Bulge between legs and vent

[peepfarmer]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. "Barbara" is still seemingly doing fine. I'm going to let Mother Nature take its course.

 

[ruth]

Quote:
If that is fluid buildup, it will kill her soon. I thought you didn't want to lose this 4 year old hen? Please try draining the fluid. She will be good as new if you do.

 

[peepfarmer]

My vet says it will re-occur and is more than likely a liver malfunction. I am planning to drain it tonight after work. We'll see what happens and I will post!
Thank you very much.

 

[ruth]

The hen that I drained, had nothing but clear water to drain out. She was fine for about 3 months then I drained her again, but before it could get so big. Then again in about 3 months. After the 3rd time, I haven't had to drain her again. She is fine and still lays a large brown egg every day. She was one of my first chicks and is very friendly.

I too had read all the negative reports on Ascites but in my case, it worked to drain her and she went right back to running around the farm and being a productive layer.

I wish you luck.

You didn't mention if she still lays eggs? I know she's 4 and may have slowed down but has she laid an egg recently? I ask because she could be an internal layer and unfortunately there's nothing you can do for her. But based on the pictures, looks like fluid build up.

By the way, I've had several people write me and ask for directions on draining their hens after they saw my initial thread on my hen. Every person reported back good results. Some have said the fluid was broth colored but liquid watery fluid nonetheless and draining worked.

 

[peepfarmer]

I will post after draining tonight and let you know how it went.

I don't know if she is still laying as I haven't confined her by herself. All my girls seem to lay in one pile off and on throughout the day!

 

[ChickDandy]

Wow, this picture looks really similar to my little RIR in the message I just posted.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=198160

Her current swelling is less than before, but as I noted, I'm not convinced there isn't something else going on.

I'm going to go ahead and use a syringe to see if there is fluid in there.

She was one of my best layers before she became egg bound, but hasn't laid for more than a week now.

I'm most anxious to see how things go for you!
All the best!

 

[peepfarmer]

I drained several cc's of slightly cloudy fluid last night and will check her tonight.

 

[ruth]

Quote:
Good for you and her. I'm glad it was fluid and not egg build up from internal laying. With my hen, the holes from the needle would continue to leak until the "bag" was empty so once she started leaking I didn't have to stick her anymore.

Hopefully now she will have some relief. If the bag isn't empty try training out some more. If it is empty just watch her. She may start to fill up in a coule of months (or more or less) and then you can drain her before it gets so bad.

My hen now has a kind of baggy pouch that can only be felt and not seen but it hasn't refilled in many months now. I think it just left the skin so stretched.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I now have a hen, about 2-3 years old (I forget when she hatched) who has a similar problem. She's part of a large flock so I have no idea how she's been eating/pooping/laying. But recently she's been lethargic and that's when I noticed a bulge between her legs & vent. It's firm but not rock-hard, and she's got some wet poo on her butt-fluff. Sometimes she sits on the ground & seems to be gasping for breath, but she's still getting around. Last night she got back in her 2nd story coop & even got up on the roost.

I'm wondering if it would be worth a try to drain her.
Or should I leave her until she seems really unwell.
Or just cull her now.

I had another hen with a similar condition, I let her go on for several weeks until she seemed to be really suffering, then I culled her. I will be brave & cull this one sooner, if I think that's best for her.

If I don't have a hypodermic needle, what else could I use to drain her? Where should I stick her? Please advise, thank you!

 

[ChickDandy]

Does your hen feel extra warm between her legs and on top of her tail? That's how my egg bound hen was. She was also definitely swollen from her belly to her vent and felt firm, not squishy.

I didn't drain any fluid from my hen, ultimately. I checked her over the course of a few days and the bulge was definitely shrinking, so I think what she showed was due to the irritation and inflammation of being egg bound.

I think I posted the link to the advice I got for treating an egg bound hen. It took me 2-3 days of treatment.

Hope your hen's doing okay!