Hen with bald, red and swollen belly

[Bella333]

This morning when I went out to let the girls out one of them was in the nesting box. I didnt think too much of it at the time. Tonight when I went to lock them in, she was in the same nesting box and not on the perch with the others. She went broody early summer and I thought here we go again. I picked her up to put her on the perch and i noticed her belly felt very warm. When I looked she is totally bald and the skin is very pink. She did walk over and drink water. She also appears to be breathing heavy and her belly looks a bit distended to me. Does anyone have any thoughts if this is related to her maybe staying in the nesting box all day in the heat? I'm assuming she did....??? Could all this be related to her going broody again or something else??? Please if you have any thoughts or suggestions I would appreciate it.

Thank you

 

[JustBabyMargo]

This morning when I went out to let the girls out one of them was in the nesting box. I didnt think too much of it at the time. Tonight when I went to lock them in, she was in the same nesting box and not on the perch with the others. She went broody early summer and I thought here we go again. I picked her up to put her on the perch and i noticed her belly felt very warm. When I looked she is totally bald and the skin is very pink. She did walk over and drink water. She also appears to be breathing heavy and her belly looks a bit distended to me. Does anyone have any thoughts if this is related to her maybe staying in the nesting box all day in the heat? I'm assuming she did....??? Could all this be related to her going broody again or something else??? Please if you have any thoughts or suggestions I would appreciate it.

Thank you

Pictures? Broody hens pluck their bellies to be able to warm their eggs. Their bellies are very hot and pink looking. Is it larger than normal or anything? Is she acting strange at all?

 

[2 4 6 8]

This morning when I went out to let the girls out one of them was in the nesting box. I didnt think too much of it at the time. Tonight when I went to lock them in, she was in the same nesting box and not on the perch with the others. She went broody early summer and I thought here we go again. I picked her up to put her on the perch and i noticed her belly felt very warm. When I looked she is totally bald and the skin is very pink. She did walk over and drink water. She also appears to be breathing heavy and her belly looks a bit distended to me. Does anyone have any thoughts if this is related to her maybe staying in the nesting box all day in the heat? I'm assuming she did....??? Could all this be related to her going broody again or something else??? Please if you have any thoughts or suggestions I would appreciate it.

Thank you

I really dont know but I think it would be helpful if you got some pics!

 

[Bella333]

Pictures? Broody hens pluck their bellies to be able to warm their eggs. Their bellies are very hot and pink looking. Is it larger than normal or anything? Is she acting strange at all?

I will try to post a picture soon. I am alone and it's hard to get one on my own while holding her. She seems to be breathing harder, but I am thinking that she has been in the nesting box all day and may have gotten over heated??? When I took her out she immediately went and drank water but then returned to the nesting box. I would say she's not as feisty she easily allowed me to carry her and flip her over in my lap to look at her belly which again is very warm, red and bald. Do you think it could all be related to her overheating staying in there? It was very hot today???? I currently have her in a crate in the garage to keep an eye on her.

 

[JustBabyMargo]

I will try to post a picture soon. I am alone and it's hard to get one on my own while holding her. She seems to be breathing harder, but I am thinking that she has been in the nesting box all day and may have gotten over heated??? When I took her out she immediately went and drank water but then returned to the nesting box. I would say she's not as feisty she easily allowed me to carry her and flip her over in my lap to look at her belly which again is very warm, red and bald. Do you think it could all be related to her overheating staying in there? It was very hot today???? I currently have her in a crate in the garage to keep an eye on her.

Could be.

 

[Bella333]

I will try to post a picture soon. I am alone and it's hard to get one on my own while holding her. She seems to be breathing harder, but I am thinking that she has been in the nesting box all day and may have gotten over heated??? When I took her out she immediately went and drank water but then returned to the nesting box. I would say she's not as feisty she easily allowed me to carry her and flip her over in my lap to look at her belly which again is very warm, red and bald. Do you think it could all be related to her overheating staying in there? It was very hot today???? I currently have her in a crate in the garage to keep an eye on her.

Unfortunately, I lost her within 2 hours of bringing her in the house. It is so strange to me and I wish I knew what happened. I believe she probably spent the entire day yesterday in the nesting box maybe longer?. I didn't think much about it because she has gone broody and just thought that's what was happening. I wasn't able to take any pictures, but as I said her stomach was very red and hot to touch. It was very swollen and her belly seemed to be protruding in and out as she was breathing. She was not panting, comb was bright red. It was as if her back end and tail was rocking up and down as she was breathing. I can't seem to find any reasons.....

 

[Chicalina]

I was going to say ascites at first. But the brooding indicates more likely she overheated and died of heat stress. What temperature do you have there and what breed was she?

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you still have her body? You could open her abdomen to look for yellow fluid of ascites, or cooked egg matter and lash egg material. If kept cold not frozen, the body could also be sent to your state vet for a necropsy on Monday morning. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Bella333]

I was going to say ascites at first. But the brooding indicates more likely she overheated and died of heat stress. What temperature do you have there and what breed was she?

She was a barred rock 1 1/2 yr old. It has been in the 90's and very humid. Unfortunately, I can't really say how long she had been broody. We were away five days and I had someone morning and evening caring for them, but they wouldn't have noticed as they were letting them out and in the coop. In the past when she did that, I went out numerous times of the day and made her come out to eat and drink. I'm really sad I have 13 and love them all! The others all seem fine so hopefully it was nothing contagious.

 

[JustBabyMargo]

I’m really sorry.