Need advice on Leghorn

[Chicky63]

Some background: My girls turned 3 in March. Fall was their first real molt.

A couple of weeks ago one of our girls suddenly died. Showed no symptoms of being sick, that being said she was a very skittish girl and a few days before she died she seemed to want to be close to us when we went out to clean/feed them - then died.

Now for the issue at hand our Leghorn who is the top chick of our girls hasn't laid an egg all year. She usually laid 6 days a week. Last week we noticed she was 'bottom heavy". She gets around and eats. I began researching what it could possibly be and all that I came up with Coccidiosis. So last Saturday we bought some Corid 9.6% liquid and I began with putting 9.5cc in gallon of water and also starter an oral dredge of 2ml. I also bought some Nutri-Drench supplement to give after the Corid treatment. Her eyes are clear and everything else seems good.

I'm now questioning did I get this wrong. Today when I picked her up she felt bloated. Any guidance you could give me would be most appreciated. I don't want my girl to suffer. Also my other 3 girls look great. I'm at a loss.

 

[Tonyroo]

@Eggcessive , @Wyorp Rock , can you help?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry about your hen.

With her not laying an egg all year, with a bloated abdomen and the way she is standing I would suspect some type of reproductive disorder.
If the abdomen is full of fluid you can have a vet drain it or you can do it yourself to see if this provides her some temporary relief. Whatever condition that is affecting her is still there, but she may make it for a while longer. An antibiotic may help with inflammation, again, this would be part of a supportive care and comfort measure.

Do see that she's drinking and eating, that her crop is emptying. Check her for lice/mites since often when a hen is not well, they don't preen and dust bath like they should.

If you lose her, then sending the body for necropsy will give you the most info about what condition was causing the symptoms. If you are up to it, you can perform your own informal necropsy at home. If you do that, then I would start by looking in the abdomen, the major organs and reproductive system.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. I also would think it could be a reproductive disorder. Ascites (water belly) or cancer are also common in hens over 2 years. When I lose a chicken, I usually try to do a necropsy at home, and open up the abdominal cavity to look for internally laid egg/infection masses, cancer, yellow ascites fluid. Unless a chicken- knowledgeable vet is possible, I would try to keep her comfortable, eating moistened feed and scrambled egg. As Wyorp Rock posted, sometimes draining fluid from the belly with an 18 gauge needle, can give some temporary relief if they have ascites. In post 42 pictures 3 and 4 show where the needle is positioned to drain ascites fluid:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/laying-hens-with-water-belly-or-ascites.68731/page-5

 

[dawg53]

Since your hen is eating and hasnt laid an egg in quite awhile, and she's in the penguin stance, she could possibly be egg impacted.
If her belly is hard, it's ascites aka waterbelly.
Other issues could be cysts or tumors.

Try soaking her in a container of warm water up to her sides. The warm water will relax and expand her innards. While she is soaking, put your hand under her abdomen and gently massage her underside front to rear. If there's a stuck egg(s), massaging will encourage her to move the egg along. Do this for about 30 minutes while she is soaking.
Then put on a disposable glove and put a little olive oil or vegetable oil just inside her vent. This will make it easier for her to lay a stuck egg especially if it's a large egg.
I've had this happen in the past when I owned White Leghorns.

 

[Chicky63]

I'm sorry about your hen.

With her not laying an egg all year, with a bloated abdomen and the way she is standing I would suspect some type of reproductive disorder.
If the abdomen is full of fluid you can have a vet drain it or you can do it yourself to see if this provides her some temporary relief. Whatever condition that is affecting her is still there, but she may make it for a while longer. An antibiotic may help with inflammation, again, this would be part of a supportive care and comfort measure.

Do see that she's drinking and eating, that her crop is emptying. Check her for lice/mites since often when a hen is not well, they don't preen and dust bath like they should.

If you lose her, then sending the body for necropsy will give you the most info about what condition was causing the symptoms. If you are up to it, you can perform your own informal necropsy at home. If you do that, then I would start by looking in the abdomen, the major organs and reproductive system.

Thanks for the information. I'll have to get a syringe and hope I can do this - yikes!

 

[Chicky63]

Since your hen is eating and hasnt laid an egg in quite awhile, and she's in the penguin stance, she could possibly be egg impacted.
If her belly is hard, it's ascites aka waterbelly.
Other issues could be cysts or tumors.

Try soaking her in a container of warm water up to her sides. The warm water will relax and expand her innards. While she is soaking, put your hand under her abdomen and gently massage her underside front to rear. If there's a stuck egg(s), massaging will encourage her to move the egg along. Do this for about 30 minutes while she is soaking.
Then put on a disposable glove and put a little olive oil or vegetable oil just inside her vent. This will make it easier for her to lay a stuck egg especially if it's a large egg.
I've had this happen in the past when I owned White Leghorns.

Thanks for this info! I can do this!

 

[Chicky63]

Since your hen is eating and hasnt laid an egg in quite awhile, and she's in the penguin stance, she could possibly be egg impacted.
If her belly is hard, it's ascites aka waterbelly.
Other issues could be cysts or tumors.

Try soaking her in a container of warm water up to her sides. The warm water will relax and expand her innards. While she is soaking, put your hand under her abdomen and gently massage her underside front to rear. If there's a stuck egg(s), massaging will encourage her to move the egg along. Do this for about 30 minutes while she is soaking.
Then put on a disposable glove and put a little olive oil or vegetable oil just inside her vent. This will make it easier for her to lay a stuck egg especially if it's a large egg.
I've had this happen in the past when I owned White Leghorns.

Her belly wasn't hard, felt kinda mushy. I'm going to do the bath now - thanks!

 

[Chicky63]

Well I gave her a 30 minute massage/soak - she got very relaxed, so far nothing happening. I did cook her an scrambled egg and she ate very well. Her belly seemed a bit harder than yesterday. When we put her back in the coop, she pooped - looks ok to me - what do you think?

 

[dawg53]

The poop is normal looking. You can continue to soak her as needed if you wish.