Chicken with ascites?

[Fluffy Featherz]

My chicken has a small swollen abdomen and has been healing from bumblefoot. She is is in her molting stage now and usually lays an egg every other day. She is a barred rock and is about a year and a half old. She sits down a lot and seems depressed with her tail down. She has a balanced diet, and still eats pretty well. I’m thinking that she may have ascites and I started to give her vitamin c with cinnamon sugar with cheese. Her abdomen is still swollen. Should she have her abdomen drained? Does anyone know how much it costs to drain it at the vet? Ty

 

[coach723]

Not sure with all that is going on with her if it may be ascites or not. Usually it feels waterballoon like. Most birds that have ascites do not lay anymore, so if she was recently laying that may not be the issue. If she is molting, that can sometimes make them feel pretty bad too, and they don't lay during molt. If it's a molt issue then I would just keep an eye on her and up her protein a bit, offer some cooked or scrambled egg, a bit of canned tuna, even sometimes a bit of canned cat food will tempt them (I'm not a fan of that particularly, but some find it helpful if they aren't eating well). I would not do the sugar and cheese, too much fat/carbs and dairy can cause digestive upset if over done. I don't know what a vet might charge for either an exam or draining her, I would call around to see if you have one that will see a chicken and ask what they might charge, most of the time they can give you an office visit amount at least and you can discuss treatment options if needed then, many are reluctant to quote treatment prices without knowing what they are dealing with. If it's molt, then time will be what she needs. Many birds go through molt with no real issues, but some of them sometimes can feel awful and seem down. Pictures of your bird might be helpful, to see how she looks, particularly the abdomen.

 

[Fluffy Featherz]

Oh wow, thanks for me the info! That makes me feel better. She just started to molt like a week ago so that’s why she still has a lot of feathers. I put water on her fluff so it’s easier to see her abdomen. It does feel like a water balloon

 

[coach723]

The truth about ascites is that if that is what is going on, it is a symptom of another condition, usually some kind of reproductive problem, cancer, or liver/heart failure. Most of which are not really treatable. Draining can make them more comfortable for a time, but it will usually recur since the underlying condition is still there. 1.5 years old is young for a reproductive problem, but it happens. In my flock, I generally don't drain. As long as the bird is basically doing normal things I leave them with the flock. Once they are obviously not feeling well, go off food and water, isolate themselves or get attacked by flockmates I euthanize rather than let them suffer. It is often unknown what the actual issue is until a necropsy is done, symptoms can be very similar for various ailments. Having said that, if she is molting I would give her some time, just keep an eye on her. Monitor her eating and drinking, make sure droppings look OK, and see if it's just an issue with molt. I can't really tell if her abdomen is really swollen or not, I've had some that are really enormously bloated. I've got one with ascites right now, I suspect cancer, won't know til necropsy. She's currently doing ok, so am just watching her. I've put a couple of pictures below for comparison, I've had some hens that make this bloat look minor.

 

[Fluffy Featherz]

Oh ty for the help! I’ll be praying she gets better and I’ll be praying for your chicken too!

 

[SarahGfa]

A vet can do an ultrasound to see how much fluid is in there, and if it needs to be drained. That usually doesn't cost much. I think it was $30 at the vet I went to.

 

[Fluffy Featherz]

A vet can do an ultrasound to see how much fluid is in there, and if it needs to be drained. That usually doesn't cost much. I think it was $30 at the vet I went to.

Oh wow! Ty