Hen with swollen belly, no eggs, little poo. Any hope?

[JillyAnn]

What do you feed your flock?
Have you ever wormed them?
Have you checked them over real good at night time for mites?

Any new birds recently?

Food: layer feed pellets (Dumor brand, I think) + some wheat and sunflower seeds (no more than 2 cups/daily for the entire flock + kitchen scraps including egg shells and lately lots of tomatoes
Wormed them: nope, never. Should I do this on a regular basis or only if something is wrong?
Mites: I checked this sick hen one night and didn't see anything. I haven't checked others.
New birds: no. flock hasn't grown since August 2016... though we have lost a few (one disappeared, one roo died because we messed up his spur-trimming, one died by hawk attack)... but no changes to the flock in the last 2 months.

(and THANK YOU for your interest in helping me!)

 

[Kiki]

I do not think this girls problem is worms but I think everyone should have their flock's poop tested at least once a year..if not twice.
Usually you will never see worms.

You can collect some fresh poop...from a few random birds and put it in the same container and run it to the nearest vet and have it tested for very cheap.

I really think she is laying internally and I'm not sure there is anything that can be done to prevent it...sometimes it just happens.

Food sounds good.
Too much treats really isn't good for them, I think your "amounts" are fine.
Read these when you have time:
http://articles.extension.org/pages/69065/feeding-chickens-for-egg-production
and I really like this thread because the Op thought she was feeding an ok amount of treats but notice what the vet suggested
#1

 

[BantyChooks]

This is an image of a bird with internal laying:

If it is that, you'll know immediately. It stinks really bad too.

 

[bobbi-j]

Following - I'm interested to know what you find out. I had a hen with ascites that I put down a few years ago. Out of curiosity, I drained the fluid out of her to see how much was in there. I took out just over 40 oz.

 

[JillyAnn]

WARNING -- GRAPHIC PICTURES BELOW ---

We culled her this morning and although I cried, I'm glad we did. i don't think she could have healed from this short of surgery.
Note that she isn't standing like a penguin... stance looks normal except for her distended abdomen under her vent. Her comb is sagging/folded over. She continued to show some interest in eating and drinking even today, but was still slow and wasn't pooping.

Her insides didn't stink as much as I thought, but definitely had a smell like scrambled eggs. There was a lot of clearish fluid, and at least 2 cups of this cooked egg mass. I was pretty grossed out so didn't explore too much, but her gizzard was still processing food, and her liver (which I didn't pull out of her gut) looked normal to me.

Most of the egg mass is shown here, and I'm holding the sliced-open gizzard.

I think this pinkish bubbly thing is an ovary. i think.

We took her body and guts to the edge of the property. I'm hoping some turkey vultures or other scavengers will get a good meal. I'm glad we didn't name her. Only a couple of our chickens have names; they aren't pets, but it's still hard to see one go.

 

[bobbi-j]

It is hard when you have to put them down. Unfortunately, that's part of chicken keeping (keeping any animal, really). Sometimes we just can't fix them and the kindest thing to do is end their suffering. You did the right thing.

 

[BantyChooks]

WARNING -- GRAPHIC PICTURES BELOW ---

We culled her this morning and although I cried, I'm glad we did. i don't think she could have healed from this short of surgery.
Note that she isn't standing like a penguin... stance looks normal except for her distended abdomen under her vent. Her comb is sagging/folded over. She continued to show some interest in eating and drinking even today, but was still slow and wasn't pooping.
View attachment 1132543
View attachment 1132544
View attachment 1132545

Her insides didn't stink as much as I thought, but definitely had a smell like scrambled eggs. There was a lot of clearish fluid, and at least 2 cups of this cooked egg mass. I was pretty grossed out so didn't explore too much, but her gizzard was still processing food, and her liver (which I didn't pull out of her gut) looked normal to me.

View attachment 1132551
View attachment 1132549

Most of the egg mass is shown here, and I'm holding the sliced-open gizzard.
View attachment 1132548

I think this pinkish bubbly thing is an ovary. i think.
View attachment 1132550

We took her body and guts to the edge of the property. I'm hoping some turkey vultures or other scavengers will get a good meal. I'm glad we didn't name her. Only a couple of our chickens have names; they aren't pets, but it's still hard to see one go.

Poor thing was definitely suffering. Good for you.

 

[Kiki]

Good job with "helping" her!
Thank you for sharing the pictures!

 

[Ursuline Chick]

It is hard when you have to put them down. Unfortunately, that's part of chicken keeping (keeping any animal, really). Sometimes we just can't fix them and the kindest thing to do is end their suffering. You did the right thing.

X 2
Thank you for being willing to share, was very educational. So sorry for your lose.

 

[andreanar]

While I'm so sorry you had to cull her, I'm thankful for the photos that will help others know what they are looking for and at.