Ascites?? Swollen, squishy abdomen - WITH PICS & VIDEO (page 9)

[cchic]

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Egg peritonitis is NOT incurable! Soft shells and other egg problems - causes and cures
By: Luvmy9hens
Posted 12/1/13 • Last updated 12/1/13 • 218 views • 4 comments
BACKGROUND: Ellie is a 15 month old "Self Blue Old English" hen that I raised from hatching. The eggs were sent from Cobb's Bantams in Lavonia Georgia and hatched by our beautiful broody hen Zebra Mama. Pics 1 and 2 below - Zebra and Ellie

Ellie was happy and healthy and grew into a beautiful little hen who was as faithful and loving as a hen could be.
Pics below were taken July 2013 Ellie at 11 Months old.

Some time in late October at the age of 14 months, Ellie began to spend a lot of time in the coop in one of the nesting boxes. She is such a tiny little girl (400 grams/14 ounces) and was too young (in my opinion) to be going broody! Day after day, I noticed more and more feathers missing especially on her abdomen which was nearly bare in early November. It was then that I brought her inside due to the cold temperatures at night. I knew that Ellie was experiencing her first molt which, in my opinion, was severe. I supplemented her diet with hard boiled eggs for the extra protein needed for feather development.

SYMPTOMS: On the night of November 26, I came home to a very sick little hen. Her behavior included hiding, fluffing up feathers, lethargy, and avoiding food (but drinking). Physically, Ellie looked tattered due to her lack of grooming. Her crop was "watery" due to excess drinking, her comb was pale and laying flat, she had abnormal droppings (watery/green), and a stooped posture with a lowered tail. Her abdomen was soft but not grossly enlarged. As I swept the floor, the broom picked up a thick substance in a darkened corner. YUCK! Upon close inspection, I realized that what I had swept up was runny yolk and egg white with no shell. Ellie would not eat, and could barely walk to the closest dark corner where she wanted to hide. I did not believe that she would last the night. The next morning (November 27), she was still alive and needed immediate veterinary services. My husband brought her in to Champlain Valley Veterinary Services where she stayed for 3 days.

DIAGNOSIS: "peritonitis due to the inability to form a shelled egg".

CURE: After 2 X-rays to rule out the possibility of being egg-bound, Ellie was treated with baytril 100 and calcium gluconate 10% injections.

CAUSE: This is something that could have been prevented. I have read several sources that indicate that it is OK to switch laying hens to either chick starter or grower during the molting period to boost protein intake. While the extra protein is beneficial to feather growth, feeds that are meant for developing chicks lack the calcium necessary for laying hens to form egg shells. If the egg (yolk and white) break inside the body, peritonitis can rapidly develop.

NOTES: While Ellie was staying at the vet hospital, she expelled the soft shell that had broken inside her body on day 2 of her stay. We picked her up on day 3 and are happy to report that she is...acting like a typical chicken! The picture below is the soft egg shell that was expelled after the second round of antibiotic treatments. Notice the blood in the sample.

If a hen experiencing ANY of the above symptoms, she needs treatment. While laying a shell-less egg could be a "fluke", it could also be a death sentence for your hen if left untreated. Her behavior and physical appearance should be closely monitored. Birds do hide their illness VERY WELL! Our vet said that peritonitis is NOT a death sentence and the birds do NOT need to be culled. The condition is VERY curable as she has treated many exotic parrots with the same condition. The key here is to catch it early and treat accordingly!!

WARNING: After treating a chicken with antibiotics, any eggs produced within the first 60 days should not be eaten and the meat should not be consumed at all. This was stated on the veterinarian's bill per New York State law due to the fact that Ellie is a "food animal".
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Comments (4)


Nutcase 12/1/13 at 5:00pmThanks for this interesting article. I lost a hen to egg peritonitis last year.

Luvmy9hens 12/4/13 at 4:08pmSo sorry for your loss It is difficult when you become attached to the sweet little hens. I was not sure that Ellie would survive but I had to do what I could regardless of the cost. I had previously lost 2 other hens (displaying similar symptoms) over the past year. If this article could help to save the life of just one hen, then my goal was reached.

