Ascites Draining

[speckledhen]

I would completely stop the antibiotics and the wormer (never give both at once either). That can cause loose poop and wreak havoc on their digestive system. You're probably inundating her with too much medication right now, though I certainly understand the urge to do something. Overmedicating a chicken can do more harm than not medicating at all. For example, I never use antibiotics unless I am 99% sure there is an infection that they may reach and that is almost never. If these hens are having serious reproductive issues, no medication will help them. That is the harsh reality of it. There is no cure for these issues. Internal laying is terminal so nothing you give them will have any effect, if that is what is happening. It will cause loose poop and weight loss, but nothing you give them will cure them and may exacerbate the loose poop issue. Best to do is give caring supportive care-good food, clean water and a warm place to bed down in cold weather. And let nature take its course. This will be a learning experience you can carry into your chicken-keeping future. I know it isn't easy to watch. Many simply choose to euthanize the hen instead of letting it continue. I don't unless she becomes non-responsive.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

And they get the rooster booster electrolytes in their water everyday, besides two days out of the week they get acv.

Rooster Booster electrolytes and vitamins already has probiotics in it.
I wouldn't give it every single day. Electrolytes are to be given for a few days during times of stress. Other times, plain fresh water is sufficient.

Too many electrolytes may be causing some of the loose poop.

 

[speckledhen]

Very true @Wyorp Rock forgot to mention that.

 

[Eddie12109]

I would completely stop the antibiotics and the wormer (never give both at once either).

Oh, so don’t give them together at all? I never started giving them to her during this time, but that is good to know.

 

[Eddie12109]

Rooster Booster electrolytes and vitamins already has probiotics in it.
I wouldn't give it every single day. Electrolytes are to be given for a few days during times of stress. Other times, plain fresh water is sufficient.

Too many electrolytes may be causing some of the loose poop.

Ok thank you for telling me. Is acv twice a week good?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've never used ACV so couldn't say whether it's good or not.

 

[Eddie12109]

So my hens are fine... for the most part

Dev is still having wet poops. Like really wet. Her face is also white throughout the day. I would assume it is from the molt but I don’t know. I have been putting Dev in Eddie’s small coop during the day, they seem to be ok with each other but I don’t want to leave them unsupervised.
Dev has always had this “scab” on the back of her foot. I will send a picture of it either tonight or tomorrow. Even though it has squirted out puss at me, not much, it never goes away. It really doesn’t seem like bumblefoot. Any ideas?

 

[Eddie12109]

Here it is, the black spot isn’t what I am talking about. It is the discoloring on the end of her foot pad, by the thumb, I guess it’s the thumb
And then to add on to it, when I am holding her other leg the same way I was to take the picture and she squirms a bit, her leg makes this old joint noise. It’s not a popping or uneasy noise. It’s like her leg is creaking a bit. This is on the leg that does not have the scab. The leg with the scab does not make this noise. Any ideas?

 

[speckledhen]

Yes, that is bumblefoot. It can be on the pad of the foot, between the toes, on top of the foot, anywhere. It's just a staph infection from an abrasion or injury. Doesn't look too bad, really. I've had a hen or two that kept chronic bumblefoot from the way they walked (one had tendon damage and placed her foot oddly so it always had bumblefoot). It's sometimes better to leave it alone because it can actually go necrotic if you mess around in the foot too much. That can actually resolve on its own and the scab eventually lift off, heal underneath.
What I would do for your hen is get some baby vitamins like PolyViSol (the type without iron-chickens don't need that much iron) and drop a few drops in her beak once a day or put it on something she eats. Truthfully, I'd just quit messing with her for awhile, let her rest, give her good high protein feed, maybe a probiotic like a spoonful of plain, no sugar yogurt occasionally, fresh water and those vitamins. No meds. Just like people who take too many medications that can begin reacting with each other and have side effects, same with chickens.
What do you feed this hen, what protein level? Just out of curiosity.

 

[Eddie12109]

Yes, that is bumblefoot. It can be on the pad of the foot, between the toes, on top of the foot, anywhere. It's just a staph infection from an abrasion or injury. Doesn't look too bad, really. I've had a hen or two that kept chronic bumblefoot from the way they walked (one had tendon damage and placed her foot oddly so it always had bumblefoot). It's sometimes better to leave it alone because it can actually go necrotic if you mess around in the foot too much.

Ok, I only really clean it two times a day and put neosporin on it, it seems to be better than what it was before. One of my other hens had that in the middle of her foot. Where it was the dot but barely any pus and it never healed like this ones. If you know, how come the two hens I have had with bumblefoot have these permanent wounds to them?

What I would do for your hen is get some baby vitamins like PolyViSol (the type without iron-chickens don't need that much iron) and drop a few drops in her beak once a day or put it on something she eats. Truthfully, I'd just quit messing with her for awhile, let her rest, give her good high protein feed, maybe a probiotic like a spoonful of plain, no sugar yogurt occasionally, fresh water and those vitamins. No meds. Just like people who take too many medications that can begin reacting with each other and have side effects, same with chickens.
What do you feed this hen, what protein level? Just out of curiosity.

I will look into getting that. I have been giving her mealworms, I was planning on giving a scrambled egg today. I have been stumped with feed for awhile. Eddie is almost 9 and Dev is 8, back when my flock was 5, Dev and another hen were the only ones laying eggs so I decided to give them grower feed, not layer, and add oyster shells to another little bowl since I didn't want my old ladies getting too much calcium.
I rotate between H and H grower feed, with 16% protein and then I get another from new country organics, forgot which type though.