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

[casportpony]

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!

Good luck!

-Kathy

 

[nab58]

Done. Got about 80cc's of yellow fluid out of her belly.

That was about as much fun as I've had for a while! Hope she feels better! At least I know I did something other than watch her die.

 

[chicknmania]

Bitsy WAS filling up again this morning.

I put her in the tractor again to see if she goes down again, but she was quite unhappy, she wants OUT! Not sure what to do, really.

 

[nab58]

3 hours later and she's still leaking like crazy! She doesn't look happy either.
Are you going to continue to drain Bitsy when she fills back up?

 

[casportpony]

If she's still leaking you should get more out. Each time I do one I get at least 300ml.

-Kathy

 

[chicknmania]

3 hours later and she's still leaking like crazy! She doesn't look happy either.
Are you going to continue to drain Bitsy when she fills back up?

I guess we will have to, as the alternative isn't a very happy thought. I've noticed a lot of these cases seem to occur in springtime. I read somewhere that exposure to extreme cold in very young birds can cause liver damage, and then Ascites follows. She's not a "very young bird", but she has gone through two extremely cold winters in a row here, along with the rest of the flock. But I guess there could be a lot of causes/ conditions. I don't plan to drain her every week though. If it's once a week, I don't think that's fair to her, and it could turn into a big hassle for us over time. I think we will drain her more thoroughly sometime in the next few days, and then I'm going to let her go for a while, I guess.

I was hoping she would go for a longer period of time. We had a rooster that had it last spring. His fluid buildup was more in his chest, probably because he was a rooster. He became very ill very fast, and we had him put down.

Weird that we had it two years in a row after NOT ever having another case of it ever, in the several years we've had chickens. I'm really curious as to what the cause is.

 

[chicknmania]

If she's still leaking you should get more out. Each time I do one I get at least 300ml.

-Kathy

But how often do you have to do it?

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Had one I did twice in a year before she died. It's been my experience that if they fill up quickly after draining that they aren't going to live much longer. Trick is to get almost all of the fluid out the first time, then see how long it takes to refill.

-Kathy

 

[happyappy]

I butchered a hen today that this, is the meat safe to eat?

 

[chicknmania]

Had one I did twice in a year before she died. It's been my experience that if they fill up quickly after draining that they aren't going to live much longer. Trick is to get almost all of the fluid out the first time, then see how long it takes to refill.

-Kathy

yeah, I wish we'd done all of it the first time, but we were worried we might kill her, we took so much out and some people have had the experience of the bird dropping dead, but I guess hindsight's 20-20. Do you think we should try to drain her again, and see what happens? Did you ever get an idea what was causing it?