life with Waterbelly

[Chicks4fun2]

how long can my girl comfortably live with water belly?? she has had it for at least a month and has seemed happy till this morning... she is hiding in the nesting box.. I'm wondering if this is the end for her and if i should end her misery or just wait it out???

 

[bobbi-j]

how long can my girl comfortably live with water belly?? she has had it for at least a month and has seemed happy till this morning... she is hiding in the nesting box.. I'm wondering if this is the end for her and if i should end her misery or just wait it out???

Personally, I would put her out of her misery. In my experience, they don't get better on their own. I have let a couple of them linger, hoping they would get better, but in the end, I just ended up making htem suffer longer than necessary.

 

[Abriana]

What is water belly?

 

[Abriana]

Just looked it up. You can drain it you know

 

[bobbi-j]

What is water belly?

I'm wondering if OP means ascites. The abdomen fills with fluid and the chicken waddles like a penguin. The ones I tried to wait to see if they got better, lasted only a few days with it. The swollen abdomen can also be a sign of EYP (egg yolk peritonitis - a broken egg inside the hen).

 

[Chicks4fun2]

yes she has been walking around with her bottom nearly on the ground... I've looked for an egg but nothing she hasn't layed in probably 6 months and when she did she played these tiny " robin" sized eggs with no yolk for probably a year plus now... so she has had something going internally for a while now but has never seemed to be in any pain and seems always happy to see me...

 

[Chicks4fun2]

she also has always been my big boned chicken and i hear that fat could have something to do with Ascites...maybe thats why??? who knows

 

[bobbi-j]

yes she has been walking around with her bottom nearly on the ground... I've looked for an egg but nothing she hasn't layed in probably 6 months and when she did she played these tiny " robin" sized eggs with no yolk for probably a year plus now... so she has had something going internally for a while now but has never seemed to be in any pain and seems always happy to see me...

Chickens are good at hiding pain and weakness often until they're so far down they may not come back from whatever the problem is. My guess is, it's because they instinctively know that if they don't, the others will try to drive them from the flock or kill them. I am guessing she has a problem wtih her reproductive tract.

 

[coach723]

Ascites is a symptom of another underlying problem. Reproductive issues like salpingitis, internal laying, cancers, EYP can cause it. Also organ failures can. Sometimes draining the fluid can make them more comfortable for a time, but the underlying condition will remain and the ascites will probably recur. Also draining too much fluid to quickly can put them into shock and can be fatal sometimes. Only you can decide based on what you are seeing if attempting to drain is worth it or not. If you choose to drain then do so slowly and only a small amount. Usually the puncture will continue to slowly drain/drip for a while, which seems to be the safest way with less chance of shock. You can search for threads where it's been done for more info. The only way to know for sure what the cause is is to either send her off for necropsy once she is gone, or do an informal one yourself. Sorry the news does not sound better, the long term prognosis once they develop ascites is not generally good.

 

[bobbi-j]

Ascites is a symptom of another underlying problem. Reproductive issues like salpingitis, internal laying, cancers, EYP can cause it. Also organ failures can. Sometimes draining the fluid can make them more comfortable for a time, but the underlying condition will remain and the ascites will probably recur. Also draining too much fluid to quickly can put them into shock and can be fatal sometimes. Only you can decide based on what you are seeing if attempting to drain is worth it or not. If you choose to drain then do so slowly and only a small amount. Usually the puncture will continue to slowly drain/drip for a while, which seems to be the safest way with less chance of shock. You can search for threads where it's been done for more info. The only way to know for sure what the cause is is to either send her off for necropsy once she is gone, or do an informal one yourself. Sorry the news does not sound better, the long term prognosis once they develop ascites is not generally good.