Cloudy water belly

[Sighqueen]

I have had two chickens die within the last 3 months of quick onset of water belly that was cloudy. They got weak, wouldn’t eat or drink. No respiratory issues. I raised them from chicks and they were both about 2 1/2 yrs old. I had their fecal tested to make sure they didn’t have anything infectious which they didn’t. Their food is good, water fresh and living conditions are top notch. I don’t know what I can do to prevent this from happening to my remaining 3 chickens. Anyone have any experience like this?

 

[Eggcessive]

I’m sorry for your loss. Water belly is usually a liver issue and side effect of another disorder. Those include egg yolk peritonitis, cancer, fatty liver disease, and especially in meat birds, heart failure. It would help to get a necropsy by your state vet or do you own at home to look for one of those diseases.

 

[Sighqueen]

I took my girls in to a vet that sees chickens which I was told issues could be genetics, infection, etc but nothing about prevention. I’m an RN and try to fix problems and have been reading until I’m dizzy! I had a chicken in the past with water belly. I tapped her when it was necessary…got clear liquid which is what I expected. She lived about 2 yrs with it. I knew it was liver. My two recently had brownish cloudy fluid which I knew was quite different. And more deadly. I’ve looked around to see what could possibly be the cause but can’t figure it out. I know there has been soft shells which I was trying to treat so that’s why I thought a retaining yolk in the fluid could be the culprit. It’s like they don’t retain enough calcium even though it’s in the feed and offered freely. I’m stuck.

 

[Sighqueen]

There are two places I can take them for necropsies. If it happens again, I will do that. The vet won’t send them in. I would have to take them. I chose this time to have her watery diarrhea tested to make sure there wasn’t anything contagious that I should be aware of with my remaining girls.

 

[Eggcessive]

Some ascites fluid is clear yellow. When it is cloudy, that can be protein, as you know. If it becomes thick, it is from infection. The dark green or brown is from more bile, and usually infection is there. I have had a few birds that had suspected water belly for a couple of years, and they had yellow urates in their droppings and on the vents. The only chicken I drained, was a 10 year old bantam, who was having labored breathing. On her 3rd draining within 2 weeks, the fluid was thick. She died shortly after the next day. Her necropsy showed around 5 fluid filled ovarian cysts inside her abdomen. I learned a lot from doing necropsies on my own hens when they died. We welcome everyone to post their necropsy photos for opinions.

 

[Sighqueen]

I’m sorry you had to go through that too. One of my chickens had too much sediment and I couldn’t pull any fluid out. Had the vet try and that’s when I saw the sediment. My second chicken had brownish fluid and it was a bit thickened but I could still pull out about 30 cc. If one died I could chalk it up to the infection but two within 60 days makes me nervous. Did they say what caused your chickens cysts?

 

[Sighqueen]

I have had two chickens die within the last 3 months of quick onset of water belly that was cloudy. They got weak, wouldn’t eat or drink. No respiratory issues. I raised them from chicks and they were both about 2 1/2 yrs old. I had their fecal tested to make sure they didn’t have anything infectious which they didn’t. Their food is good, water fresh and living conditions are top notch. I don’t know what I can do to prevent this from happening to my remaining 3 chickens. Anyone have any experience like this?

Some ascites fluid is clear yellow. When it is cloudy, that can be protein, as you know. If it becomes thick, it is from infection. The dark green or brown is from more bile, and usually infection is there. I have had a few birds that had suspected water belly for a couple of years, and they had yellow urates in their droppings and on the vents. The only chicken I drained, was a 10 year old bantam, who was having labored breathing. On her 3rd draining within 2 weeks, the fluid was thick. She died shortly after the next day. Her necropsy showed around 5 fluid filled ovarian cysts inside her abdomen. I learned a lot from doing necropsies on my own hens when they died. We welcome everyone to post their necropsy photos for opinions.

I’ve never thought about doing a necropsy. I don’t think I can do it without tears clouding my vision. I don’t know what I’d be looking for or what to detect microscopically. If I lose another, God forbid, I’ll take her to one of the two places I can go to. It’s offered free but I would imagine it would take quite a while to get the results. Wonder if there’s certain breeds that are prone to this? My two were Olive Eggers. First time I’ve owned this breed.

 

[Eggcessive]

With doing a home necropsy, you are only going to look at the abdominal organs for any tumors, or spots on the liver and intestines, and look for any signs of gizzard or crop impaction, intestinal obstruction or worms. Some might look at the heart, kidneys, or other organs. Many have posted pictures of their necropsies here, and you can search for those under the search forums above. The state vets do the visual necropsy, much more through than most of us, and take tissue samples for microscopic, cultures, and lab testing. The first time is very hard, but once you help to identify what may have been going on, it may get a little easier. This good video of a thorough vet necropsy might be helpful in identifying organs to know what normal looks like:

 

[Sighqueen]

With doing a home necropsy, you are only going to look at the abdominal organs for any tumors, or spots on the liver and intestines, and look for any signs of gizzard or crop impaction, intestinal obstruction or worms. Some might look at the heart, kidneys, or other organs. Many have posted pictures of their necropsies here, and you can search for those under the search forums above. The state vets do the visual necropsy, much more through than most of us, and take tissue samples for microscopic, cultures, and lab testing. The first time is very hard, but once you help to identify what may have been going on, it may get a little easier. This good video of a thorough vet necropsy might be helpful in identifying organs to know what normal looks like:

I couldn’t open the video but did pull up one on You Tube. I couldn’t watch the skinning process. It was too barbaric for me. I couldn’t do it to one of my girls even after death. I know they won’t feel a thing but I’d be cutting up a memory. I’ve dealt with a lot of grossness with people, which I can handle but I turn to mush when it comes to animals. Strange, I know.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is the video I tried to post earlier: