Laying hens with "water belly" or "ascites"?

[Shabana]

Oh no ! I hope she turns up. I really feel for you all. Poor Captain
I'm sending you a very big hug from the uk.
I wonder if she's found a different spot with her venturing up to the garden. Maybe she's fallen broody if the weathers nice ? I hope she's about tomorrow.
Fingers crossed xxxx

 

[chicknmania]

This is a very bad picture of her. Light was not very good and this was during the time when she rarely left the barn. When she was outside, I never seemed to remember to have my phone or camera with me. Anyway....here she is. She never came back. I don't think she is broody as she never did go broody at all since she was a pullet. And as far as I know, she did not lay either once she became sick...at least I never saw her in the nest box. I miss her very much. She was so spoiled and tame and she would run to me whenever she saw me, make a little peep peep noise, and peck my leg or my shoe, then look up at me like she is in this picture. I hope that if she is dead it was merciful and that she is not suffering somewhere. I knew she wouldn't last forever.

 

[chicknmania]

And this is Captain. Likewise not the best picture, but ...anyway, chicken grief (such as it is) is short lived.

He's back to normal today.

 

[Shabana]

Oh dear am so very sorry she didn't come back. What a pretty girl, and Captains such a handsome chap !
It's the not knowing isn't it. If you knew you could reconcile with it.
I am glad she had you. Xxx

 

[chickendreams24]

So sorry for your loss. Sending hugs too
What breed is Captain? How is he with your family? He's stunning

 

[chicknmania]

Thank you very much everyone.

Well now I know. I found Bitsy dead in a corner of the barn. She had been killed by a predator. I believe it was a skunk, as we have had a lot of problems with them digging under the walls of the barn, and I found a big hole in the back of the barn where it had dug under the wall. Our experience with Skunks has been, if they kill chickens at all, only kill chickens that are easy prey, like weak and small ones, or chicks. I think Bitsy came in early in the evening or late afternoon to roost, before the others had come in, and probably was in the barn by herself on her low roost, or maybe somewhere in the barn, and the skunk or whatever it was just saw an opportunity. I am heartsick about it, but, actually...probably better that she was killed this way than to die from her illness where she might have suffered more. Nonetheless, I am going to talk to an electrician friend about maybe running a hotwire along that wall where they've been consistently digging.

and thank you, I think Captain is beautiful too. He is actually a mix breed but has a lot of Golden Pencilled Hamburg in him on his father's side, and his mother was a Delaware. So he has a nice sweet friendly disposition, and is very intelligent too. He is five years old and has never shown any aggression at all towards us, his people family, and he is gentle with the hens. He commands a lot of respect from the other roosters but he is not a bully with them. Weirdly enough, his offspring have been consistent in maintaining that color pattern...if I had the time and expertise to mess with it, I think I could come close to establishing a new breed.....

 

[chickendreams24]

Well you definitely need to hatch some of his chicks then. He's stunning. Sign me up for a couple would be cool just to get some of the same color what kind of hens do you have to cross him with?
I'm sorry about Bitsy but I'm glad you have closure I would hate not knowing.

 

[chicknmania]

Thank you again. I have four chicks right now, there are three that might end up with his coloring, hard to tell just yet. If I can get more that look like him, I will let you know, although right now due to bird flu precautions we're prohibited from exporting out of State. Still there's always next year, if nothing else happens, maybe they will lift the bans after April. The chicks' mother is just a mix too but she has some of Captain's blood line, I'm pretty sure. I lost both our GPH hens, I need to get some more to try to blend that color back in, but GPH are hard to find.

 

[chickendreams24]

What state are you in? Too bad you couldn't ship eggs although I made a deal with DH2B that I don't hatch any more this year and come spring he will enable my/our chicken math its hard not to hatch especially when my last hatch of Buttercup eggs was a bust and they were a surprise gift from him.

 

[chickendreams24]

Ooh pics of the chicks?