Four-year old Brahma hen has heavy belly fat - a problem?

[azygous]

My Light Brahma Nancy is getting so fat that she barely moves. The fat isn't on her breast, though, but in the area farther back between her legs. She's been lethargic for quite some time. Could this be fatty liver? I admit I don't know that much about chicken anatomy.

Does this mean she's fading away?

 

[Lothiriel]

Could be she's an internal layer. Has she been laying eggs at all lately? Is her abdomen hard or soft? I had SLW who had become an internal layer and her abdomen swelled up huge and got hard. She'd spend her days sitting near the coop sleeping and it got to the point where she could barely move. She had to be put down.

Or possibly ascites -- a buildup of body fluids in the abdominal cavity. I don't know much more than that, so if you want you should do a search for it.

Just this month I had a bird with sour crop and she didn't eat much during that time, and while recovering her abdomen got swollen and soft. She's better now, and I'm not sure what caused it.

 

[azygous]

Ascites. Thanks for the lead. I looked it up. It sounds like that could be what ails Nancy.

Congestive heart failure could be her problem, causing water retention. But her comb is red so she's getting enough oxygen. I'm more inclined to think it's her liver. She also has a yellow staining on the feathers around her vent, but her feces aren't watery.

Nancy hasn't laid in over a year. If she had an internal laying problem, it would have killed her by this time. Her breast bone is protruding, so she's losing weight. The "fat" is probably water. What herbs could I give her that could help with the water retention?