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

[tamtam84]

Aww, thank you for thinking of me! So sweet.

Buttercup is actually doing really well since we drained her last. Her tail is back up and she isn't limping at all and walking a lot easier. I think it worked really well to drain on both left and right sides of her bottom. Guess we'll just have to keep draining her and monitor her condition like we have been doing. Honestly I'm extremely surprised that she is still with us and I know it could turn for the worse in the blink of an eye, so I'm just appreciating the happy times I have with her now. Thanks for checking on her!

How is your hen with the squishy abdomen? Did you ever figure out the correct dosage of the milk thistle extract?

 

[Katewward]

@Tamtam84- wow I am sorry to hear about your hen. Is she doing better? Was the Vet able to drain the fluid successfully?
I just posted today about the same incident with my Barred Plymouth Rock! I hadn't even found anything on ascites yet, but your description
and pictures are her to a "T"!
I will say a prayer for Buttercup that she doesn't have to deal with this any longer- it looks to be so tiring for them. Thank you for helping my hen
while trying to get help for yours! I hope you're able to get the fluid off of Buttercup and keep it off as well. Good luck to you and your hens!!!
Kate

 

[tamtam84]

Kate - The vet did not drain any fluid because she thought it would stress her out too much, so I have drained Buttercup on my own. The fluid keeps coming back so I have to keep draining her. Seems like lately the fluid is coming back a lot faster, too. I got your PM and sent you one back with more detail.

Good luck with your girl!

 

[arkansaschicks]

Yes I got the info on the milk thistle and started it today. I am also giving it to Shelby's baby which is about a yr old cause her abdomen appears a little extended also. I really think I'm dealing with something hereditary. I still think it strange that when Shelby went broody for 2 weeks that her swollen abdomen went away now it is slowly coming back. So is Buttercup's abdomen still hard? It just seems like she might not be doing as well as she is if she is an internal layer. You know I was thinking about this today that I have a buff orpington that molted back in Nov-Dec and she is fine but I haven't really gotten any eggs from her either. She just turned 3. What color is the fluid?

 

[tamtam84]

I'm not sure what would cause her swelling to go away when she was broody and now it's coming back. That does seem strange.

Buttercup's abdomen always seems to be hard before I drain her and I don't think anything will come out. She's not squishy like a water balloon now when she fills up. But when I drain her her abdomen almost feels back to normal, she's just pretty emaciated around her breastbone.

You may want to keep an eye on your buff if she hasn't laid eggs since her molt. My australorp hen, Penguin, that died from internal laying didn't show any signs until just a few days before she passed. She never started back up laying after her molt last winter, but I had never dealt with internal laying so I wasn't concerned and just figured she was taking longer this time to start back up (she was 2 1/2 years old when she passed). For whatever reason, Penguin went downhill so fast and I didn't have time to do anything for her. Buttercup is presenting quite differently, but I guess each case is different.

Buttercup's fluid is still the same color. It's straw colored, very light brown tinge to it, and thin like water.

 

[missypebble]

tamtam84 - love that you started this thread! I'm going through lots of heartache over a hen who may habe ascites as well. She's a RIR and about 1.5 years old. I may need to learn how to drain the fluid as well because the local vet here will do it, by they charge $45 and if ascites is what my hen has, I will have to drain her as frequently as I see many have done so. I don't really know for sure what she has, but her symptomps show very very close to ascites. We had a local vet did blood work on her - she has high blood fat level but the vet didn't say anything about ascites. The vet says she has reproductive tract disease, and I don't know if this is the same thing with egg peritontitus or internal laying?

Praying for your Buttercup!

 

[tamtam84]

Hi missypebble! So sorry to hear you're going through this, too. As I have learned through others posting in this thread, "ascites" is just the general term for an accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity. Not necessarily a diagnosis, it's a condition that occurs as a result of some other underlying issue, such as internal laying or fatty liver (which sounds like may be the case with your hen). If her swelling is due to fatty liver, gallusdomesticus had success with giving one of her hens milk thistle extract and draining her every 6 months or so, so you could try that. I think she mentions this on page 1 or 2 of this thread.

I'm not sure what reproductive tract disease is. Do you know if your hen is laying? If not, then it is possible that she's laying internally and the egg yolks are getting stuck in her abdomen and "cooking" which is a breeding ground for bacteria and leads to ascites.

The main thing I have learned from my ordeal with Buttercup is that when the fluid really starts to accumulate, it gets very hard for her to breathe and she has trouble walking. I have had to drain her 4 or 5 times because fluid keeps building up. I have learned now to watch her and drain before she starts to struggle with breathing and walking.

I'm going to try to make a video the next time I drain her because it's always a lot easier to do something after you've watched it rather than just read the instructions. It's really very simple and quick when I drain Buttercup and doesn't stress her out at all.

Good luck with your hen! Buttercup appreciates your prayers

 

[arkansaschicks]

The video is a great idea! I think a lot of people would find that very helpful. I probably need to drain 2 of mine but I am so afraid that I would do it wrong. Watching someone do it is so much easier. Glad to hear Buttercup is still doing well!!

 

[tamtam84]

I was so afraid, too, before I drained Buttercup for the first time. Scared of sticking her in the wrong spot, hurting her, screwing up, etc. Once I did it though, I realized it really wasn't nearly as bad as I made it out to be. And Buttercup seemed to feel soooo much better after I drained her, so I was so happy I did it. You can do it!

Next time I drain her I will make a video. But thankfully, she seems to still be doing great! Last night I sat down in the run and she came right up and hopped on my lap and let me inspect her for a while. The fluid has not returned yet! I was pretty surprised because I keep expecting her to fill right back up, but I think draining her on opposite sides of her bottom last time really helped to get all of the fluid off her.

Praying for your girls!

 

[arkansaschicks]

Thank you!! I'm praying for Buttercup too!! I am so glad she is doing so well! Let me know when you do the video. Hopefully it isn't any time soon