Firm Swollen Abdomen

[Fricasee]

My easter egger, Helga. She is a year old. Has a swollen abdomen. I came home from work last Wednesday to find one of my hens dead in the yard with no injury and had not been showing any signs of illness. I decided to check everyone out to see if something was going on with the rest of them when I noticed Helga hunkered down with a drooping tail. When I picked her up I immediately noticed her swollen belly. It is between her vent and her legs. I took her inside and bathed her and let her sleep indoors overnight. During the bath I did probe her to check for an egg and I didn't think I felt anything but it was the first time I had done this. I'm new at chicken keeping. Anyway, she was pooping fine, and in the morning there was a thin shelled egg in her box.

The swelling seemed squishy when I first noticed it but now it feels to me like it has firmed up. She is waddling where she used to be quite quick. I went ahead and made an appointment with my vet for a couple days from now.

Any thoughts on what this could be? and what if anything I can do to help her out until I can get her to her vet appointment on Wednesday? My inexperience and google seems to indicate ascites but why? Is it normal for such a young hen to get this ill?

 

[sylviethecochin]

Ascites sounds likely to me as well.

I've only ever found it in production hens, though many videos online show it in other types. I've never seen it in a Leghorn, but I have seen it in one ISA (Out of the five we owned—she was nearly two years old) and one Production Red (out of twenty-three—she was four.)

It's usually caused by kidney or liver damage, and with the right treatment, it's pretty survivable. Basically, the chickens don't have lungs built like we do, and the pressure that the fluid buildup exerts on their lungs (and other organs) can kill them. It's home-treatable, using a large-gauge syringe needle to pierce the chicken and let the fluid out. There are a lot of videos on youtube, if you're interested.

I also found a post where a veterinarian inserted a shunt into the hen's side, but I don't know whether that's common practice. I've read somewhere that a vitamin C supplement can help.

Another possible cause could be egg-yolk peritonitis, which is an inflammation of the coelom. I did have a hen with that (according to my non-professional, home autopsy, anyway.) She was also an ISA. I have prejudice against that particular production bird. It's treatable with antibiotics, but I think it was better for her that we just put her out of her misery.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi
I'm so sorry that you lost a hen suddenly and that Helga is also having problems. I am reading a lot of posts about Fatty Liver Haemorrhagic Syndrome recently and wonder if this may be something to consider. It can cause sudden death if the liver ruptures or ascites if the liver has less severe damage and only suffers minor leakage. This disease has a number of causes including breed and genetics but it is often linked to a dietary imbalance usually due to too much carbohydrate intake. The extra carbs result in heavy fatty deposits being laid down in the abdomen but also the internal organs and in particular the liver, where the structure becomes weak and prone to rupture. Lack of sufficient exercise perhaps due to poor weather in the winter can add to the problem and many people erroneously believing that corn is good for them and keeps them warmer.
There have been a number or posts recently where a necropsy identified this as the cause of death and the flock was fed a grain mix feed like Scratch and Peck rather than a homogenised pellet or crumble. The problem with these grain feeds is that they allow the hens to pick out individual components of the feed and often the higher carb grains are preferred over the pulses and lentils which provide more protein. The hens often bill out the feed onto the ground in order to find their favourite bits and the lentils and pulses and fines, which contain the important micro nutrients like minerals and vitamins and essential amino acids, are wasted or attract rodents.
Even if you use a pellet or crumble feed, a dietary imbalance can occur if you feed too many treats like corn or scratch or bread etc, A dietary imbalance can also lead to soft shelled eggs as you have seen with Helga and even prolapse, so maintaining an appropriate and balanced diet is very important for chickens. Their egg production is so intensive due to selective breeding over the centuries that they are like top level athletes in that their bodies are working at maximum capacity, which makes diet incredibly important.

I hope the above is of some use to you. It may not be appropriate, and your flock issues may not be related to diet but it is always beneficial to assess what you are feeding them and in particular, the amount of treats you are giving them as it is very easy to gradually become more generous without realising it. I did a necropsy on a bird that ruptured and died with ascites and I was truly horrified at the amount of thick yellow fat in her abdomen and encasing all her organs. Her liver was like mush and just fell apart when you handled it.... I have a clear mental image of that fat that I see each time I reach for the scratch and causes me to be very disciplined about rationing it.

 

[Fricasee]

I fear I have been too liberal with treats. Namely bread that I have purchased from the day old section at the grocery store. From what you have described I think this is the likely reason she is sick. Have I given her(and perhaps others) a death sentence?

Their daily ration is layer pellet that I buy at the feed store. I empty and freshen their water everyday. They have a very large run for exercise and here in SW Colorado we had an unusually mild winter with almost no snow at all.

