Chicken has super swollen bottom - please help!

[KatieLady925]

Waffles, a two-year-old barred rock, has become my problem chicken. Several months ago, she spent a few weeks in the house after a high roundworm load caused her to basically waste away. After a thorough worming and antibiotics, she put all the weight back on and was seemingly fine. However, she hasn’t laid since.

A little over a week ago I noticed she seemed sleepy, not eating as much as the other girls, kind of just hunkering down and snoozing a lot. Her crop seemed a little mushy, too. Her comb and wattle are still bright red, and she is eating a tiny bit. She had a terrible poopy mess below her vent - two days ago I trimmed it off, started reading about vent gleet, and gave her some yogurt and apple cider vinegar.

Today her bottom is swollen - it’s like she’s hiding a softball in there. Could it be gleet? Could it be a recurrence of worms? I’m nervous she’s laying internally and it’s something scary like peritonitis.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Waffles, a two-year-old barred rock, has become my problem chicken. Several months ago, she spent a few weeks in the house after a high roundworm load caused her to basically waste away. After a thorough worming and antibiotics, she put all the weight back on and was seemingly fine. However, she hasn’t laid since.

A little over a week ago I noticed she seemed sleepy, not eating as much as the other girls, kind of just hunkering down and snoozing a lot. Her crop seemed a little mushy, too. Her comb and wattle are still bright red, and she is eating a tiny bit. She had a terrible poopy mess below her vent - two days ago I trimmed it off, started reading about vent gleet, and gave her some yogurt and apple cider vinegar.

Today her bottom is swollen - it’s like she’s hiding a softball in there. Could it be gleet? Could it be a recurrence of worms? I’m nervous she’s laying internally and it’s something scary like peritonitis.

Welcome To BYC

Did you have a fecal float to confirm roundworms or did you see the worms? What did you treat her with?

A mushy crop, I would begin treatment. See the article below to get you started.

Often a crop issue is related to reproductive issues. If she's not been laying eggs and her bottom is swollen she may have something like cancer, tumors, Salpingitis, EYP or similar.

If you have photos of the hen, her vent/swelling and of her poop those may be helpful.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[KatieLady925]

Thanks so much for responding. I saw the worms - and this was way back in January - and treated her with Safe-guard plus an antibiotic, and she drastically improved.

A few days ago, the vet guessed it was some kind of infection or hernia, and suggested I re-start the antibiotic and add an anti-inflammatory (Metacam).

However, in the last couple of days the discharge around her vent has worsened, and the antibiotics don't seem to be helping a bit. If it is vent gleet (and honestly, my vet's been wrong before), I understand the antibiotics could actually worsen the situation.

Here's a shot of some poop (it's super watery and seems loaded with urates) and a shot of the area around her vent. These are not cute, sorry folks.

 

[Eggcessive]

Just from the yellow color of the droppings, I would guess that she may be suffering from egg yolk peritonitis or liver disease. What antibiotic are you using? I would continue that, and clean her vent area with a warm soapy bath, followed by drying her well. In hot weather a soiled vent can become covered with maggot larvae from flies, causing worse problems. An antibfungal cream, such as Nustock for horses, Monistat, or clotrimazole could be put around her vent if it is irritated. I give a spoonfull of plain unsweetened yogurt mixed into a small amount of watery chicken feed for chickens with diarrhea.

 

[Pfohls Pflock]

Waffles, a two-year-old barred rock, has become my problem chicken. Several months ago, she spent a few weeks in the house after a high roundworm load caused her to basically waste away. After a thorough worming and antibiotics, she put all the weight back on and was seemingly fine. However, she hasn’t laid since.

A little over a week ago I noticed she seemed sleepy, not eating as much as the other girls, kind of just hunkering down and snoozing a lot. Her crop seemed a little mushy, too. Her comb and wattle are still bright red, and she is eating a tiny bit. She had a terrible poopy mess below her vent - two days ago I trimmed it off, started reading about vent gleet, and gave her some yogurt and apple cider vinegar.

Today her bottom is swollen - it’s like she’s hiding a softball in there. Could it be gleet? Could it be a recurrence of worms? I’m nervous she’s laying internally and it’s something scary like peritonitis.

Hi I have a chicken with a very similar issue. Did your chicken ever recover?
Best,
The Pfohl’s