Chicken bloated with fluffed feathers

Pics
Date sort Score sort
ShanaMcS said:
My favorite chicken has a very bloated belly. She didn't come down to feed this morning when the others did, although she did a little later. She is walking slow, but not necessarily like a penguin. Her feathers are fluffed up.

I just gave her a sitz bath and inserted my finger into her vent. I did not feel anything. I gave her calcium with her chicken feed and she ate it. I blow dried her afterwards. She never pooped throughout any of this. She may have pooped this morning, but I couldn't tell whose poop was whose. She has been laying very large eggs recently.

What should I do? She is my favorite, sweetest chicken and I don't want anything to happen to her.
Click to expand...
ShanaMcS said:
There has been a few bloody poops in the coop the last two days, none today. There has been two eggs without a shell in the last month, but I don't know who laid them. It looks like she had some yellowish stuff dribbling out of her vent before I gave her the sitz bath.
Click to expand...
Is she able to poop?
A very bloated abdomen is usually an indication of a reproductive disorder - Peritonitis, cancer, tumors, internal laying, etc. If the abdomen is tight like a drum and fluid filled that would be Ascites - usually the cause of that would not be known unless necropsy is performed if you lose her.

The bloody poop is concerning - can you tell if she's the one doing that? If she's pooping blood, then it could be cancer or infection like Enteritis. Antibiotics may help her be more comfortable, but with something like cancer or reproductive disorder, they won't cure it.
 
She is so full of water today. She is bloated up huge. I am soaking her in an Epsom salt bath. She didn't move this morning. She did have a bunch of poop behind her that I think was hers. It looked fine. I had to scoop it out too see it and it's hard to tell much from it now. It looks like mushy wet dog food and there was a lot of it. No blood.
Should I try to suction some water out of her? Also her comb is turning purple. Poor, poor darling.
 
She just pooped. What does this poop tell us? Also there is a little clicking sound with each breath, so I think I may need to find a catheter and remove some of this fluid. What do you think about that? Thank you for helping me.
IMG_20200203_120325475.jpg
 
ShanaMcS said:
She is so full of water today. She is bloated up huge. I am soaking her in an Epsom salt bath. She didn't move this morning. She did have a bunch of poop behind her that I think was hers. It looked fine. I had to scoop it out too see it and it's hard to tell much from it now. It looks like mushy wet dog food and there was a lot of it. No blood.
Should I try to suction some water out of her? Also her comb is turning purple. Poor, poor darling.
Click to expand...
ShanaMcS said:
I found this link describing how to suction the water. Do you think that's the route I should take? https://forum.thepoultrysite.com/discussion/4340/swollen-chicken-any-ideas#Comment_10730

I gave her molasses and electrolytes/probiotics orally in a syringe and she is having an Epsom salt bath. Also, any ideas where one can find a catheter? PS Thank you so much for all your help. There was no blood in her stool, by the way.
Click to expand...
ShanaMcS said:
She just pooped. What does this poop tell us? Also there is a little clicking sound with each breath, so I think I may need to find a catheter and remove some of this fluid. What do you think about that? Thank you for helping me.
Click to expand...

It would be up to you to decide about the draining. Some folks do drain as supportive care and to make them more comfortable. If there is clicking with each breath and her comb is turning purple, she's in distress. Draining may help her breath a bit better and take some stress off her air sacs, lungs and organs.
You can find 18 or 20 gauge needles at Tractor Supply. I'm not sure where you would get a catheter (ask your vet).
Draining can be dangerous - birds may go into cardiac arrest or it's possible you might introduce bacteria into the abdominal cavity. Draining is not a cure, it's supportive care.
Personally, if I were draining a hen, I would also administer antibiotics. My preference would be either Baytril or Amoxicillin. Sometimes you can find Amoxicillin at TSC, but the Baytril would need to be ordered. (Baytril is not labeled or approved for use in laying hens, so do some research to determine if that's something you want to use).

The poop is not too good. I'm sorry. I would not give any more molasses since it acts as a laxative. See that she's drinking well and not dehydrated. Vitamins and Electrolytes are o.k. for a few days, but I would also offer plain fresh water to give her a choice.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/ascities.1185454/#post-18714504
 
Thank you so much. I couldn't find a catheter anywhere. I found a vet tech that gave me a syringe and recommended I try to insert the needle only and see if it drains through it. (It didn't.) I'll stop with the molasses. I have her on penicillin (two doses so far.) I got her a dr's appt tomorrow morning at 10:30. No one could fit her in today. Praying she can make it until then. Thanks again for all the help!
 
ShanaMcS said:
Thank you so much. I couldn't find a catheter anywhere. I found a vet tech that gave me a syringe and recommended I try to insert the needle only and see if it drains through it. (It didn't.) I'll stop with the molasses. I have her on penicillin (two doses so far.) I got her a dr's appt tomorrow morning at 10:30. No one could fit her in today. Praying she can make it until then. Thanks again for all the help!
Click to expand...
Let us know how her appointment goes :hugs
 

Similar threads

J
3 year old hen seems bloated, vent is very big
2
Replies
16
Views
671
Wyorp Rock
Wyorp Rock
eikome
    • Sad
Elderly hen
Replies
3
Views
413
KyCoop
KyCoop
HeatherR525
Hen Issues
Replies
5
Views
396
HeatherR525
HeatherR525
honkhonkbeep
Mucoid poop, beginning lash egg, soft-shelled membrane...???
Replies
5
Views
495
Eggcessive
Eggcessive
L
Hen with possible water belly
Replies
4
Views
660
Lil Brown Nugget
L

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom