HELP hens abdomen swollen and not sure if she’s egg bound

[Lyndssxo08]

Help help help!

My poor hen has been walking around with her butt down to the ground, hasn’t laid an egg for a few days, and seems very weak. She’s always been a sweet and gentle hen, and I can tell she’s in a lot of pain. I have been giving her salt baths for the past 2 days and trying to put vegetable oil on her vent and her vent is so swollen it’s hard to get in there to feel if there is an egg or not. She’s pooping white and dark green liquid, but not much. when I feel on her abdomen it’s Hard on the left but the right you can tell there is fluid. I don’t want to lose her, but I’m not sure what else to do for her. Please help!

 

[b. evans]

Well it's been more than a month since you wrote this. I'm guessing she has died by now. I had a hen that developed an enlarged abdomen on both sides over a long period of time without acting at all different except no eggs. I gave her 2 kinds of antibiotic to no avail. I gave up taking chickens to vets long ago. Sorry no one had an answer for you.

 

[Petra Pancake]

Well it's been more than a month since you wrote this.

Huh? The original post is dated from "Yesterday at 3:18 PM" which would be June 14. Maybe you got that mixed up with the OP's joining date (May 03,2018)?

Anyway, OP, if warm baths, oil on the vent and gentle belly massages don't do the job, I think your only other options are a) taking her to a vet or b) let nature take its course. Feeling sorry for you, but I can't think of anything else...
I had a hen die last year from being egg bound. She never showed any symptoms before it happened, just was suddenly dead. I had a necropsy done and they found the egg that got stuck and had caused egg peritonitis.

 

[Lyndssxo08]

Yeah I don’t know - I was just confused as you about the last post LOL.


She’s still drinking and eating but doesn’t have much strength to get up. She will move a couple steps and lay down again. I might take her to the vet tonight because it seems like she really wants to live if she’s made it this long. I feel horrible for her.

Huh? The original post is dated from "Yesterday at 3:18 PM" which would be June 14. Maybe you got that mixed up with the OP's joining date (May 03,2018)?

Anyway, OP, if warm baths, oil on the vent and gentle belly massages don't do the job, I think your only other options are a) taking her to a vet or b) let nature take its course. Feeling sorry for you, but I can't think of anything else...
I had a hen die last year from being egg bound. She never showed any symptoms before it happened, just was suddenly dead. I had a necropsy done and they found the egg that got stuck and had caused egg peritonitis.

 

[Petra Pancake]

All the best, keep us updated. Did you get her to the vet? What did he say?

 

[aart]

Yeah I don’t know - I was just confused as you about the last post LOL.


She’s still drinking and eating but doesn’t have much strength to get up. She will move a couple steps and lay down again. I might take her to the vet tonight because it seems like she really wants to live if she’s made it this long. I feel horrible for her.

Just a confused newbie....tho I've misread dates before too.

Ascites(water belly) is not a good sign, means there's some kind of organ failure due to several possible issues. Have tried to nurse them thru it before, but death is usually imminent. You never know what causes it until you do a necropsy, even then it might not be apparent.

This is what I do when a bird is acting 'off'.
I isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so you can closely monitor her intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and her poops. Feel her abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

 

[rebrascora]

Sadly, by guess would be that this bird has an impaction of the oviduct due to salpingitis and there is nothing you can do or could have done to save her.
When you have done a necropsy of a bird with this condition it is easier to understand how hopeless the situation is and it makes that difficult decision to euthanize a little easier next time. This is no help to you of course, but there is a You Tube video by @speckledhen which shows the bird before she was euthanized and you can clearly see the distinctive posture etc and then the necropsy afterwards... not for anyone squeamish.... but it really illustrates how desperate this illness is and you can empathise with how much discomfort the bird must have been in. I can post a link to the video if you are interested.

I'm sorry I am unable to suggest ways to make her well again.

 

[Ms.honeybadger]

Im sorry to say this ma’am but once a chicken has this there is no treatment she will die i had a chicken like that too her name was miss priss and its best to put her down

 

[aart]

I can post a link to the video if you are interested.

I'm interested, please post link?

 

[rebrascora]

Actually I was unable to find the one I was thinking of and maybe I'm mistaken about the author although I know Speckledhen has lots of experience with this, but I did find another one which hopefully will get the point across....
BEWARE GRAPHIC CONTENT
It is actually titled egg Peritonitis, but that large mass that is removed is from an impaction of the oviduct due to Salpingitis..... the size of the main mass.... literally the size of a human hand, leaves you in no doubt that the hen could never has passed that and must have been in extreme discomfort.

Whilst I don't subscribe to the vegan message it is hard to deny these birds most likely suffer such ailments at least partially due to selective breeding to maximise egg production.