Her last eggs were over a month ago. Sporadic over winter. No trouble breathing. Does waddle. Her eating is just ok. Seems to be less than yeaterday. No unusual poop. Before I saw this I thought maybe cocciciodis so treated all 4 but that’s probably off base.
Trying to find a vet but no luck so far.
She most likely has a reproduction issue, which can cause ascites. The bloating in her abdomen is the ascites. It can't really be treated unless caught early, and still, even if caught early it may not be able to be treated.
Thank you. Found a vet. Taking her now. I appreciate you responding
thank you. That is very informative and sounds like what is happening here. I am hoping for good results. Don’t tell the other chickens but she is my favoriteThis sounds similar to what I’ve gone through with my Rhode Island Red named Cherry recently. Her abdomen and rear swelled up suddenly about six months ago. She seemed to be having a hard time laying, so I thought maybe egg bound. Tried epsom salt baths and probing and everything, no luck. Of course flared up over a weekend. Beginning of the next week I got her into the vet and learned it was egg yolk peritonitis. Essentially the eggs weren’t moving through her oviduct correctly, due to getting older, genetics, and inflammation. So the eggs drop inside in error, causing them to swell, can cause infection, and also fluid to build up as the body thinks the egg yolks are a foreign body. If not drained the fluid can put pressure on internal organs and cause lack of oxygen. My girls comb and waddles showed this with slight purple sections, not bright red like usual. Vet was able to drain and provide anti-inflammatory to help with oviduct so that perhaps she could pass eggs normally and also provided a course of antibiotics. She got much better for quite some time, especially over the winter when her body was taking a natural break. It’s been flaring up again in the past few weeks and we actually just got home from a vet visit for another fluid drain today. All the best to you and your girl.
Glad to help! Let us know how it went when you get back.
Went to the vet. So yes she certainly has a reproduction issue- likely EPY. As it was advanced we elected to have her euthanized rather than do all sorts of procedures and interventions. Could not have ever let her suffer more with such a bad prognosis. Thanks for the replies and advice. I learned a lot and know better the signs to look for in the rest of my girls.This sounds similar to what I’ve gone through with my Rhode Island Red named Cherry recently. Her abdomen and rear swelled up suddenly about six months ago. She seemed to be having a hard time laying, so I thought maybe egg bound. Tried epsom salt baths and probing and everything, no luck. Of course flared up over a weekend. Beginning of the next week I got her into the vet and learned it was egg yolk peritonitis. Essentially the eggs weren’t moving through her oviduct correctly, due to getting older, genetics, and inflammation. So the eggs drop inside in error, causing them to swell, can cause infection, and also fluid to build up as the body thinks the egg yolks are a foreign body. If not drained the fluid can put pressure on internal organs and cause lack of oxygen. My girls comb and waddles showed this with slight purple sections, not bright red like usual. Vet was able to drain and provide anti-inflammatory to help with oviduct so that perhaps she could pass eggs normally and also provided a course of antibiotics. She got much better for quite some time, especially over the winter when her body was taking a natural break. It’s been flaring up again in the past few weeks and we actually just got home from a vet visit for another fluid drain today. All the best to you and your girl.
So sorry for your loss, it sounds like she was very loved and much compassion you showed her in taking care of what was best for her, all the best.
