Emergency: Chicken is throwing up and butt is swollen

[LuciWags]

hello,

I went out today to check on my chickens, and noticed one of them was acting lethargic and was not eating with the other girls. I picked her up and noticed the area around her vent was swollen. It’s all firm and reddish. I tipped her on her side and liquid came out of her mouth, including some food. I’ve read a couple of articles on here about what it could be, people have said to stick a syringe on her right side in front of her leg near her abdomen, but her vent is what’s swollen. In fact, her abdomen seems very skinny.
I really just want to do what’s best for her and I don’t want her to suffer. She’s currently sitting in my bathtub, and she seems to be in pain. PLEASE HELP!

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you take a picture of how her vent looks? Is the internal vent tissue outside as you would see with a prolapse, or is her vent bulging out like she may be trying to lay an egg? Sometimes if their crops are full of food and water, if you accidentally press on the crop, it may empty or the chicken may vomit. When they are tipped forward, crop contents also may come up. Check her crop first thing in the morning to see if it is empty as it normally should be. If not it could be a crop disorder. If you feel that she might be trying to pass an egg, you can insert a finger into her vent to feel for it. If you feel an egg, lubricate her vent with oil, and give her a 1/2 of a calcium tablet or Tums to help with passing the egg. I will check back in the morning.

 

[LuciWags]

Can you take a picture of how her vent looks? Is the internal vent tissue outside as you would see with a prolapse, or is her vent bulging out like she may be trying to lay an egg? Sometimes if their crops are full of food and water, if you accidentally press on the crop, it may empty or the chicken may vomit. When they are tipped forward, crop contents also may come up. Check her crop first thing in the morning to see if it is empty as it normally should be. If not it could be a crop disorder. If you feel that she might be trying to pass an egg, you can insert a finger into her vent to feel for it. If you feel an egg, lubricate her vent with oil, and give her a 1/2 of a calcium tablet or Tums to help with passing the egg. I will check back in the morning.

Thank you so much for responding! I’m not sure if she is egg bound. Liquid is coming out of her vent every time she breaths, and every now and then it looks like she’s trying to poop and then lots of yellowish white liquid comes out. The white arrow is where her vent is.

 

[jeepgirl13]

Oh no! Poor girl! I've never dealt with such a thing, but is it possible she got injured and had an egg break inside her? I've heard of that happening before, especially in egg bound hens, but I have no personal knowledge of it myself. I hope you can get it figured out! A round of antibiotics maybe necessary? I really hope someone can help you!

 

[corn flake]

All you can do is antibiotics, lots of liquids. My hen swelled up back there and I found out she was retaining liquids in her abdomen. She couldn't even walk. For my hen, there was no cure. It was constantly reoccurring. She didnt make it but, I felt bad because I wanted her to make thru. I prolonged the misery. I really hope shell be fine. Nutra drench should be available at the feed store. Good luck. Sorry to hear it

 

[J Hill]

I had to have one of my girls put down with the same symptoms. She had Egg yolk peritonitis (the presence of yolk material in the coelomic cavity) is a common cause of abdominal distension in birds. Yolk material by itself induces a mild inflammatory response and may be reabsorbed by the peritoneum. Because yolk is an excellent growth medium for bacteria, peritonitis may result from secondary bacterial infection. Localized to diffuse fibrinous peritonitis may result, and may lead to secondary ascites and organ inflammation or compromise in chronic cases.

The vet said it’s nothing that anyone had done, it just happens sometimes

 

[Shezadandy]

If you can get some latex or nitrile gloves, add some lubrication, and feel around, you'll have a better idea of what might be happening. I had one I thought was egg bound, but the poor girl had a mass of lash egg (the horrific remains of egg and bacteria) that she couldn't pass - the end stages of egg yolk peritonitis. Everything was so backed up she had trouble passing bowel contents and her hind parts felt like a big mass.

Chickens are so good at hiding discomfort, by the time they're acting sick/off, often there's not much to do. And as others have mentioned- with egg yolk peritonitis, there's nothing much you CAN do. Many have tried antibiotics- they might get better in the short run but it re-occurs - some do hormone implants to keep the hen from ovulating (and adding to the gunk in her abdomen).

The crop COULD be incidental to having just had a bunch of water and being pushed on as mentioned before - or it could be that things are shutting down and she's not moving food. If you can make her comfortable as possible tonight, check in the morning for poop and if her crop decreased in size.

 

[Eggcessive]

Compare her lower belly to the other hens to see if the belly is full and firm, spongy or there is fluid inside (ascites.) Feel inside the vent with 1 finger about an inch or two to check for an egg. My guess is that she may have ascites, which is a condition of yellow fluid accumulating in the abdomen due to liver disease. It is seen with cancer, egg yolk peritonitis, and heart failure. Fluid sometimes can be removed with a large 16 gauge needle to give temporary relief, but ascites does nit have a good outlook. Vet care might be the best to rule out cancer or infection.

 

[LuciWags]

If you can get some latex or nitrile gloves, add some lubrication, and feel around, you'll have a better idea of what might be happening. I had one I thought was egg bound, but the poor girl had a mass of lash egg (the horrific remains of egg and bacteria) that she couldn't pass - the end stages of egg yolk peritonitis. Everything was so backed up she had trouble passing bowel contents and her hind parts felt like a big mass.

Chickens are so good at hiding discomfort, by the time they're acting sick/off, often there's not much to do. And as others have mentioned- with egg yolk peritonitis, there's nothing much you CAN do. Many have tried antibiotics- they might get better in the short run but it re-occurs - some do hormone implants to keep the hen from ovulating (and adding to the gunk in her abdomen).

The crop COULD be incidental to having just had a bunch of water and being pushed on as mentioned before - or it could be that things are shutting down and she's not moving food. If you can make her comfortable as possible tonight, check in the morning for poop and if her crop decreased in size.

I checked on her this morning and she’s pooping which is a good thing because she wasn’t pooping yesterday. The area around her vent hasn’t seemed to have made any changes, but she’s able to stand now.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she eating or drinking today?