Lethargic Hen, thought she was egg bound, checked Cloaca and drained approx. 1 pint of urine, no egg

[AllCoop'dUp]

Thank you in advance for your assistance. I searched to see if anyone had encountered this issue, but couldn't find an instanced where the hen was filled with urine and not a busted egg.

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) Smaller mixed breed approx. 2yrs old and 3-4 pounds.
2) What is the behavior, exactly. She was walking around really slowly
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? Just noticed this on Saturday 6/30
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? None
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. None
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. Nothing
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Not interested in treats on Saturday, before that, I don't know.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. No poop to analyze
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? When I picked her up, she started vomiting from the mouth, draining liquid with a few chunks of cracked corn. Rear area between legs firm and swollen. Soaked her in very warm water for about 20 minutes. Got glove and oil, manipulated the cloaca until I was able to get small finger inside. When pulled finger out, urine came streaming out and I continued to massage her body until no further liquid came out. Urine was normal smelling not foul. I gave 1 cc penicillin in leg, dipped beak in medicated water,wrapped in warm towel and placed under a heat lamp.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? I am able to provide treatment myself. Will continue with penicillin and medicated water for 10 days (Unless she doesn't recover?)
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. No
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use. She is currently in small confined area with concrete flooring and the towel.

 

[FireTigeris]

Urine? bird urine is clear and small in volume- the rest of the urine solids are mixed with the feces and white ... eggs are yellow and liquid... I suggest it had no shell- a pint of fluid would be maybe two eggs- but a weeks worth of urine.

Birds are designed to conserve weight- liquid urine like we have is heavy- they do with ... much much less.

 

[dawg53]

Here's a link for you that might help:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/362422/drained-a-hens-abdomen-rest-in-peace-olivia-11-5-10

 

[speckledhen]

That was not urine. They don't have urine, as such. Read my thread that dawg posted for you.


You do penicillin for only 3-4 days, not 10, but let me be straight with you-she will not recover. This is a chronic condition from which they do not come back for very long, if at all.

 

[AllCoop'dUp]

Thank you all for your posts. I will put her to rest this evening.

 

[ejctm]

this is ascites. My hen has lived with this condition with no ill effects for two years and been happy and healthy. Others on this forum have drained the fluid regularly with a syringe and hens are doing fine. It is chronic but not acute, unless it starts putting pressure on the organs, then you drain to relieve. She should perk up. I had a recent problem with internal laying at the same time but hen doing ok.
I would suggest you don't euthanise so quickly and see how it goes. You cannot cure it but it can be manageable. Some swear by milk thistle extract if it is arising from a liver complaint which is a common cause.

 

[ejctm]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/638821/ascites-swollen-squishy-abdomen-with-pics-video-page-9

Brilliant thread in link. Deserves a sticky. Great video on draining abdomen.

 

[speckledhen]

this is ascites. My hen has lived with this condition with no ill effects for two years and been happy and healthy. Others on this forum have drained the fluid regularly with a syringe and hens are doing fine. It is chronic but not acute, unless it starts putting pressure on the organs, then you drain to relieve. She should perk up. I had a recent problem with internal laying at the same time but hen doing ok.
I would suggest you don't euthanise so quickly and see how it goes. You cannot cure it but it can be manageable. Some swear by milk thistle extract if it is arising from a liver complaint which is a common cause.

Ascites is not simply fluid most of the time, but a side affect of chronic infection/egg yolk peritonitis and/or internal laying or heart or liver failure, or even ovarian cancer. I just want people not to get the idea that ascites is simple fluid and that's all it is. Ascites is most often a symptom of congestive heart failure in broilers. In layers, it usually means a reproductive malfunction.

 

[FireTigeris]

Described as urine would be a bile smelling yellowish liquid ...

can you tell us the clarity, color, and smell of this liquid?

(I'm voting organ failure based on -assuming- the fluid smelled of kidney bile and was actually pale yellow to brown in color)

 

[speckledhen]

If you did not read my link about my hen that dawg posted above, it had pics of what I drained from Olivia the first time we drained her. This is the first result, which was dark yellowish-brown/greenish:



The next time we did it, two months later, we got even more than that.