I have a one year old Black Sex Link that is so swollen in her abdomen and entire lower belly area that she looks and feels like a water balloon filled to capacity and ready to pop. She's been like this for at least three weeks. She waddles as best she can since her legs barely fit together anymore - she eats and drinks and seems normal in all other aspects.
I first noticed her about three weeks ago when I noticed one of her feet were swollen. I sat her in warm water bath and she did lay an egg almost immediately which made the stomach go down a little. A week later when I treated her for bumble foot I put her in a hutch so she wouldn't walk around much and her stomach was still swollen but laid an egg that day and the next during her confinement. I let her out of hutch and like I said she seems to be eating and drinking and walks around a little but sticks close to coop instead of freeranging. I went to NY for a week and just got back and she is still the same. I don't think she's laid any eggs lately because hers were usually easy to identify - they were large, dark brown and always very elongated (if that's any clue).
Last night I gave her another soak and actually did the finger in the vent check. Only thing I could feel was big empty cavity. (Add that to list of things I never thought I would do.) I've isolated her back in hutch to see if she will lay an egg. She's eating, drinking, pooping normally and having been a freeranger all her life - is very upset about being in pen. All others keep coming over to look at her through hutch like they're wondering what she did wrong to get locked up like that.
I've researched internal layers and can't find much info - seems to be no treatment short of surgery. I don't think it's an egg bound issue but if it's internal layer why did she lay normal eggs two days in a row while in quarantine but her stomach never went down?
She really does look like she will pop and fly around room if you stick a pin in her. I have felt and massaged and though it's really tightly stretched you can push in one spot at at time and I don't feel anything hard or anything like an egg. On closer observation I don't think there's that many feathers missing I think her skin is just so stretched that it looks like they are.
Could this have something to do with the staff infection from bumble foot? Her foot went down after the surgery to remove the core. I have started her on a broad spectrum antibiotic (Clavamox)and have add Terramycin to her water just to be safe but don't know what else to do for the poor girl. She looks, feels and walks like a pregnant woman who's about to give birth to quintuplets.
Any ideas or suggestions?
I first noticed her about three weeks ago when I noticed one of her feet were swollen. I sat her in warm water bath and she did lay an egg almost immediately which made the stomach go down a little. A week later when I treated her for bumble foot I put her in a hutch so she wouldn't walk around much and her stomach was still swollen but laid an egg that day and the next during her confinement. I let her out of hutch and like I said she seems to be eating and drinking and walks around a little but sticks close to coop instead of freeranging. I went to NY for a week and just got back and she is still the same. I don't think she's laid any eggs lately because hers were usually easy to identify - they were large, dark brown and always very elongated (if that's any clue).
Last night I gave her another soak and actually did the finger in the vent check. Only thing I could feel was big empty cavity. (Add that to list of things I never thought I would do.) I've isolated her back in hutch to see if she will lay an egg. She's eating, drinking, pooping normally and having been a freeranger all her life - is very upset about being in pen. All others keep coming over to look at her through hutch like they're wondering what she did wrong to get locked up like that.
I've researched internal layers and can't find much info - seems to be no treatment short of surgery. I don't think it's an egg bound issue but if it's internal layer why did she lay normal eggs two days in a row while in quarantine but her stomach never went down?
She really does look like she will pop and fly around room if you stick a pin in her. I have felt and massaged and though it's really tightly stretched you can push in one spot at at time and I don't feel anything hard or anything like an egg. On closer observation I don't think there's that many feathers missing I think her skin is just so stretched that it looks like they are.
Could this have something to do with the staff infection from bumble foot? Her foot went down after the surgery to remove the core. I have started her on a broad spectrum antibiotic (Clavamox)and have add Terramycin to her water just to be safe but don't know what else to do for the poor girl. She looks, feels and walks like a pregnant woman who's about to give birth to quintuplets.
Any ideas or suggestions?
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