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

[chrissiemids]

On Another note,two weeks ago another hen was on deaths door. She is 2and half years old.not eating,skn and bone and going into moult but still trying to lay eggs. So the eggs eventually were supposed and the then no membrane even. So Runny yolk was coming out of her vent. I read on here that this causes egg peritonitis . Recommend washing out inside vent with warm salted water with funnel and jug of water. First time nothing improved. Second time in a week it worked and now she is fine.

 

[KristynLeigh]

Will a hen continue to lay if they have eyp or be an internal layer? We have a BSL with a very bloated belly. She was not laying for a while then she started laying soft shelled eggs for a while, but she's now giving us hard shelled eggs. She acts very normal.

 

[KiwiPomegranate]

I'm pretty sure my silkie hen has ascites, and I was wondering how you drain the fluids from the belly? What kind of syringe do you use? Should a vet do it if I have no experience?

 

[Janice123456]

Must use large needle 18 G attached to a big syringe. There is a few utube videos . I did it . If chicken is calm you can do it .If you are inexperienced and chicken is wiggling you might hit wrong spot. I aimed for center of the "water balloon" below the vent and to the side . You can feel it is like water balloon.

 

[casportpony]

I'm pretty sure my silkie hen has ascites, and I was wondering how you drain the fluids from the belly? What kind of syringe do you use? Should a vet do it if I have no experience?

It would be best to have a vet do it, but understand it's a temporary fix.

if you decide to try, here are some pictures of one I did:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-need-of-some-help-and-guidance#post_12770501

 

[CuteChick369]

I did this for my chicken, and had to about once per week for several months until she finally passed away. She was in good spirits so I continued as long as she was still doing her normal activities and seemed happy.

I found that the easiest way to do this was to take an 18 gauge needle, so no syringe. I would poke two holes into her underside (near her vent, a bit below and to the right, and to the left) and put her in a cage in the kitchen. I would put a puppy pee pad in the cage because she would drip a lot of fluid. I also gave her a scrambled egg and pedialyte so she would have some extra nutrients and electrolytes after losing so much fluid. It would take a couple hours to drip out completely. This method was much less stressful for her and me than trying to keep her still while I suctioned the fluid with the syringe. When I was using the syringe in the beginning, I believe I hit an organ because brown fluid came out. Thankfully, she was fine, but I was really scared for that to happen again.

If you want to measure the fluid that comes out, put the needle into her (no syringe) and stand her over the top of a bowl or cup. When the needle is in, the liquid will quickly pour out of her and into the bowl or cup. I also did this every so often just to see how much was coming out (it would be about 2 cups). After I got to know how full her abdomen would feel at 2 cups, I quit measuring it. Truly, it was so easy to just puncture her with the needle, remove the needle, and then let her drip in her cage.

Good luck! Your hen can live a happy life if you just stay on top of keeping her drained.

 

[Janice123456]

If you have a nurse friend get you some short IV tubing you can attach the needle to one end and a large syringe to the other end. After inserting the needle have second person draw back on the syringe . Having the tubing gives you lots of room to draw back on the neelde. Only insert needle til it goes under the skin about 1/4_1/2 inch. Hold needle steady. I hit a vein on my chicken . It bled but she survived. I drained my chicken for a year about once a month.Then she got tired and couldnt walk anymore. Died a peaceful death. She was the sweetest hen. Had a call like a laugh. Loved her

 

[Janice123456]

My Ramona a week before she died.Her belly fluid got so thick I couldnt drain it out.

 

[Janice123456]

This is Ramona last summer. She got bumblefoot because she was walking with wide stance because of her fat belly so I would wrap her feet and put Neosporin on the bottom so she would not get infected. I wrapped her feet probably every other day and when they looked sore and uncomfortable. Towards the end of the summer I had to wrap them almost every day because the skin on the bottom of her feet seem to be a little thin I actually put little pads in there to buffer the feet. She kind of walked like a penguin causing bumblefoot. I got her so used to being tapped and wrapped that she would just lay still on my bathroom vanity and let me do what I needed to do to her. She would let me wash and blow dry her butt when poop was stuck on it. She was a cutie.

 

[romea]

i trust you understand that the "penguin" walk is/was caused by the accumulation of fluids in her abdomen.
too bad you were unable to drain her as it has been suggested throughout this thread.

for anybody interested: the best way to do this is via a butterfly needle such as this:

a 'special' syringe with a thread is screwed on and the fluids can be extracted repeatedly without having to poke the patient over and over again...

however, i would suggest to stop at 150 ml / 2/3 of a cup. you don't want your hen to go into shock because of the sudden loss of too much fluid. plus - depending on the pressure - the abdomen will most likely continue to drain through the hole - but at a much slower pace.

offering electrolytes and nourishing food (scrambled eggs, cat food...) afterwards is also a good idea.