Chicken bloated with fluffed feathers

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Good luck at the vet. :fl Personally I would drain her,I have done it with one hen and it gave her a lot of relief. It was more stress on me! I was so nervous but she didn't think anything of it. I watched the same video before I tried to drain my hen, it was very helpful. Please ask your vet about draining her. They sometimes need several drains so maybe your vet will show you how.
 
We are at the vet. He also is suspecting peritonitis or ascetes. She is slightly dehydrated. He suctioned out the fluid (tons!) and said to switch from the penicillin to something stronger. He gave a Lasix injection to help her- in the hopes that she might pee more fluid out. He's prescribing antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and to come back for resuctioning if needed. The fluid was clear and very yellow. I hope she will be okay, sweet little darlin'. Thanks again for all your help.
By the way, she pooped on the way down here and it was all white urates with a tiny bit of dark green and a tiny bit of blood. She could have an egg stuck in there that will hopefully pass, or bacterial or non-bacterial peritonitis. She may have fluid build up due to a heart condition ( maybe cancer, probably not though he said). In the case of a heart condition, we may need to suction repeatedly. If I can get the supplies I can do it according to the video posted on this post. Great info about staying away from the chickens left side. I'm very appreciative for all of your help. I'll attach a picture of the meds with dosing, Penny at the vet's, and the bowl of all the liquid he suctioned out. PS he said he tried to suction out all the liquid he can as opposed to avoiding shock by not doing way too much at a time as the lady in the video suggested. I like her way better.
Thanks again everyone!


Update: it's been nine hours and Penny is all bloated with liquid again. She took her meds like a champ, but has barely eaten or drank all day. What do you recommend I give her to get her to eat tomorrow?
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glassdragonfly said:
Good luck at the vet. :fl Personally I would drain her,I have done it with one hen and it gave her a lot of relief. It was more stress on me! I was so nervous but she didn't think anything of it. I watched the same video before I tried to drain my hen, it was very helpful. Please ask your vet about draining her. They sometimes need several drains so maybe your vet will show you how.
Click to expand...
I found the video very helpful and informative, I just could not find a syringe large enough. I watched how the vet did it and I would prefer to do it myself. He says if I need to come back in they can have a vet tech do it and won't charge a visit fee and it will only be $20. That's very sweet, but I'll look online for the huge syringe right now. Where did you get the needles for them though?
 
ShanaMcS said:
We are at the vet. He also is suspecting peritonitis or ascetes. She is slightly dehydrated. He suctioned out the fluid (tons!) and said to switch from the penicillin to something stronger. He gave a Lasix injection to help her- in the hopes that she might pee more fluid out. He's prescribing antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and to come back for resuctioning if needed. The fluid was clear and very yellow. I hope she will be okay, sweet little darlin'. Thanks again for all your help.
By the way, she pooped on the way down here and it was all white urates with a tiny bit of dark green and a tiny bit of blood. She could have an egg stuck in there that will hopefully pass, or bacterial or non-bacterial peritonitis. She may have fluid build up due to a heart condition ( maybe cancer, probably not though he said). In the case of a heart condition, we may need to suction repeatedly. If I can get the supplies I can do it according to the video posted on this post. Great info about staying away from the chickens left side. I'm very appreciative for all of your help. I'll attach a picture of the meds with dosing, Penny at the vet's, and the bowl of all the liquid he suctioned out. PS he said he tried to suction out all the liquid he can as opposed to avoiding shock by not doing way too much at a time as the lady in the video suggested. I like her way better.
Thanks again everyone!


Update: it's been nine hours and Penny is all bloated with liquid again. She took her meds like a champ, but has barely eaten or drank all day. What do you recommend I give her to get her to eat tomorrow?
Click to expand...
Glad you were able to see the vet, get some medication and her drained.
I'm sorry that she's filling back up with fluid so quickly.

You ask what she can eat tomorrow, she's barely eaten or drank. It would be very important to get her hydrated first before she eats. Do what you can to get her drinking, then offer her some wet feed, some scrambled egg, etc. to see if you can entice her. It's out of season, but some folks offer small slices of watermelon - this is hydrating and has a few vitamins in it, it will cause watery stools. Other things to try would be small treats of chopped grapes, bits of tomato...just about anything you think she will eat.
Tube feeding is also something you may need to try. Hopefully she will improve. Sadly, sometimes hens are weak or whatever condition is causing the fluid may just be taking over and she's starting to fail.

Keep us posted on how she's doing.
 

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