HELP! 1hen not eating, seems unwell, other has HUGE red butt/abdomen:(

[speckledhen]

If the abdomen is filling with fluid/infection/egg yolk gunk, most likely, her lungs will fill with fluid as well and her organs will shut down before the skin would actually split, if that's what you're asking. You can make her more comfortable by draining her or getting her to a vet to drain her.

 

[lizzie201296]

I hope these work.... She's looking like she's panting - her beak's open and the swelling thing is pulsating... haven't seen her do this (it's not particularly hot).
I also found that egg in the roosting area - not in the nest box but the bit below the perch inside - which is confusing. Gerty (the one with the possible internal laying) hasn't been laying, and Daisy, our other one, has been laying. There was a normal egg aswel which I assume is Daisy's... but who's is the smashed egg then? It could of course be from yesterday because we got back from holiday last night.... but our neighbour was looking after them and checks it all when he puts them to bed and didn't mention seeing it?

L

 

[speckledhen]

Hard to say from the photo, but there may be something in there that shouldn't be, maybe fluid or infection and yolk. What you can do, if you want, is try a round of antibiotics, but it can't be something useless like Terramycin. It would have to be penicillin injections, which are easier than you think. Most feed stores carry penicillin procaine in bottles in their fridge and the syringes and needles. I use a 22 gauge needle, though sometimes it's easier to get the pen through a 20 gauge (bigger reaction from the bird because the needle is larger, though). You give 1/2 cc in the breast muscle normally, but for this, I give 3/4 cc-1cc since it's hard to fix, and do it for 3-4 days in a row. Then, you hope it kicks out any infection. It's really a shot in the dark and may not fix the problem other than temporarily. It did keep one of my hens going for a year, by treating each recurrence, but the last time, it didn't work and she eventually died.

 

[lizzie201296]

Sorry the pictures aren't that good - she kept walking around!
I was thinking of taking her to the vets...when we first got her she had worms and we took her to our vets, they weren't too sure on what to do, and gave her cattle worming drops but in a small dosage. It worked, but it seems that the vets may not be too good on sussing this one out...
I am more worried now than I was before, because now she's started the panting.... I don't want her to be in pain, but if we put her down I will always be thinking maybe she wasn't that ill and would've got better with the right treatment.....but I'd rather put her down than have her die slowly and painfully...
Do you think a warm bath may be ok, even if it doesn't cure it, it might clear her up a bit? I really am at a loss. Apparently internal layers can be perfectly fine for their whole life, it's only when it gets infected and sceptic that it is damaging. I'm about to take them up some yoghurt, so I'll have another look at her. I'll have a look for some antibiotics, but I'm from UK, not sure about you, so I don't think penicillin will be as readily available? Never seen it in our store, but then again I might've just not looked!
Is there anything I can give her in the mean time that will work as a kind of antibiotic? Obviously it won't be as effective as penicillin, but anything like apple cider vinegar which might help a bit?
Thanks for all your help by the way!! Much appreciated
L

 

[speckledhen]

Lizzie, there is nothing you can give her to actually cure her forever if she's an internal layer, I'm sorry. You can certainly try a weak antibiotic, but I doubt it will do much for her, if anything. I didn't realize you were in the UK and I don't know what you have available there. Since internal laying often deposits egg gunk into the abdomen, a warm bath won't help that. If you don't have an avian vet to diagnose the exact issue, I'm not sure there is much you can really do for her. She appears to be a red sex link type layer, and those are very prone to this type malfunction. I'm so sorry I can't be more definitive. I know how helpless you feel because I've been there so many times myself.

 

[lizzie201296]

I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on her - at the moment she doesn't look in pain, and as long as she's eating and moving around ok.... but we'll have to make that horrible decision when she starts to go down hill

But it'll be for the best - Id rather she didn't have to suffer the last stages which I've read can be really bad for them...
Do you think she'll be in pain now? She doesn't look it and she appears perfectly happy, but you can never tell!
Thanks for all your help. She is a hybrid - we got hybrids because apparently they are more hardy and less likely to get sick, but these things happen I suppose.
L

 

[speckledhen]

Honestly, I think hybrids may be less hardy. They certainly don't lay as long as regular breeds, for the most part. They are much more prone to reproductive malfunctions like this.

It's hard to know if a chicken is in pain. They hide their pain quite well, which is why we sometimes don't know there is an issue until it is far advanced.

 

[ames25]

I know this is much to late of a response to help the original problem but it may help someone who comes later. Garlic is a natural antibiotic. It can be chopped and added to their water or added to chopped boiled eggs or even given straight.
Hope that helps someone.
Seana

 

[lizzie201296]

Just thought I'd update - Sadly, my dad had to despatch of Daisy today, she'd had 'turn' except this time it was a lot worse. We've come to the decision that it was a stroke, as the symptoms were exactly the same as when our dog had one, and I've read that elderly hens can suffer from these. While she didn't seem to be in any actual pain (as in, she hadn't physically hurt herself), we thought it was the best thing to do, as she couldn't get up at all this time, and it didn't seem fair for her to be like that. She was 4 though, so that is a pretty good age for a hybrid Never nice losing a pet though :'(
We do have a bit of an issue now in that we have one remaining chicken - will she be ok? My parents aren't very keen on getting any more - one of our dogs is getting very old now, and getting new chickens is just one more thing to worry about. Obviously though we'll still be keeping Gerty, but will she be ok by herself? :/
L