MaPa26 12/11/13 at 4:07pmThank you for telling your story. This is our first year with chickens. We had several eggs with soft shells during the first couple of months that they started laying. I couldn't tell which hen or hens was responsible. We did try to make sure they were getting plenty of calcium. If one had gotten sick, I wouldn't have had a clue what was wrong. If one acts like she is sick, I will get her to the vet, ASAP. I know our vet treats chickens. Back last summer, I was there with one of our dogs and I mentioned that we had gotten chickens and he said they see them, too! Good to know, I said.

Luvmy9hens 12/14/13 at 6:13pmAlways good to know of a vet who will treat chickens BEFORE you need one!
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BackYard Chickens › Member Pages › Egg Peritonitis Is Not Incurable Soft Shells And Other Egg Problems Causes And Cures

 

[cchic]

It sounds like the same thing is happening to my chicken Stella. When I have looked at other sites and other postings it sounds like other people have autopsy to find that they have hard egg shape pieces in their bodies. Do you think that's the case when you have the squishy belly because I wonder how you would get fluid out. I'm tiring to figure out what to do.

 

[IndigoRaven]

What dosage of milk thistle did the vet prescribe? I went out and bought 200 mg capsules after reading this thread. I haven't given any to her yet because I don't want to give her too much.

I have a full sized Cochin. She's been on antibiotics, but the 20 day course just finished and she is still pretty much the same. The vet isn't sure what the issue is. X rays showed no indication of being egg bound. Looked like an ovary was inflamed though and there seems to be some sort of mass in the squishy abdomen. Her poops are normal and she is laying every 3rd or 4th day. However, the descriptions in the above thread really sound like what we've gone through. She is moving around more than before the antibiotics, hanging out with the flock during the day, and foraging still, but much slower and she tires easily. She is carrying around a big squishy abdomen and it definitely wears her out. When she gets tired her tail starts dragging and we see more of the penguin walking. I'd like to try to milk thistle.

 

[tamtam84]

@IndigoRaven - I'm sorry to hear about your Cochin. The fact that she is still laying eggs is a good sign I think. Maybe that means her fluid is due to fatty liver disease and in that case, the milk thistle should help. I've never used it though so I can't advise on that. If her abdomen stays full of fluid, I'd recommend draining her to make her more comfortable. I had to do that with my Buttercup every month or so to remove the fluid that accumulated. In case you aren't sure how to do it, I posted my experience and advice earlier in this thread. You can always send me a message and I'll try to help if I can. Good luck!

 

[robinwiththechickens]

Quote:
Originally Posted by tamtam84

Buttercup has been filling back up with fluid over the past few days, so we decided to drain her this morning. I've already detailed my process on this thread, but I thought it would be helpful to actually see how I do it in case any of you aren't comfortable draining yourself and want to see it. Normally my husband holds her while I drain her, but he had to take the video so I held and drained her by myself. It is much easier, though, to have someone else hold your hen so you can get a better view for draining.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.

I thought my hen, Dodo, might be suffering from Ascites, she is waddling around and her rear end is swollen and distended.




I followed the instructions provide in this thread and in tamtam84's video, but all I managed to do was pull out a little bit of what looks like fat to me.



Have I misdiagnosed her? Is she just too fat? Am I doing something wrong?

 

[tamtam84]

Does her abdomen feel squishy at all? Or is it just swollen? If there is fluid in there, you will definitely be able to feel it, almost like a water balloon. Any idea what caused the feather loss on her bottom? Is she molting?

 

[robinwiththechickens]

Her abdomen does have a water balloon feel to it, but more of an over-full water balloon, it's not very squishy. The feather loss was caused by me. Her backside was quite messy so I gave her a bit of a bikini trim in order to get a better look at the problem area.

 

[tamtam84]

Do you know if she has been laying eggs normally? I wonder if maybe she's eggbound. If her abdomen was full of fluid, it would have drained out very easily.

 

[robinwiththechickens]

She's an older hen, so she doesn't lay regularly. She does get in the nest box at least once a week, but I couldn't say for 100% sure if she is laying. I suppose I should isolate her to make sure.

 

[casportpony]

She might have a mass and/or cancer. How skinny is she?

-Kathy