Lethargic hen sitting lots and sagging undercarriage

[opie4]

Hi all

I have 2 year langshan cross hen that doesn't seem to be her normal self.

She is walking slow although not limping, tail down and sitting a lot.

Late spring here, she came back on the lay after winter and was broody. She is back laying again now and eating and drinking.

I noticed when booting her off the nest while broody she had lost (plucked?) her feathers off her tummy (im sure thats not the right word for it!) and they have grown back but very downy and long, dragging on the ground almost and her tummy skin is very pink.

I have checked her feet and butt and no wounds or blood anywhere.

She almost looks like she is breathing a bit heavy too but I might be imagining it.

I have monitored her for a week and she hasnt got worse and has laid noirmally for the week, certainly hasnt got better though.

Anything else I can check or any ideas?

I have added a couple of photos to show her stance which is definitely not right.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you feel of her crop and tell us what it feels like, and compare it to other hens. Then feel of it again in the early morning before she eats or drinks to see if it has emptied overnight. Is her crop hanging down low, or is the back end hanging low under her vent, as if she has fluid in her lower belly? Water belly (ascites) can make them have labored breathing. If that is a problem, sometimes you can withdraw some of the fluid with an 18 gauge hypodermic needle from your feed store. They have 35 ml syringes that will fit onto the needle or you can just use the needle alone to let fluid leak into a jar. Let us know what the crop and belly are like.

 

[Eggcessive]

Just for info, if she has water belly, in post 42, there are some good pictures of a hen being drained:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/laying-hens-with-water-belly-or-ascites.68731/page-5

If her problem is a pendulous crop, here is some reading about that:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/pendulous-crop-in-backyard-chickens/

 

[opie4]

Can you feel of her crop and tell us what it feels like, and compare it to other hens. Then feel of it again in the early morning before she eats or drinks to see if it has emptied overnight. Is her crop hanging down low, or is the back end hanging low under her vent, as if she has fluid in her lower belly? Water belly (ascites) can make them have labored breathing. If that is a problem, sometimes you can withdraw some of the fluid with an 18 gauge hypodermic needle from your feed store. They have 35 ml syringes that will fit onto the needle or you can just use the needle alone to let fluid leak into a jar. Let us know what the crop and belly are like.

Thanks.

Her crop is ok, it's the back end.

She seems a little better at the moment, having a peck around etc. I have taken a video of her walking around as she is still very labored compared to the others. She is the bigger of the langshans

 

[opie4]

Thanks for the advice.

Just removed 4-500mls of fluid from her abdomen.

Still looks like there is a bit in there, it's still a bit squishy so will check again tomorrow and maybe have another go.

Any chance of it not being serious? I assume it's liver failure or something else terminal?

 

[Eggcessive]

Good job on removing the fluid. It may continue to leak from the injection site on its own for a bit. I probably would not remove more for some time. Is she breathing easier? Offer her some water with electrolytes to replenish her strength. Watery chicken feed and egg would be good as well.

Ascites (water belly) is serious. The causes which can include liver disease, egg yolk peritonitis, cancer, or heart failure,) are eventually fatal. There is no time schedule, as long as she is doing okay. I have only drained one hen with ascites, and she lived about 2 weeks, but she was 11. The others I had with suspected egg yolk peritonitis, who has the enlarged bellies lived longer. Since they were not drained, I only discovered their ascites during a necropsy after death.

 

[ChicNmom]

I have had some success with antibiotic treatment. Of course it depends on the cause. If the ascites is due to an infection it could help with quality and extend her life.

If it's some type of organ failure then antibiotics won't help.

I have an 11 year old hen that I have been dosing with Baytril/Enrofloxacin when she starts holding fluid in her abdomen.
It's been about a year now and she's still dong well for an old girl.

https://jedds.com/products/enrofloxacin-10?_pos=1&_sid=28fe2cb87&_ss=r