Ascites or internal laying-should i atempt draining?

[LittlePip21]

Thanks Barbara! I have definetly considered the possibility of infection, do you of any over the counter antibiotics? (I'm a bit nervous about them because of a bad experience with my last Ascites/internal laying case). My hen is doing great today! She really is a tough girl she's talking and foraging again, good apatite and is even taking a dust bath! She's stopped puking completely, no discharge from her nose as of yet. I do hear a groaning sound (not from her) but this isn't new. And her poop is green, which isn't awesome, but at least she's actually dropping something. My prayers for relief have been answered for today, and I know she can't be cured, but I'm thankful she's so happy and not completely miserable. I don't know what the future holds, but I just have to make one decision at at time I suppose. Thanks you guys! I'll update soon!

 

[rebrascora]

Good to hear that she is well enough to enjoy doing normal chicken activities today. Long may it continue. Unfortunately I can't advise on antibiotics as I don't have that knowledge and here in the UK, it would mean a vet's visit to get some. Hopefully someone else can supply that advice.

 

[LittlePip21]

Back with another update. She's been doing really well, almost normal. She's been alert and foraging for the last two days. She's been absolutely fine right up until this evening when she got really quiet and wanted to sit down (I realized she didn't feel good because she always comes running to be put in bed). She puked up some more green liquid, but only once. She seemed better after that and she ate apples and cottage cheese. She was talking after that when I put her to bed. I'm just wondering what to do, she seemed tighter today, I was thinking if she's doing better tommorrow I may try to drain her. Does anyone no what antibiotics I can try? The vet clinic here doesn't have any idea what ascites even is, let alone have much in the way of bird Medicine anyway. Just trying to keep her happy as possible. Thanks for your support guys.

 

[rebrascora]

My guess would be that the mass of yolks inside her is starting to put pressure on her intestines and back up her digestive system, possibly causing slow or sour crop. Do you ferment her feed, if not, then I would do so, as this will help with the digestive process and mean she can get nutrients from her food more easily but also improve the balance of good bacteria in her crop and intestines. Thinking about it, putting antibiotics into her may just upset her digestive tract further, but I can understand you wanting to give it a go. Perhaps the vets could culture a sample of her poop to get an idea of which bacteria they need to treat with antibiotics....they will be the same ABs that are used on other animals, but it will depend on the bacteria as to which one will be effective. Try talking to the vets office and explain that you believe your chicken has an infection and can they test poop to determine what medication may help.
Alternatively @casportpony may be able to advise.

 

[LittlePip21]

Not doing as well today, she puked up some more green but seems ok now. I noticed her poo was white this morning, and she drank a whole bunch of water after her episode. She's still picking at the clover on the lawn. Also, is there any way to tell if it's ascites or internal laying? I know she's stopped laying, but I've never noticed any egg bits in poo, fluid, or puke. I will research fermenting feed, and keep you guys updated.

 

[casportpony]

Where do you live?

 

[LittlePip21]

Hi! Sorry I am so late to reply, I live in Kansas

 

[casportpony]

Hi! Sorry I am so late to reply, I live in Kansas

Near what city?

 

[LittlePip21]

Do you know of any particular antibiotics that could work? I found some avian vets near me that I may be able to get them from.

 

[LittlePip21]

Update: she seems to be recovering from her infection! I have been giving her probiotic every day and it seems to really be helping. She wasn't doing well at all for the past few days, vomiting and lethargic, and the fluid around her droppings smelled like infection. But, yesterday she perked up considerably, and I noticed her fluid was orange around her droppings. The fluid doesn't smell like infection anymore. She's been talking and seems happy, not vomiting like she was, it's no longer green, and she's not jerking her head. However, she's terribly thin, i think it took a lot out of her, I can actually feel her knee joint in her leg. Very worried about the weight loss, I've been feeding her cottage cheese to give her some protein. I think her wheight is deteriorating to make room for fluid buildup, but now I'm scared to drain her. Due to her being so thin. She seems happy but it's hard for her to walk around very long, she gets exhausted quickly. I was wondering if broiler feed would help? I'm giving her cat food as well. Also, her lice issues have returned, I'm not sure if I mentioned them before, I've had lice problems in the past, I've tried both permethrin and sevin and though most of my girls don't have any lice I can see, I can't seem to shake them completely. Once in a while one of them will have a big breakout, and I have one rooster that no mater what he's always infested. (I never see him take dust bathes either, so I wonder if that's a contributing factor) I think The issue started because I dusted my sick hen to anialate the small amount of lice she had, and they went into hyper multiply mode. I think I have it back under control now, but it's still irritating. I think lice are one of the most discouraging things for chicken owners, they like to add their wheight when the pile gets too high, so they can make everything topple down in top of you. Anyway, she's doing better than she was, and her infection seems to be dispersing. I believe she had this issue because I didn't drain her the week I was away, and had to postpone even longer due to being ill. I think the bacteria started to culture in the protein heavy fluid and started to cause issues in her gut. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions, I'll keep you updated.