HELP! Hen swollen as big as a turkey.

[speckledhen]

In the case of internal laying/egg peritonitis, the vet would have limited benefit, even if he knew what he was doing. The only real cure for this is a hysterectomy. You or the vet can drain the hen, but the fluid will rebuild sooner or later. It's a vicious cycle.

 

[chicknbuns]

Quote:
To me chickens are not worth the money to be taken to a vet. A full grown laying hen only costs about $10-12 and a vet visit alone will cost around $30, not to mention in medicines. Chcikens are livestock, not pets. I have about 30 chickens at this moment and would never consider taking them to the vet. We don't even take our cats and dogs to the vet- only the cows go if there is something terribly wrong-but even then we try to self medicate first before loading them up.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i'm sorry about your hen, gsim. i don't have personal experience, but from what i've read, it sounds like it could be internal laying. Have you noticed if she has laid lately? If it is internal laying, a laxative wouldn't do any good. Do you have a vet nearby that treats chickens? It might be worth a consult to see what they think. Perhaps it's something treatable? In any case, i hope things work out for your girl.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

I am dealing with the same thing right now with my Black Sex Link. She is about 11 months old. I have had her in the house since yesterday and given her a nice long soak and blow dry with gentle massage yesterday and today. Her abdomen is as big as a large orange.

 

[gsim]

According to Speckledhen, there is no cure for it. You can puncture and drain fluid via syringe, but you cannot get the egg and shell out. Tkhe fluid keeps building up, and they do not want to eat. Sooner or later it will putrify and maybe even break open inside of her. I have already dug a hole in the woods, but am still hoping for a miracle, that the egg would pass. Speckled hen says this is common enough with hens bred to be layers as longevity is not a goal of the breeding process. I suspect it is to be expected if one does this long enough. Just like having a permanently lame chicken. Now I have had both. My lamie has a good life tho, and is never bullied by the others.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

I read the link from Speckledhen, thanks. I am going to wait and see what happens the next couple of days. She is the top hen in the coop. I know I will never get another sex link chicken. Good luck with your hen

 

[BarefootMom]

Quote:
If I paid good money for the dog-then yes I would take it to the vet. But usually dogs and cats live long healthy lives without going to the vet. My cat is 14 years old and has never been to the vet in his entire life. He has been sick, yes, but we treated him. And yes they are a member of the family, but if I think it is going to die- let it be. it is a way of life. I would hope people would feel the same way about me. If I am so sick that I have to take a ton of medicines to live then just cut the cord.

 

[PotterWatch]

A friend brought a hen of hers to me last year when I was processing the last of meaties. The hen was big and swollen just like you described. When you picked her up, it was like picking up a heavy water balloon. She definitely had ascites as we started to open her up to make sure what had made her so ill and fluid just gushed out. If it were my hen, I would just do away with her.

As far as taking a chicken to a vet. There aren't even any vets around here that will see a chicken, let alone would I spend the kind of money needed to do so. My chickens are livestock, not pets, so paying more for a vet visit than the animal is worth doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Louise's Country Closet]

I wouldn't take a chicken to a vet either, though I would my cats and dogs.. heck, I even took in one of my pet rats once

As far as your hen, I would do as much as I could to help her from all the awesome information you've gotten, but if she's miserable and this is just going to happen again, I think it would be easier on the poor girl to cull her

It's a sad fact of owning chickens.

 

[chicken grandma]

My hen was full of fluid and I took her to the vet. The vet drained her abdomen and gave her Baytril antibiotic for 7 days and my hen is still alive 20 month later. It was worth it for me!