 

[rebrascora]

The bread may well be the problem if you have been feeding it on a regular basis. I know they love it because I give my flock the odd stale slice very occasionally, but it is not good for them and they will eat it in preference to their layer feed, so the more bread you feed the less layer pellets which contain a balance of all the nutrients they need, will be ingested. Some birds will cope with a lot of carbohydrates better than others..... more flighty birds like leghorns are able to burn them off better than larger, more docile birds like Sussex or Orpingtons or Brahmas.
The important thing is to stop feeding them bread now altogether and only give fruit and veg as treats and perhaps a little meat every now and then.... some raw liver, an egg or a bit of fish perhaps. A vitamin B complex supplement might help to support the liver on any that may have suffered liver damage and will not do any harm to those that don't, since you have no way of knowing. It can be put in their water once a week or you could just give them a broad spectrum poultry supplement like Poultry Cell or Nutri Drench once or twice a week to give them a boost.
Good luck with your remaining flock and I hope Helga improves with a more balanced diet. You might want to supplement her directly with a calcium supplement. I'm told you can crush a calcium tablet up and mix it with a little peanut butter to get them to eat it. If Helga starts suffering respiratory distress, you might be able to drain some fluid from her abdomen to give her some relief but it is not without risk, so better not to do it unless she is struggling with her breathing.
It will take weeks if not months to see a significant improvement after putting them on a diet.... like us, losing fat is not easy or immediate. Fingers crossed no more will suffer issues like this.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[Fricasee]

Barbara, thank you. This is so helpful. I just feel awful that I have done this to them. I raised them all from chicks. They are my pets. Helga would sleep on her back in my hand when she was a baby. I feel so stupid and guilty.

Poor Helga, she is just so swollen. She does not look like she feels well at all. I have an appointment at the vet tomorrow morning to have her examined. They called me this morning and told me they should be able to tell if it is a tumor or if it is fluid. If it's fluid I will ask the doctor to drain it for us. Hopefully I can manage to do it myself after that if she survives.

Last night at bedtime for them I checked all the upstairs girls (I have a two story coop) and I felt a swollen (but smaller than Helga's) abdomen on one of the other hens. Everyone else seems to be normal and not swollen of the upstairs hens. Tonight I will check all the downstairs hens. They are harder to get at because it's lower headroom and they roost on shelves instead of bars.

They are definitely completely off bread now. I won't be doing that anymore but I fear it is too late.

 

[rebrascora]

Don't beat yourself up! None of us start anything with absolute knowledge. We are all on the learning curve and the majority of us will have sadly made similar fatal mistakes. The best we can do is learn and move on and perhaps through the wonder of the www, others will read this and learn from your mistake as I hope people have from mine.
I will be keeping my fingers crossed that they can drain Helga and perhaps with supportive care she will not need it doing a second time and the other one that is a bit swollen will perhaps go down with their new diet. Ask is you can watch the draining procedure so that you have an idea of how to do it should you need to. Will you keep us posted on how it goes tomorrow please?

 

[Fricasee]

I sure will.

 

[Fricasee]

Don't beat yourself up! None of us start anything with absolute knowledge. We are all on the learning curve and the majority of us will have sadly made similar fatal mistakes. The best we can do is learn and move on and perhaps through the wonder of the www, others will read this and learn from your mistake as I hope people have from mine.
I will be keeping my fingers crossed that they can drain Helga and perhaps with supportive care she will not need it doing a second time and the other one that is a bit swollen will perhaps go down with their new diet. Ask is you can watch the draining procedure so that you have an idea of how to do it should you need to. Will you keep us posted on how it goes tomorrow please?

Well, it is not good news.

The vet did an ultrasound. You could clearly see the fluid in there. There is so much that he could not get a look at her organs. I asked him about fatty liver and the treating of bread that I did and he said this is not caused by a dietary issue. That she either has egg yolk peritonitis or cancer or etc. He said he did not want to drain the fluid because it could cause an infection and then she would die of sepsis. The fluid in her abdomen is an ideal thing for the infection to grow in. Also the fluid would probably come back within a matter of days. As an added bonus we discovered that she has lice. That means I will be treating 19 chickens for lice, I have two other hens with fluid in the abdomens that I know of, and some ongoing respiratory issues that he believes is environmental. He said that when Helga stops eating then we should put her down and that time will probably be within a month.

I am moving in a couple of weeks. I have a better set up for the chickens with a large outbuilding with high ceilings so it will not be a closed in as the small coop I have now. I plan to use clean pea gravel for the floor so I can scoop it and wash it to clean the coop. The straw or wood chips I have used I think are causing too much dust and it may be why they are having the respiratory issues.

I don't know that I totally believe that this could not be fatty liver since I have two other hens with the same thing. All I know is that I will not ever treat them with bread again.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm so sorry that the vet did not feel it was worth risking draining her. There certainly are risks but she is most likely going to die anyway. The draining could give her significantly improved quality of life for a week or two, but yes there is a risk of infection and also she could go into shock due to sudden loss or pressure when the fluid is removed, but she might also feel near normal for a couple of weeks.

The lice are to be expected. She is probably not feeling well enough to dustbath and preen as much as she needs to, to keep herself free of them. I would not necessarily assume the whole flock and coop needs treating, as long as they have access to dust bathing facilities, but you can always check them. In my opinion, it is unreasonable to expect to completely eliminate lice, mites, worms, coccidia etc. Chickens are outdoor creatures and therefore exposed to these things. Under normal circumstances a healthy hen should be able to manage the parasitic load and keep it low but when their immune system is low or they are sick, these pests often capitalise on their weakness.
I wish you well with your house move and hope you and the rest of your flock are happy in your new home.