Decrease of Appetite- 3 yr old BSL

[mrskenmore]

I forgot to check the inside of her beak will check tomorrow- she is the flock leader and allhough friendly very fierce (I am enclosing a picture of my BSL Jolene below so you can see the force I am dealing with) I am sure she is not getting bullied at the food/water... I have been watching.. I am wondering if her swollen belly is water belly/ascites...


Thank you for your help and suggestions!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I forgot to check the inside of her beak will check tomorrow- she is the flock leader and allhough friendly very fierce (I am enclosing a picture of my BSL Jolene below so you can see the force I am dealing with) I am sure she is not getting bullied at the food/water... I have been watching.. I am wondering if her swollen belly is water belly/ascites...


Thank you for your help and suggestions!

She's a serious girl for sure - lovely though

Swollen belly could be Ascites or Egg Yolk Peritonitis. It's hard to know. With Ascites, usually there is more of a tendency to have trouble breathing and a darkening of the comb (turning blue/purple) since the fluid starts to press on internal organs (heart, liver, lungs). But EYP can have similar symptoms as well.

If the belly feels water filled, you could try draining it. Some people do have success doing that short term. There is a real risk of infection though. Usually this is done when the hen starts having trouble walking or breathing to give them relief.

 

[mrskenmore]

3/29/17 6:00 AM EST UPDATE

So this morning I went out to tend to the girls and Jolene only had watery poop over the night, her crop emptied out but no solids in her poop. I am not sure she will eat or drink much during the day but I have a camera to monitor her. I will give her some tuna and mashed food with electrolytes this evening and check the inside of her beak.

I think it is so strange that she is hungry and will eat, but not the food left for her, if I let her free range she eats bugs, worms and scratches in the dirt all day..has no desire to drink but has no other visible symptoms.. obviously something is off.

I am stumped

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Just keep an eye on her. The crop emptying is good - you don't wan to have to deal with crop issues.

Some birds don't drink as much as the others. Check her crop tonight to see if she is going to bed with a full crop - that will at least let you know she's eaten during the day.

Keep us posted.

 

[mrskenmore]

Will do- thanks!

The past few days her crop is empty when I check it at 6:30 pm- she typically goes up to roost around 7 pm. So when I get home I am making sure she eats a crumble mash/hard boiled egg with electrolytes so that she is not staring and dehydrating... Will let you know how things go tonight.

 

[mrskenmore]

3/29/17 6:00 PM EST UPDATE

When I got home tonight I checked Jolene's crop and it was empty. I let her out to free range and she was foraging looking for bugs and eating worms. I made a layer mash of feed/half a can of tuna and 1/2 cup electrolyte water. She ate most of it all up and her crop filled up nicely. She pooped the same watery poop which was mostly clear and was her usual upbeat self. She went up to roost with her two sisters at 7 pm with a full crop. I watched her on my chicken cam today- she participated in a dust bath and enjoyed laying in the sun. She looks really good and is acting like her normal self. Why is she not eating and drinking?!? I scheduled an appointment with the vet on Monday morning because we can't continue to go on like this.. I fear she will starve or be dehydrated. I also checked her beak and inside of her mouth, all looked good, normal and healthy.

Any other ideas or thoughts? I think this is so bizzare- will keep you all posted

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is she laying eggs?

It's good that she had a full crop when she went to roost. Hopefully the vet can do some testing to see what's going on. Please keep us posted.

 

[mrskenmore]

She is not currently laying- she hasn't laid an egg since before the winter- she really hasn't been a stellar layer after year 1.5- she is currently 3 years old

3/30/17 6:00 AM EST UPDATE

So good news is there were more solid poops under her from last night, so I scooped them up for the vet to run some tests on. I gave her some layer mash/water/ 1/2 can of tuna this morning which she ate some of (frankly it was still dark out and I bet she was wondering why she was up- but I have to go to work so 6 am it was) She looks normal again today, I am hopeful that he had solid poop, maybe she will be eating and drinking on her own soon.

Thanks for your help and support!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is not currently laying- she hasn't laid an egg since before the winter- she really hasn't been a stellar layer after year 1.5- she is currently 3 years old

3/30/17 6:00 AM EST UPDATE

So good news is there were more solid poops under her from last night, so I scooped them up for the vet to run some tests on. I gave her some layer mash/water/ 1/2 can of tuna this morning which she ate some of (frankly it was still dark out and I bet she was wondering why she was up- but I have to go to work so 6 am it was) She looks normal again today, I am hopeful that he had solid poop, maybe she will be eating and drinking on her own soon.

Thanks for your help and support!

I'm glad to hear she at this morning.

Keep us posted.

 

[mrskenmore]

3/31/17 3:00 PM UPDATE

Still status quo with Jolene, she is acting her same usual self she still will not eat or drink, so I continue to give her layer mash with a protein on top because that is really the only think she wants to eat. Tried some cucumber today to give her some increased water and she ate 1 or two pieces an turned in down which is not like her. When I am able to feed her three times a day her poop has more solids in it but is still extremely liquid. I will continue to monitor and update with her progress. The one strange thing is that she is obsessed with proteins.. she still loves mealworms, actual worms and bugs, tuna and hard boiled egg. She eats all of that but she won't touch anything else. Something is definitely going on.