a day. Mineral oil mixed into food is also a good alternative to help her bowels. It sounds like she might be suffering from something like oviduct cancer or internal laying with egg masses inside. Those can be common if there is ascites. All of those are eventually fatal unfortunately. I would make her comfortable and feed her foods that can get her eating, such as cooked egg, wet chick feed, and a small bit of canned cat food are usually well accepted. Sorry about your hen.
 
Thanks Eggsessive. I will do the coconut oil just before bed. It's evening here now o only about an hour to go. I will also give her about 3 or 4 ml of water straight down the throat. I am unsure how much to give and don't want her to fill up unnecessarily. Gave her tuna earlier and she wolfed it down. Will give a little more tonight. She also ate a whole grape- just grabbed it out my hand and swallowed it whole!

I do know it is not good news. It is not looking good and she is dealing with it very well but she is so thin I can almost see her keel. She has been a marvellous little girl. She is the last of the 3 in my avatar that my daughter hatched from eggs - which got me back into chickens after about 25 years!

Thank you for your help and kind words - I do appreciate it.
 
Sadly we lost her during the night. She didn't seem to be in pain at all. She really gobbled her tuna yesterday and had a run around the garden. She walked up to the others, almost like saying goodbye (I know I'm reading human behaviour into a chicken but I'm upset.....)

We gave her 1ml of coconut oil and 1ml of water before she went to bed in the hope it would help her break the deadlock, but she didn't go - even this morning when I found her on the cage, she hadn't been. She went onto her perch last night like normal and I found her on the floor of the cage when I got up.

The last of my original 3 girls. There's a lot of tears in our house this morning.

It took this yesterday morning. She seemed happy, just thin.

Goodbye Flick - and thanks for all the good times.
Flick.jpg
 
I am very sorry that you lost your hen. She looked very sweet. I hope that you will do a necropsy on her to look at her organs and take pictures to post here. She probably had lash eggs from salpingitis or cancer that was blocking her lower abdomen. Necropsy is very hard to do when you have a beloved hen, but it can help you understand what was wrong, and give closure. I usually just look at the internal abdominal organs. Here are some links about how to do a necropsy:
https://thepoultrysite.com/articles/poultry-necropsy-basics

 
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Thank you both. I am really sorry but I cannot bring myself to do it. If she had survived until tomorrow (when the vet was back) then I was contemplating an x-ray. For now, it is too raw. Although only a chicken, in our household, she's the equivalent of a dog or cat.

I know it would be useful and I also know that it could cause us to kick ourselves that we missed something. I am really sorry, I just can't do it.
 

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