BR with distended/ bloaty-feeling belly??

[Bleenie]

A few days ago, when i was moving some of the girls to the correct coop, I noticed that one of my BR hens belly felt quite round and soft. It didn't feel normal to me so of course i had to go down the line checking everyone elses bellies and they were all fine, not even the slightest bloaty. I thougth maybe she ate some weird bug, maybe she had gas(can chickens get gas??) or figured it was somethign that would go away by morning... Well today when she walked in front of me i decided i should better check her again and yep, her belly is still distended and full-feeling. I can't feel anything like egg shaped and I don't know if she's been laying or not since her eggs are so close to the color of the wyandottes(and her 'sisters').

The only thing i can think of is maybe she's egg bound and I REALLY hope not, she's one of my favorite girls

Is there any other things that could cause a bloated-feeling belly? She is totally normal otherwise, eating, drinking, socializing, going up to roost and hasn't lost any weight.

 

[Bleenie]

Any Ideas?

 

[chkn]

You could try her on some antibiotics. I had some leftover Baytril I used. You can also think about draining her (while keeping her on antibiotics). There are plenty of good threads on the subject. Just make sure you do it on her right side, behind the leg, coming in at an angle. You can leave a needle in and keep emptying the syringe. If you don't get anything, don't force it. Try no more than two places, keep the needle and hen steady / still (I wrap mine in a towel and do it in my lap). Disinfect needle and skin where you'll draw with alcohol, can't recall the needle gauge (16-18 or something).

You can do a probe for egg binding. Again, there's lots of good threads. Antibiotics for a week or so to see what happens if she's not. Then you can think about draining. I'm thinking peritonitis. Actually, with peritonitis you really can't probe in there because the passage is swollen and hard as a vice. If you hit a wall probing, it's peritonitis. If the swelling is sudden? Well, keep an eye on it.

 

[speckledhen]

These threads may be helpful to you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=362422

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=195347