Help... Not sure what this is

[JudyA]

I have a three year old hen, i don't know what breed she is, shes all white.
She had a prolapsed vent earlier this summer and recovered, saw a vet because i thought it hadn't healed due to a scab that was on her abdomen. The vet said the vent was healed completely and that the scab was probably due to the prolapsed vent laying on her abdomen. i just kept it clean and she healed up nicely.

Earlier this week I noticed she had some poop hanging off her tail didn't pick her up til this afternoon when it still seemed off. When i picked her up, i saw this fleshy bulb under her feathers and thought she had a prolapsed vent again... but on further inspection, it seems to be something else?
that's the vent above the bulge, right?

Please let me know if you have any ideas.
thanks very much,
judya

 

[Lillith37]

Maybe a hernia?

How does it feel when you palpate it? Like soft tissue, soft and squishy? Or hard and distended? Or like it’s full of liquid, like a water balloon?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

It’s the start of ascites also known as “water belly” which is fluid building up in her abdomen.

 

[MysteryChicken]

That looks like a hernia.

 

[JudyA]

Maybe a hernia?

How does it feel when you palpate it? Like soft tissue, soft and squishy? Or hard and distended? Or like it’s full of liquid, like a water balloon?

 

[JudyA]

it is soft and squishy, i thought at first it was the vent, but it wasn't the same.

 

[JudyA]

Maybe a hernia?

How does it feel when you palpate it? Like soft tissue, soft and squishy? Or hard and distended? Or like it’s full of liquid, like a water balloon?

It’s the start of ascites also known as “water belly” which is fluid building up in her abdomen.

so i looked this up, its not treatable? It also keeps saying it's in broilers, does that just mean how shes raised or is it the breed?
It seems like there's nothing i can do for this and she's just going to die? i don't see anything about it being contagious, should i worry about my other chicken?
She seems to be ok, like it's not bothering her. should i cull her? is she in pain?
so many questions... i'll look into hernias and ascites, pulling for hernia at this point.

thanks for the info.

 

[Lillith37]

so i looked this up, its not treatable? It also keeps saying it's in broilers, does that just mean how shes raised or is it the breed?
It seems like there's nothing i can do for this and she's just going to die? i don't see anything about it being contagious, should i worry about my other chicken?
She seems to be ok, like it's not bothering her. should i cull her? is she in pain?
so many questions... i'll look into hernias and ascites, pulling for hernia at this point.

thanks for the info.

Yeah ascites is caused by an underlying issue. The fluid can be drained but will return. I don’t think there’s much you can do for a hernia, maybe epsom baths? It may be a secondary issue to her recent prolapse. It may not bother her.