Does greenish tinged coelom fluid mean infection?

[micstrachan]

The green fluid could mean that there is gallbladder involvement, blocked bile duct or gall stone.

Thank you, Kim.

 

[micstrachan]

Poor girl. I hope she hangs on.


If she does pass, it wouldn't be the draining that caused it. It would be the fault of whatever underlying disease she has.

Thank you. Poor thing. I’ve had birds drip for a couple after draining by avian vet, but fourteen hours??? I’m also concerned about the possibility of bacteria having a path into her coelom.

 

[azygous]

I've had terrible luck draining chickens with ascites. Infection from the needle killed the first one, and the second one died of heart failure or shock, I believe was from dehydration.

Give Lucky a big hit of electrolytes with added sugar as a precaution. If she has an infection from the draining, the tissue will be bright red where the puncture was.

 

[micstrachan]

I've had terrible luck draining chickens with ascites. Infection from the needle killed the first one, and the second one died of heart failure or shock, I believe was from dehydration.

Give Lucky a big hit of electrolytes with added sugar as a precaution. If she has an infection from the draining, the tissue will be bright red where the puncture was.

Thank you!!!

 

[micstrachan]

I just peeked in a ventilation hole, and Cashew is still on the same roost where I left her last night. She was alert enough to look over me. I think she’s OK. I usually walk the dog before I let them out. I think it’s OK if I leave them there for a bit. And she should be warmer just sitting there in the coop with her friends.

Meanwhile, I have clear generic Pedialyte warming up while I walk the dog.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Thank you. Poor thing. I’ve had birds drip for a couple after draining by avian vet, but fourteen hours??? I’m also concerned about the possibility of bacteria having a path into her coelom.

Is there a foul odor to the drainage? A faint semi sweet odor to fluid is normal effusion. Foul odor (rot) will be notable.
If abdomen is not taunt with fluid then there is an effusion that is persistent, from whatever cause. Ascites is a type of effusion, usually from liver but the heart and or lungs can be primary cause, too. You can rule this out if breathing is easy. Is she pale? Can you offer a protein like egg yoke with the electrolytes? My thought is higher protein may help “pull” lymph back into vascular (lymphatic) system. I’m basing this theory on human medicine, mind you, I am no avian vet.
Thoughts from the experts?

 

[micstrachan]

Thank you. No, I did not notice a foul odor. The liquid was clear, but a little darker than straw and had a bit of a green tinge to it. In real life it looked a little greener than the photo I posted She is not pale and breathing seems OK.

She’s not doing great. I also discovered this morning she has a slow crop. I did not tube fluids because of the crop situation. It feels more spongy than doughy. A couple of times I gently massaged it, and both times afterward she went and drank water. I will keep doing this throughout the day.

Sadly, I do think her days are numbered. I will try to make sure she has some somewhat enjoyable days, if possible. Once it warms up as a bit more, I’ll let them free range as much as possible today (supervised with me and the dog). I hope she takes advantage of the sun and basks in it for a bit.

 

[micstrachan]

It’s a bit of a rough day for Lucky. Ruby used to have really hard days after being drained. I can’t tell how much of it is from being drained, and how much of it is from whatever condition is causing the ascites and slow crop to begin with.

 

[micstrachan]

Lucky's body language is better today. Not awesome, but improved. Her voice is still off and her crop is still quite full. Today it feels more doughy. Therefore, I gave it a good pummeling, tubed 15cc of warm Pedialyte, and massaged it some more. She really wanted back out with her friends, so I let her out as soon as I saw her poop. Phew! Hopefully the poop means she doesn’t have a blockage. I will continue working on her crop throughout today and tomorrow. Then I’m back to work, and on Wednesday late afternoon, leave for an overnight work trip and won’t be back till Friday night. I’m hoping between the draining and crop help, I’m helping her feel better before I’m out of town.

 

[micstrachan]

@azygous is there anything else you think I should or could be doing for Lucky? Today I massaged her crop several times. She tolerated it well and maybe even liked it. I also tubed 15mL warm pedialyte three times today. Lucky was better than yesterday. She’s moving around a bit better and pooped in the morning. The red in her comb is a cooler color than I would like, but it’s not really bluish. Margo had a similar color weeks and days before she died. She had an infection gone septic. I don’t want to start Lucky on antibiotics right now, because I won’t be able to finish the course (work trip Wednesday through Friday.)

Lucky ate today, but I just checked under her roost and she does not seem to be pooping more. Maybe molasses flush tomorrow? Since her crop is so full, I am only tubing 15mL at a time to (hopefully) prevent aspiration. How would that work with molasses flush?

Here she was today. She looks pretty good in the video, but I know my girl and she still feels lousy and her crop is very slow. Hopefully not in full crop stasis.