Does my chicken have a disease?

[Alexis St-Georges]

My chicken has been very slow for a month. She often lays down and stands still for some time and it’s clear she’s
very tired. She’s 2 years old (we had her in January 2023) and the rest of the 2 year old chickens are still fine and they still jump everywhere, run around, etc. so that’s why I was worried there was something wrong with her.

To clear off 2 common diseases we’ve had with a lot of the other chickens, she’s not egg bound since she still lays eggs (not regularly but she laid one the morning I’m writing this) and she doesn’t have maggots since we’ve checked her poop, gave her a bath (that’s why her feathers are looking weird in the picture) and there wasn’t any larvae’s. There also isnt any flies roaming around her.

What we’ve noticed after giving her a bath is that her belly and the area around her vent is pale and almost yellowish. It also seems like it’s swollen. She also looks like she’s breathing very heavily. I made some research and what it looks like most to me is water belly but I’m not sure, hence why I’m making this post.

Any advice helps, thank you.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is possible that she has internal laying or water belly, or both. It can be hard to diagnose those things sometimes until after death if we lose them. What color are her droppings? Does she have any yellow urates in the dropping? Pictures are helpful. It can be common for them to have messy areas where droppings don’t clear the vent. In hot weather flies can lay eggs in the area, causing fly strike, so it is good to keep them cleaned off. Has she been eating and drinking? I have had chickens with enlarged bellies, and who turned out later to be laying internally. Many also had water belly. I don’t normally drain water belly unless they are having labored breathing, to help them breathe better. Water belly and the conditions that cause it are eventually fatal. Those include cancer, fatty liver disease, egg yolk peritonitis, and heart failure, especially in meat chickens. Draining is not without risk of infection, and shock or even death rarely. It can confirm water belly if you get yellow fluid back. It is done with an 18 gauge needle after disinfecting the skin. You can use a large syringe to withdraw fluid or let is drip. I again usually don’t drain mine.

 

[Alexis St-Georges]

It is possible that she has internal laying or water belly, or both. It can be hard to diagnose those things sometimes until after death if we lose them. What color are her droppings? Does she have any yellow urates in the dropping? Pictures are helpful. It can be common for them to have messy areas where droppings don’t clear the vent. In hot weather flies can lay eggs in the area, causing fly strike, so it is good to keep them cleaned off. Has she been eating and drinking? I have had chickens with enlarged bellies, and who turned out later to be laying internally. Many also had water belly. I don’t normally drain water belly unless they are having labored breathing, to help them breathe better. Water belly and the conditions that cause it are eventually fatal. Those include cancer, fatty liver disease, egg yolk peritonitis, and heart failure, especially in meat chickens. Draining is not without risk of infection, and shock or even death rarely. It can confirm water belly if you get yellow fluid back. It is done with an 18 gauge needle after disinfecting the skin. You can use a large syringe to withdraw fluid or let is drip. I again usually don’t drain mine.

Thank you for the reply.

Her droppings are pretty normal compared to the others (they are all healthy). Maybe a bit more liquid than usual but that never really worried me. She still eats and drinks and even joins the others when we’re giving them “treats” (bread, tomatoes, corn, etc.) but she’s definitely slower than usual. We make sure her vent is clean regularly and we’ve never noticed any maggots on her. However, about water belly, I have noticed she’s breathing heavily and also moving her tail up and down. I thought it was because of the hot weather (around 25-30C) but even on colder days (20C) she was still breathing heavily and was moving slowly. If she did have water belly and I would have to drain it however, I would prefer going to the vet since I am far from an expert and would rather not take risks.