Bloated hen

[cgainer]

My hen s abdomen is bloated and hard. She moves slowly and doesn't hang with other chickens. She looks sick. Help!,,,,

 

[chickenlittle21]

Can I see a picture?

 

[chickens really]

@azygous

 

[azygous]

You need to supply a lot more information in order for us to help.

It sounds like it could be a reproductive issue, but we need to know her age and if she's currently laying and when she laid last. Has she laid a shell-less egg recently?

What does her poop look like? Is she dribbling clear liquid or yellow tinted mucous from her vent?

Is she lethargic and standing silently at the outskirts of the flock with her tail held low and flat?

Is she eating?

Do you feel a hard egg size lump below her vent? Is her vent enlarged and partially open and pulsing?

 

[cgainer]

She hasn't laid an egg in over 2 months, they've all quit laying. She is 3 yrs old. She's eating but her abd omen is really hard. She is sometimes alone.

 

[aart]

A pic of her belly would help, and......

What does her poop look like?

When I have a bird that is acting 'off' I isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so I can closely monitor their intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and their poops. Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling. Check for external parasites or any other abnormalities.


Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

 

[cgainer]

A pic of her belly would help, and......


When I have a bird that is acting 'off' I isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so I can closely monitor their intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and their poops. Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling. Check for external parasites or any other abnormalities.


Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

Thanks I'll do that. I'll send a picture of her stomach tomorrow. I cleaned her back end that was covered in dried poop

 

[BloomBunny]

This is an emergency. Prepare the dish of warm fluids.

Dumb question:
What type of reproductive problem do you think the hard swelling is?

 

[azygous]

We can't know. A vet would need to X-ray her to see where her problem is.

 

[azygous]

I think post #8 got posted to the wrong thread.