Drained ascites fluid and now in respiratory distress

[casportpony]

I hope that works

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

I hope that works

No sound on this computer... Is she still gurgling?

-Kathy

 

[dana0710]

I also emailed it Kathy. Thank you!

 

[casportpony]

I also emailed it Kathy. Thank you!

I gotta run out and feed my horses, so I'm gonna tag @Eggcessive , @TwoCrows , @speckledhen

 

[dana0710]

Thank you!

 

[dana0710]

She does have raspy breathing spells and kind of gurgles and chokes and then she's fine for a few minutes....and then repeat. Her com is very droopy and pretty purple tinted.

She had a spell a few months ago where we though she was egg bound and did the whole warm bath, check around vent etc and never found an egg. She hasn't layed since, but has been doing well until the last few days.

She sounded a little raspy breathing when we brought her in but didn't start the burg ling and choking until right after we removed the fluid.

 

[dana0710]

And it's obvious that I'm terrible as typing on this phone....

 

[dana0710]

She's still on the roost, but I checked on her and she seems to be doing better for now. We went ahead and started her on PEn G just in case.

 

[TwoCrows]

We just drained our 3 year old australorp for ascites. We got 3 12cc syringes full of fluid and stopped. Now she seems to be having trouble breathing and is making gurgling choking sounds. What do I do????

@dana0710

This happens when you drain too much out and too fast. They can actually go into cardiac arrest. This gurgling and gasping for air is her going into cardiac arrest.

If you have a hen with a weak heart, as it sounds like this hen you have does, I have found that it is far easier on the hen if you only suck out 2 or 3 ml in several spots on the abdomen and let them drip the rest out. You will find that one side of the abdomen tends to have more fluid in it, or at least that you can access. I will suck out a couple of ml in up to 6 places and then stop. And I always stop if they start to go into cardiac arrest. Even though you only drew out maybe 10 total ml, all these poke holes are going to drain out within the next 24 hours and the bird will drip themselves dry. I will use the same needle, but use an alcohol wipe on the skin before each poke and then wipe the needle after each poke. Make sure to use a 20 or an 18 gauge. I have used a 20 with great success, although the 18 will leave a bigger hole for better drainage, but the 20 will also allow for great dripping afterwards. I try to get at least 6 holes going for the best dripping. Keep her someplace clean for the next 24 hours so she doesn't get dirt in these poke holes.

And again, this is the process I use on a bird with a heart condition. Your girl may have a heart condition as well judging from the gasping episode. You need to go easier with birds in this condition. Trying to remove too much fluid so quickly can stop a bad heart.

Good luck with her! Great job on the draining however!! I was horribly nervous the first time I did it. LOL It gets a lot easier each time you do it.

 

[speckledhen]

Yeah, I've seen this. Sometimes, when there is fluid in the system, all in the abdomen, around the other organs, including the heart, I believe their is also fluid in the lungs as well. Sadly, this draining cycle is not going to fix your sweet hen. And if she chokes when you try, she could just aspirate liquid and die in your arms anyway. I have never seen a hen who is in that shape come back from it. This is a very sad time and I've seen them die in front of me, even just from holding them when they are full of nasty fluid. As Two Crows said, she is probably in heart failure. I'm very sorry. When they get to be like this, I don't drain them. I make them comfortable and let nature take its course.