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

[chicknmania]

Well, we didn't take the temperature of it, but it was way hotter than the rest of her body. She's only two years old and that just barely.

 

[nab58]

Where do you buy the needle and syringe? A pharmacy or pet supply store?

Do you drain them while they're on their back or do you turn them over after inserting the needle?

How long does it normally take to drain?

Thanks

 

[chicknmania]

Our vet's office gave me the needle and syringe, but you can get them at pharmacies too. We used an 18 gauge needle. Lay bird on left side, insert the needle an inch or so below and to the right of the vent, is what we did. We covered her head with a towel first, to help her stay quiet. One person to hold her, one for the needle. You don't have to stick the needle in very far. We had to jab her a few times, not desirable, it's best if you can leave the needle in and detach the syringe each time, but that's hard to do. But she had a few extra holes that she continued to drain fluid from after we were done. It took a while, fifeen minutes or so at least....she had a lot of fluid, and we were afraid to go too fast, for fear of extracting the fluid too fast or too much, which might have killed her. But if you don't extract the fluid, the fluid buildup will kill her too eventually, soo...use as big a syringe as you comfortably can. But, if you dont find and correct the source of the underlying problem, the bird will just fill up again. I think Bitsy is already starting to, although she certainly was feeling much better this morning.

 

[chicknmania]

Actually, I take that back. When I was out there a little while ago, I picked her up to put her in a small pen for the night. I can now feel the bones on her underside. She's still a little squishy. I put her in the big tractor today, so she could run around, flap, and jump up on perches. I thought it might help to get rid of the small amount of remaining fluid, which it seemed to help. I have her on Baytril until tomorrow (because of the needle puncture wounds) and Vitamin B & K concentrate. After tomorrow, if she's still ok I will probably let her rejoin the flock, and hope for the best.

 

[casportpony]

Where do you buy the needle and syringe? A pharmacy or pet supply store?

Do you drain them while they're on their back or do you turn them over after inserting the needle?

How long does it normally take to drain?

Thanks

CT might have a law that says you can't buy needles, but I'm not sure. Call Tractor Supply and see if they sell them.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

@nab58 , here is one I did:

Hen was cleaned with Chlorhexidine, had 1" 18 gauge needle inserted and I syringed out about 500 ml of fluid.















-Kathy

 

[Mommato5]

I have a 3 year old red sex link with this, too. I took her to the vet last week and they drained 750 ml of that clear urine looking fluid and there was still more in her! The vet was amazed that she was still breathing fine, walking around and keeping her feathers clean despite that impressive amount of fluid! She was much happier for a few days, eating well, running and hanging out with the other chickens and then, suddenly, today she wasn't walking and didn't eat/drink much. She's been on an anti inflammatory so I'm hoping it's just side effects from that (I didn't give her her dose today). I'm very worried about her. She's been having episodes of water belly since last fall but they always resolved themselves in a week or so. This one has been going on for about 2 months now with no improvement. I can even tell that the fluid is accumulating again even though she was just drained a week ago. She's always seemed so healthy and happy despite the water belly. I hope she manages to rebound again.

 

[chicknmania]

I have a 3 year old red sex link with this, too. I took her to the vet last week and they drained 750 ml of that clear urine looking fluid and there was still more in her! The vet was amazed that she was still breathing fine, walking around and keeping her feathers clean despite that impressive amount of fluid! She was much happier for a few days, eating well, running and hanging out with the other chickens and then, suddenly, today she wasn't walking and didn't eat/drink much. She's been on an anti inflammatory so I'm hoping it's just side effects from that (I didn't give her her dose today). I'm very worried about her. She's been having episodes of water belly since last fall but they always resolved themselves in a week or so. This one has been going on for about 2 months now with no improvement. I can even tell that the fluid is accumulating again even though she was just drained a week ago. She's always seemed so healthy and happy despite the water belly. I hope she manages to rebound again.

Did the vet have an idea what is causing it? What kind of anti-inflammatory and why?

 

[Mommato5]

Did the vet have an idea what is causing it?  What kind of anti-inflammatory and why?

They did pathology on the fluid but it didn't give any answers other than it is NOT egg products. Although they did not find any cells to back it up, the vet suspects cancer because of the abnormal accumulation of fluid. Based on what people are saying here it sounds like heart and liver failure! The vet gave her meloxicam because she assumed the fluid build up was due to inflammation and it would reduce the amount of fluid building up. Really all she could offer was palliative care. I have my doubts about cancer, first because she's been having episodes of fluid build up for about 9 months and if it were cancer I would expect a sicker, or dead, chicken after that amount of time. Second, if she had had cancer for 9 months you would think they would find SOME cancer cells after such a long time with the disease! She did say we could do necropsy after she dies but she's more pet than barnyard animal so I won't do that. This particular chicken is a favorite. Almost any other chicken and I wouldn't be so upset/worried!

 

[nab58]

My husband was able to get the needle and syringe at tractor supply. I have hibaclens I will give her a bath and clean her up before draining her. This is my first surgical procedure since owning chickens. :/ Wish me luck!