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

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pigninnie said:
my picachu has a swollen belly, I have drained some of the fluid and her tail is now back in a up postion. she is still leaking a few hours later is that normal? we took about half out before I read this thread and I have no one to help me drain her until tomorrow. she has ate 2 turkey scrambled eggs. no dinking but staying in one spot
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It is very normal to leak... If you've sucessfully drained her, you poked a hole in a cavity full of liquid.

When we drained Kohl the first time, her litter was soaked the next morning.
And I also asked for confirmation of this being normal.... It is.

I'm sure your hen feels much better now, keep an eye on her, and be prepared to do it again if needed.

There are several suggestions of herbs to give her to try to keep some of the liquid from building up.
It seems some of them work, depending on what the cause is. Read the thread and you'll find a ton of info.
An 18 gage needle seems to be the most suggested tool.
Best of luck...
 
Give antibiotics if chicken is sick. You can give save a chick probiotics and electrolytes also. Be sure to disinfect the needle insertion site with betadine first. Wait a minute for it to work. Then insert needle and withdraw fluidwith syringe. Insert needle only 1/4_
1/2 inch until you get fluid back in needle. Where you feel fluid under the skin is where you put needle.
 
Does anyone think that my hen has a mild-ish case of this? It feels like a thick water balloon that's been stretched tight with water.
Here are some pics.



She also keeps tapping her feet. Any ideas?
Thanks!
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It sort of looks like that but hard to say without being able to physically examine her. She looks a little sick though. Is she laying? Eating? Acting normal otherwise? If it seems like she has a lot of fluid buildup, you could try to drain her and just see.
 
Hi! Thanks for answering. As for laying, she is about four yrs old and she hasn't laid in a while, but I think that she is just taking a break as her sister is still laying. Up till about six hours ago she was eating, but her hunger quickly declined. She is still drinking, however. and other than seeming very sleepy, standing very upright and tapping her feet, she's acting normal. As for draining her, I'd be really worried to as I've heard that you can kill them by doing it wrong. Is that true? And do you know why she is tapping her feet?
Thanks in advance!
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Can you turn her over and look closely at her belly. ? If it is like a water ballon you should drain her. Easy and will save her life. Mine has lived more than 6 months after draining.She is feeling good. Running with the others. I can take pics of next time I drain her to show how to do it.
 
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Check it out. This is y the one I have drained several times. This is how I examine her belly She lets me. She also lays on her side wrapped in a towel for draining eyes covered
 

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