Help! Very swollen vent/bottom

[mccaffertyln]

Please help! My chicken is not acting right. She has slowly progressed to just laying in the grass. She was eating and drinking well but now barely doing either.

Her vent and area right below it is very edematous, red and softball sized. We are able to get some poop out. White colored, no other chickens in the flock are sick. She is about 5 months old. Haven't gotten any eggs yet but starting acting like she wanted to lay with the submissive squat. I attached a pic

We have lubed her vent and soaked her and started her with some Sav-a-chick. I don't feel like it's an illlness but should I start corrid?

Please help!

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she constipated, or could she be egg bound? You can insert a finger 1-2 inches inside her vent to check for a stuck egg. Is her whitish dropping liquid, or is there any solid dropping?

 

[mccaffertyln]

We didn't feel anything inside. But she is so swollen. There is some solid stool but mostly liquid. She hasn't eaten or drank a lot though.

 

[Eggcessive]

I can't se a prolapsed vent in your picture, but does she have any red tissue sticking outside her vent? Is she drinking well and eating some? Dehydration or something stuck in her GI tract could cause an obstruction or constipation. Molasses, or a 1/2 tsp of castor oil could treat constipation, but make sure that she is drinking well. Hopefully, she doesn't have a reproductive disorder or a mass inside. Do you have a local vet that could see her if she doesn't improve by tomorrow?

 

[mccaffertyln]

We saw the vet. He said either cardiac issue causing her to swell so much, egg peritonitis, or egg bound. I just thought it was weird that she hasn't even started laying yet. I don't think an obstruction because she is pooping.

 

[Eggcessive]

Even pullets at the age of first laying can suffer from internal laying problems, as one BYC member posted after her hen was necropsied. Heart failure as well as egg yolk peritonitis can cause fluid accumulation or ascites in the lower abdomen.