Hard abdomen behind the legs, under the vent?

[wordgirl]

I'm selling my last few hens to a friend this afternoon (

but I'm getting more babies next spring, Lord-willing) and I have one hen who recently started molting. I felt her abdomen and it feels hard, not soft like most of the hens'. It almost like there's a lump under her vent. Or like a tensed muscle. I've felt it there a couple of times, so I don't think it's an egg. One other hen seems to have the same thing.

I'm guessing it's nothing - is that what a non-laying hen feels like? But I'd feel bad if there was something wrong when I'm giving them to my friend.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Is it distended? Could it be peritonitis? That's the first thing that comes to mind after an egg.

 

[wordgirl]

It is, kind of. What's peritonitis?

 

[PunkinPeep]

Sometimes, the chicken can have a problem with egg yolks in that end up staying inside (i'm not exactly sure how this works), and this can cause an infection. I'm not very good at describing this, so here's a link.

http://www.avianweb.com/eggyolkperitonitis.html

 

[wordgirl]

Thank you for the link, and I've browsed over BYC for info as well....

I haven't noticed her acting weird at all, just that bump. Her abdomen's not swollen - just that hard bump.

Is that hopeful?

 

[mom'sfolly]

Sometimes, a chicken's reproductive system gets messed up. Eggs, instead of coming out the backside, slip into the abdomen of the chicken. Over time this causes an infection call peritonitis. The egg doesn't belong in the abdomen, and egg provides a wonderfully rich media for the bacteria to grow on. I don't know if this is what has happened to your bird, but the symtoms sound right.

She could also be egg bound, simply have an egg stuck. Particularly fat birds are more prone to it, as are some of the best layers. Do a search and you'll find lots of threads on how to deal with it.

 

[wordgirl]

It didn't seem hard enough to be an egg, though I'll try to feel it again when I shut them up tonight. And I think one of our other hens has something of the same thing. ??? But if it's anything related to laying, either one or the other laid an egg on Friday because I had five eggs and only six hens. That happened a few days ago, as well.

Edited to clarify.