Difficulty draining water belly

[kaydeetee86]

Hey BYC,

I’m absolutely devastated… my Golden Comet has water belly.

She’s 5, which I know is old for a Comet. But I’m still so upset. She’s the last of my original 4 Comets, and I love her.

When I went to drain her, I couldn’t pull more than a couple drops. I tried twice in slightly different locations. (I wasn’t going to put her through more sticks after that.) Light yellow fluid is now dripping from the punctures onto a puppy pad. It’s exactly the same fluid I’ve seen before. No blood.

Is there something different that I should try later on? What is causing this? I’m at a complete loss as to why I can’t drain it. It’s the same box of 18G x 3/4” needles, same technique, same fluid, same everything.

She is otherwise perfectly normal. She’s eating, drinking, and keeping up with the flock. Poop is normal. Comb and wattles look healthy.

I’m leaving her alone for now. I guess I’ve accomplished the goal of getting fluid out of her body, even if it’s slow. There’s still a lot in there.

 

[alinas2010]

Hey BYC,

I’m absolutely devastated… my Golden Comet has water belly.

She’s 5, which I know is old for a Comet. But I’m still so upset. She’s the last of my original 4 Comets, and I love her.

When I went to drain her, I couldn’t pull more than a couple drops. I tried twice in slightly different locations. (I wasn’t going to put her through more sticks after that.) Light yellow fluid is now dripping from the punctures onto a puppy pad. It’s exactly the same fluid I’ve seen before. No blood.

Is there something different that I should try later on? What is causing this? I’m at a complete loss as to why I can’t drain it. It’s the same box of 18G x 3/4” needles, same technique, same fluid, same everything.

She is otherwise perfectly normal. She’s eating, drinking, and keeping up with the flock. Poop is normal. Comb and wattles look healthy.

I’m leaving her alone for now. I guess I’ve accomplished the goal of getting fluid out of her body, even if it’s slow. There’s still a lot in there.

I’m so sorry to hear about your hen going through this. How is she acting? Lethargic at all? Does she still lay?

I assume you tried to drain her belly bc it is distended and perhaps caused her trouble breathing? It’s quite possible what is causing these issues is actually lash material or pus built up in the abdomen and not fluid and that’s why you weren’t able to draw much fluid out.

The fact that she is a high production breed means she likely has something reproductive going on. It could be an infection or cancer. Sometimes they’ll also start to “misfire” and deposit egg material into the abdomen. Overtime that material builds up and can become a source of infection.

To help her, make her as comfortable as possible first off. Second, you can try antibiotics in hope that it is an infection in her abdomen Or reproductive organs causing the issues. The antibiotic likely won’t completely solve the problem, however. This is because by the time we notice the symptoms and start to treat, the infection is usually too far along. It may turn her around and make her more comfortable, and it may even buy her more time. If you have an antibiotic handy, let us know what it is and we can help you with dosage. Enrofloxacin is often the recommended one for reproductive infections.

I’m really sorry she is going through this. I know how tough it is to watch them suffer through these types of issues.

 

[kaydeetee86]

I’m so sorry to hear about your hen going through this. How is she acting? Lethargic at all? Does she still lay?

I assume you tried to drain her belly bc it is distended and perhaps caused her trouble breathing? It’s quite possible what is causing these issues is actually lash material or pus built up in the abdomen and not fluid and that’s why you weren’t able to draw much fluid out.

The fact that she is a high production breed means she likely has something reproductive going on. It could be an infection or cancer. Sometimes they’ll also start to “misfire” and deposit egg material into the abdomen. Overtime that material builds up and can become a source of infection.

To help her, make her as comfortable as possible first off. Second, you can try antibiotics in hope that it is an infection in her abdomen Or reproductive organs causing the issues. The antibiotic likely won’t completely solve the problem, however. This is because by the time we notice the symptoms and start to treat, the infection is usually too far along. It may turn her around and make her more comfortable, and it may even buy her more time. If you have an antibiotic handy, let us know what it is and we can help you with dosage. Enrofloxacin is often the recommended one for reproductive infections.

I’m really sorry she is going through this. I know how tough it is to watch them suffer through these types of issues.

Thank you for your help. I think I have enrofloxacin. I can order more if I don’t. I know I have Liquamycin.

The fluid kept dripping for a couple of hours. It was the same clear yellow that I’ve seen before with ascites. I think her abdomen has gone down a little, but there is still fluid in there. I guess that would make sense if there’s more going on.

I don’t know for sure when her last egg was. She has slowed down a lot. Right now all of my five year olds have started molting and they aren’t laying. (I also have an egg eater in that flock, and this particular hen’s eggs are her favorite.)

She’s having trouble jumping, but she’s acting mostly normal otherwise. She has been able to run fast enough to catch a couple bugs.

I’ll never buy a high production breed again. We didn’t know when we first started getting chickens. Two of the other Comets passed away due to reproductive issues, too. I’m amazed she’s lived to 5, but I’m still not ready to lose her.

 

[alinas2010]

I hope the bit of draining has made her more comfortable. I’m sorry she is going through this. I’ve been there, it is tough to watch them suffer through reproductive issues. 5 is great for a production breed, still doesn’t make it fair, though, I know. Poor girl.

I said the same thing about not having production breeds again. However, I thought to myself, does it make a difference if I can give a chicken a good home? Good homes are tougher to come by for production breeds. While it sucks for us to go through and it’s horrible they have to go through this, I’d adopt them all the same, now. Especially since I know how to better accommodate and help them.

My heart goes out to you and her. I hope an antibiotic will make her more comfortable.