Bluish Combs-Swollen and dirty abdomens?

[FFFancies]

I have several older White leghorn hens where I work. I think they are at least 4 plus years old now. One started to get a very dirty looking vent area the feathers in that area looked black and just very dirty and crusty. Then the abdomen seemed to start to get enlarged and slowly just grew and grew to the point it was pretty large and sticking way out then the feathers started to fall off of the vent area showing a large reddish swollen abdomen. The comb from the tips down started to get blue and the dropping are greenish and very watery. It is now spreading very slowly to the other birds ion that pen and a Rooster too. I looked up in a Chicken health book and the only thing it seems to match up to is something called Lymphatic Leokosis that is said to be a very slow illness with no cure. Does this sound right or does anyone have any ideas what it can be if I am wrong? I would love to try and treat with something if I am not correct on the Diagnosis. Thanks!

 

[silkiechicken]

Hmm... that almost sounds like a management problem in that flock. The swollen abdomens is most likely acities due to heart, or liver failure. Meaning one, the heart is not functioning right so lymph is collecting in the abdominal cavity, or two the liver is not making enough proteins to keep up the osmotic gradient in the blood so plasma is not going back to the blood stream. As for blueish combs, it sounds like the acities is giving them a hard time breathing so they are becoming oxygen deprived.

I want to say by your descriptions of the feathers the birds are infested with parasites too.

I don't really know what else to say to fix the problem. Chances are the hens with swollen abdomens won't recover because it's not an illness really but rather a physical problem now.