Is this ascites?

[AshVau22]

It's a little soft but after feeling her just now it's a little more firm than being all squishy. She's not a big hen, a barred rock, but I need 2 hands to balance her or pick her up and her belly fills my hand. Otherwise she starts flailing. I feel so bad for her. We raised her and our 7 other hens from 2 week old chicks.

Sounds more like Egg yolk peritonitis to me. Water belly would be more water balloon. EYP is firm and very little give when you push. I had a hen with EYP she lived months before she's got to the point she couldn't move her legs because of the mass. I believed it to be ascites but after attempting to drain nothing came out. I also opened her up after I put her down. And indeed was EYP.

 

[Granny23]

Sounds more like Egg yolk peritonitis to me. Water belly would be more water balloon. EYP is firm and very little give when you push. I had a hen with EYP she lived months before she's got to the point she couldn't move her legs because of the mass. I believed it to be ascites but after attempting to drain nothing came out. I also opened her up after I put her down. And indeed was EYP.

She already can't walk much at all because of her belly, but bless her heart she tries.
What if anything can I do for her???

 

[AshVau22]

She already can't walk much at all because of her belly, but bless her heart she tries.
What if anything can I do for her???

In the early stages of EYP you can treat with antibiotics and I've heard of it being successful. But it isn't a cure. The problem is the hen is laying internally. I don't feel there is much to be done for her at this point. The kindest thing you can do you is to end her suffering.

 

[Eggcessive]

Does her crop feel empty or full in the morning before she has anything to eat or drink?

 

[Granny23]

Does her crop feel empty or full in the morning before she has anything to eat or drink?

To be honest I don't know. She certainly eats a lot. I'm fairly new having chickens, 4 yrs, and I am totally clueless about something like this. For those years I haven't had any serious conditions like this.
Thank you so much for your help and diagnosis.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can hold the chicken and run you hand down from the neck to the lower abdomen to check the crop. It should feel empty or hard to feel in early morning. After eating and drinking, it should gradually fill up during the day. If it is full in the morning, check to see if it feel full and firm, doughy, or squishy. Here is a food link on crops:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/chicken-anatomy-crop-impacted-crop-sour/

 

[Cody19]

She hasn't been laying, her poop is yellowy green sometimes but some look pretty normal. You can't see her belly when she is sitting but her legs are all wonky like one in front and one in the back. Her balance is really off. My granddaughter brought her inside today and when she was holding her I noticed she mouth breathes ... like mild gasping for air. On the ground she doesn't.
Sometimes she uses a wing to balance herself.
Every morning after I feed her in the crate she wants out to sit in the sun, if the sun is out. It's been raining on and off for a couple weeks. And she is drinking water. She has a bowl she can reach, about 3 cups worth and it's always almost empty from morning to morning.
In the past few days a couple of my RIR's , I have 4, are ganging up on her. She just puts her head down and takes it because she can't fight back. They don't hurt her that I can see. I usually hear it so I go get her and crate her. She's on a bunch of soft bath towels that I change every other day. And she's out of drafts.
I need both hands to pick her up and her belly is a little firm but somewhat mushy as well. Her appetite is what is throwing me. I feed her 3 times a day. Lay crumbles with whatever I can find. Corn, peas, little bits of apple, a little cooked rice, a few earthworms, dry cat food, cut up strawberries... Probably not the best but since she can't get out to do her own scavenging I figure if she's going to die I will continue what I am doing until she doesn't want to eat anymore.
Cookie was the 3rd chick we bought when we started this chicken journey in July 2021 so she is special to us.

Your baby needs to be put down. She is in pain. I’ve had two girls with this and the first I waited too long not realizing she was suffering. The second girl went right to the vet to be put out of her misery humanely. She probably has a hernia which may eventually burst or be partially expelled. Please do the right thing.

 

[Eggcessive]

To be honest I don't know. She certainly eats a lot. I'm fairly new having chickens, 4 yrs, and I am totally clueless about something like this. For those years I haven't had any serious conditions like this.
Thank you so much for your help and diagnosis.

I think that you need to decide for yourself what to do. When you have a chicken who still enjoys eating and drinking, looking at you for help, it is rather hard to be told to put your chicken down. Sometimes you will want to try different treatments to see if she gets better. But when they cannot walk or get around, it makes it hard on you to continue to care for her. Time will tell, and you will eventually know when the time comes to tell that prolonging life may not be best for her. If you have a trusted vet, they can help you to decide, and can euthanize if needed. I usually go ahead and put them down if they seem to be suffering or losing weight because they cannot digest their food. It is hard to know what to do when you haven’t dealt with an illness in your flock before. What one person will do is not always what another will do. We all support you here with whatever you do.

 

[Granny23]

I think that you need to decide for yourself fwhat to do. When you have a chicken who still enjoys eating and drinking, looking at you for help, it is rather hard to be told to put your chicken down. Sometimes you will want to try different treatments to see if she gets better. But when they cannot walk or get around, it makes it hard on you to continue to care for her. Time will tell, and you will eventually know when the time comes to tell that prolonging life may not be best for her. If you have a trusted vet, they can help you to decide, and can euthanize if needed. I usually go ahead and put them down if they seem to be suffering or losing weight because they cannot digest their food. It is hard to know what to do when you haven’t dealt with an illness in your flock before. What one person will do is not always what another will do. We all support you here with whatever you do.

It's been a few days since you gave me some advice about my hen Cookie.
She is still doing ok... she's determined to get where she wants to go and even took a bit of a dust bath today.
Now....In the last couple weeks I've had her crated which she doesn't seem to mind. Her food and water is readily available and she's still drinking all of her water and food, lay mash crumbles only.
Being in the crate I was changing the bedding every other day because it was covered in poo.
In last few days I'm not seeing any poo! Well maybe a few, but it's so clean I was questioning myself Did I not feed you???
I am going to assume that this is not a good thing meaning she's getting no nutrition or anything that is important and/or she's starving to death.
I've decided to take her to my exotic vet and see what he says. More than likely I will put her down depending on his diagnosis.
I value your opinion. Is this the normal thing that happens when they have this egg blockage, especially because I think she's doing ok when she's obviously not.
Thank you

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she passing anything, maybe more watery droppings? Could you ever tell if her crop in her right chest empties overnight? It sounds like her appetite is still good. It is always hard when they cannot get around like they used to. In my hens who I have lost to reproductive problems, they may live awhile, and they may have a decreased appetite. Several spent months lying around the yard just sitting in the sun and being with their buddies. It is too bad the others pick on her now. Let us know what the exotics vet has to say.