Chicken panting, backside very swollen

[morganfamily6]

My chicken she's about 4 has recently had a very swollen bum i thought she was eggbound but i came across some sort of small eggs on her backside also whenever I pick her up she keeps on panting faster and faster plus her tummy makes a rumbling noise and she seems to be in a lot of pain. Could someone please help as I do not know what to do.
Thanks
Lloerhian

 

[rebrascora]

Hi
I'm sorry your hen is not well. A photo of her backside would be helpful.

I'm not sure what you mean by ...

but i came across some sort of small eggs on her backside

can you elaborate.... ie lice eggs, attached to the base of the feather shafts or small hens eggs or fly larvae?

Is there swelling between her legs.... does she walk with a wide legged stance.... compare to other chickens? It sounds like she may be suffering from ascites (water belly) and/or a reproductive problem like salpingitis (infection of the oviduct) or internal laying/egg yolk peritonitis. These cause the abdominal cavity to fill up with eggs and infected material/pus which puts pressure on the heart and respiratory system, causing the bird to struggle for breath, especially when you increase the pressure by holding her. Unfortunately these issues usually prove fatal and whilst draining the belly, if it is ascites, will provide some short term relief for a few weeks, it will almost certainly return and even with repeated draining, the bird will eventually become infected and die. It might be a question of making her as comfortable as possible and making plans to euthanize her when her quality of life deteriorates.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you post a picture of her bottom? Do the eggs on her bottom look like white clumps or lice eggs? An enlarged lower belly and panting could be a sign of ascites (fluid in the belly) or internal laying. Egg yolk peritonitis, internal laying, and salpingitis are fatal chicken diseases that older hens suffer from. Ascites is also fatal and can be related to heart or liver failure and sometimes is seen in internal laying. Permethrin is very good to treat lice or mites, and is available in powder or liquid for spraying.

 

[morganfamily6]

i am pretty sure they are lice eggs and i will post a picture of her now

 

[morganfamily6]

i think one of my other hens which has died had the internal laying/egg yolk peritonitis and i couldn't save her no matter how hard i tried

 

[morganfamily6]

I tried to cut the eggs off as I thought they would hatch and then spread throughout the flock

 

[morganfamily6]

 

[morganfamily6]

she has also been sneezing a lot and very often

 

[morganfamily6]

 

[morganfamily6]

but the eggs were like tiny balls clumped together into a big ball and there were quite a few of these big balls