Bulge between legs and vent

[ruth]

I would always try draining before culling because as I've posted, it worked for my hen and I know from talking to others who have done the same, that it worked them as well. My philosophy is to always try "something" before I resort to culling.

You can get needle/syringes at the feed stores, any vet, and I think I read somewhere that Wal Mart sells them. I've also seen them at TSC. I can't think of anything else that I would recommend using.

As has been posted, if it's just clear watery liquid you can drain her till it's all out and she may recover just fine.

 

[NotTheMomma]

HOw are things going now?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I had to cull my hen today

She must have been laying internally. I couldn't get much fluid out of her bulge with the syringe. She was passing yellowish stuff, maybe it was yolk. Even though she was still toddling around, getting up into her 2nd story coop & back on the ground, she was having difficulty breathing and wasn't eating. Her crop was flat & her keel bone was sharply defined.

I dug the hole yesterday evening, after the failed attempt to drain her, but decided to give her one last night with her flockmates. I hope it wasn't a selfish decision on my part, she really didn't seem to be in distress or pain. This morning she wouldn't even get out of the coop, so I carried her to the hole, petted her & spoke to her soothingly, and dispatched her quickly & humanely.

I hope your other hens are doing much much better than this.

 

[stormylady]

First off I want to say that Im so sorry for your loss.
Quote:
Can they get that at any age? I have a 14 week old EE that has a swollen area between the crop area and goes down to the belly, I thought she was just a chunky chick, but after reading your post I ran out and checked her. and it feels jelly like and giggly, To be perfectly honest Im not sure if she is a she or not, can males get it too? Here are a couple of pictures of her/him. Also one other note when she was about 7 or 8 weeks old I though she had an impacted crop and tryed to flush it out, with no luck and the area has alway stayed big. Thanks Sandy

 

[NotTheMomma]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. HUGS!

stormylady... do any of your other chickens look like that? It appears to be a typical crop from the photo, but as well know, photos can be deceiving. Does it go down by the morning? Or always there? All of mine look like the photo, in the evening, but by morning it's gone. Mine love to have a full crop before bedtime.

You know, if she's eating ok, pooping ok, and otherwise appears healthy, I'm all for leaving well enough alone.

Hugs!

 

[Country4ever]

I had a hen who started swelling up when she was about 6 months old. She was a little smaller and paler than the other buff orps.
After a few visits to an avian specialist, I decided to take care of her myself. The vet said there was no way of knowing the reason for "ascites", that we needed more tests, but I decided to forego those.

I drained her abdomen of clear fluid about every 3-5 months for 4 years. She would be fine in-between times. The fluid sometimes would be 3-4 cups!
I always kept her separate from the others, since she wasn't as strong and they would pick on her.
Even though the vet refused to show me how to do it myself, I watched her when she did it, and learned that you should do it to the side of the abdomen......over by the right leg. I had intracaths, which were nice because they wouldn't puncture anything.
I did notice that it was easier to drain her more completely, the more fluid she had in there.
The vet said that sometimes if you drain too much fluid out at once, they can have a cardiovascular collapse. Fortunately, I never had that problem.
What I noticed was the closer she got to needing drained, the more trouble she was having with breathing.

One time my hen got so compromised from the amount of fluid that we couldn't even hold her to drain her, since she would quit breathing.
That's when we learned to put her on top of something higher, so we could drain her without holding her.

Finally, after 4 years of this, she passed quietly in her little pen.
RIP sweet Nobie. What a trooper she was.

Yes, I agree......if you don't feel comfortable draining with a needle and syringe (it can be tricking disconnecting the syringe from the needle to empty it and then connect it again), I have suggested to people that they put a couple big needle holes in the skin, and let gravity work its magic.

I had another hen with a swollen abdomen, but the fluid I got out was a bright green. She didn't last long. If the fluid is clear, I think its a better prognosis. You just might have to do it on a regular basis.
I used to put my hen on 2-3 days of antibiotics when I would drain her (per vet's instructions), but learned that probably wasn't necessary if drained in the house under fairly clean conditions.

 

[stormylady]

Quote:
My chick came with 4 hatchmates and they all look alike but this chick (BB) for big baby. She has always been shorter and squatter than the others. But as I said she was about 7/8 weeks when her chest area swelled up and she was slobbering, some so I thought impacted crop, and tryed to fix it, but nothing came out of her crop, As far as eating and poohing and all she appears fine, she just looks odd, and when she runs she jiggles in the chest and belly area. And she stays kinda flabby all the time, but when her crop is full of feed it is very obvious the difference between the too.
Im with you on leaving well enough alone and she doesn't appear to be in pain, I just wanted to make sure that isn't what she had and lose her later down the line, for something that I could have fixed. Im going to get a better picture of her straight on, so maybe you could get a better idea. Thanks so much, Sandy

 

[jeannieo]

I know this is an old post but I have a similar problem with one of my girls. the vet said nothing they could do

. the guy in TSC knew exactly what I was talking about and told me what to do. He said put in the needle and leave it in and it will drain. I have an appt. right now but plan on doing it when I get home in about 2 hours. she seems totally fine, eating, drinking, pecking, pooping, and scratching. She's just got this HUGE thing hanging down between her legs

! Please wish me luck and any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated. I was freaked out when I had to trim my BO's comb several months ago when it got half ripped off by a couple of amourous roosters but I did it and I felt great afterwards

. Wish me luck!

 

[jeannieo]

bump, any words of advice?

 

[usschicago1]

Im a little late on this thread But I want to add a few things,
First off what ruth said about the needle is a great idea for short term, and i would definitly do it if you want to save her. You have to be extremly careful though, because if you stick the needle too far in and the liquid gets in the blood stream, even a little bit, it could definitly prove fatal.

Also Bye now im sure there has got to be a little infection going on, and you have to weigh out whether you want to fight the infection or put it off and make sure there is no organ damage (which is what i suspect is causing it).
it could also be an infection from a broken egg too causing the liquid.

Whatever you do , you can save her, but there are alot of things that can go wrong, make sure to be super careful.