Need advice

[Green Acres farmer]

I’m not sure what it is but the area under the vent on one of my hens is swollen and red. It’s the area behind the legs going up toward the vent. She has isolated herself somewhat and isn’t too interested in food. I looked up information on an egg bound chicken but the symptoms don’t seem to fit her situation. Anybody have any ideas? I’m fairly new to chickens and have not encountered this problem before.

 

[Kwimmer78]

It could possibly be a blister. My jersey giant had one on her chest a while back. All I did was try and keep her off it as much as possible and it healed itself. I've never heard of what you have described, but hopefully, it doesn't get any worse.

 

[rebrascora]

Unfortunately swelling in the area you describe usually indicates salpingitis which is an infection of the oviduct which causes egg material to bind with pus and solidify into a lumpy mass called lash egg. Sometimes in the early stages of the ailment, the hen will "lay" a lash egg and it will be found in the nest box or sometimes in the run. Other times it just impacts the oviduct until eventually it gets so big that it constricts the gut and the bird's digestive system gets stopped back. The crop will usually become slow or sour and the bird will go off her food. She will usually die from toxic shock because she cannot eliminate faeces and only white liquid urates will be passed. Unfortunately at this stage it is usually too late to do anything but this ailment is often fatal even if caught early unless antibiotics are administered or major surgical intervention (hysterectomy) by a good avian vet, but the latter is very risky and expensive and the after care involves hormonal implants every 3-6 months to prevent further ovulation at $100-150 a time.
Another possibility is a tumour or internal laying although the latter usually causes the swelling to be lower hanging between the legs.

Sadly hens are particularly prone to these reproductive disorders, especially with high production birds like red sex links etc, once they reach 2+ years old as their reproductive system is well worn with constantly producing eggs without a break.

I'm sorry to be so bleak in my suggested diagnosis. Does any of the above sound like it ties in? Can you post a photo or her back end? How old is she and what breed?
If I am right, it may be time to consider euthanizing her if she is no longer eating. Does her crop feel full and squishy or empty? I would certainly recommend you at least get a second opinion before you follow that suggestion though. It is not something I suggest lightly but the location of the swelling and it being red and her going off her food is pretty telling. There is a video which shows a necropsy of a bird with this condition which is actually a propaganda video for veganism which I don't personally adhere to but unfortunately it does illustrate the hopelessness of this condition. I can post a link if it will help and you are not squeamish.

In the meantime, keep her somewhere that is a comfortable temperature where flies cannot lay eggs on her and you can monitor her and check to see if her crop empties and what her poop looks like and if she is eating or drinking at all. Some poultry supplement like Nutri Drench dripped carefully into her beak a drop at a time may give her a little boost but be very careful she does not aspirate any into her trachea.

 

[Green Acres farmer]

Unfortunately swelling in the area you describe usually indicates salpingitis which is an infection of the oviduct which causes egg material to bind with pus and solidify into a lumpy mass called lash egg. Sometimes in the early stages of the ailment, the hen will "lay" a lash egg and it will be found in the nest box or sometimes in the run. Other times it just impacts the oviduct until eventually it gets so big that it constricts the gut and the bird's digestive system gets stopped back. The crop will usually become slow or sour and the bird will go off her food. She will usually die from toxic shock because she cannot eliminate faeces and only white liquid urates will be passed. Unfortunately at this stage it is usually too late to do anything but this ailment is often fatal even if caught early unless antibiotics are administered or major surgical intervention (hysterectomy) by a good avian vet, but the latter is very risky and expensive and the after care involves hormonal implants every 3-6 months to prevent further ovulation at $100-150 a time.
Another possibility is a tumour or internal laying although the latter usually causes the swelling to be lower hanging between the legs.

Sadly hens are particularly prone to these reproductive disorders, especially with high production birds like red sex links etc, once they reach 2+ years old as their reproductive system is well worn with constantly producing eggs without a break.

I'm sorry to be so bleak in my suggested diagnosis. Does any of the above sound like it ties in? Can you post a photo or her back end? How old is she and what breed?
If I am right, it may be time to consider euthanizing her if she is no longer eating. Does her crop feel full and squishy or empty? I would certainly recommend you at least get a second opinion before you follow that suggestion though. It is not something I suggest lightly but the location of the swelling and it being red and her going off her food is pretty telling. There is a video which shows a necropsy of a bird with this condition which is actually a propaganda video for veganism which I don't personally adhere to but unfortunately it does illustrate the hopelessness of this condition. I can post a link if it will help and you are not squeamish.

In the meantime, keep her somewhere that is a comfortable temperature where flies cannot lay eggs on her and you can monitor her and check to see if her crop empties and what her poop looks like and if she is eating or drinking at all. Some poultry supplement like Nutri Drench dripped carefully into her beak a drop at a time may give her a little boost but be very careful she does not aspirate any into her trachea.

She was eating and hanging out with the other girls this morning. Im going to soak her in a warm epsom salt bath today. I’ll post a picture after that. I also plan to separate her to see if she is eating, drinking, and pooping. I’ll also monitor her crop as you suggested. She is a RI Red and a little over two years old. I hope it’s not what you suggest because it sounds awful for her.

 

[Green Acres farmer]

Okay, I soaked her back side in warm water and epsom salt and cleaned her up back there. She is eating, drinking, pooping, and doing normal chicken stuff. Her crop feels normal. She waddles a bit when she is walking though. I took a picture of her back side and her poop. As soon as I figure out how to put it in here I’ll do it Tell me what you think.

 

[Green Acres farmer]

 

[rebrascora]

Oh dear, she is pretty swollen, poor girl! It might be salpingitis or internal laying and/or possibly ascites as it is extending quite low and waddling is usually more associated with ascites and internal laying as it is more between the legs and pushes them wider apart. Does it feel firm or more like a water balloon?
These reproductive issues can go on for weeks or even months before they come to a head and the bird will act pretty normal during that time. Their comb will often be red and they may even visit the nesting boxes but if you can monitor that closely, they usually don't lay anything, but may even still sing the egg song. If she can make it as far as moulting and it happens sooner rather than later, she may show some improvement as she stops ovulating and the swelling may even diminish during the winter months of down time but once you see her comb plump up and go red in the late winter/early spring, the swelling will start to increase again and she is unlikely to make it past spring.
You could try to trigger her to moult now by caging her overnight for several weeks and keeping her in a dark place until midday each day and then letting her out to forage with her pals or you could opt for hormonal implants now to stop her from ovulating which will achieve the same thing..... preventing more eggs going onto the production line and adding to the pile up..... Think of it like a factory and there is a glitch in the works and you need to shut the production line down to allow the mess to be cleared up before it becomes a mountain. Unfortunately it is unlikely that her system can be fixed but she could potentially live happily with her egg factory shut down. Hormonal implants would need to be inserted and removed every 3-6 months at a cost of about $100-150 a go, which I appreciate is beyond the pocket of most people for a chicken.

 

[rebrascora]

You do need to act now before she goes into decline because once that mass starts pressing on her gut and preventing her from pooping she will go downhill rapidly. Once she starts passing just white urates and no proper faeces then it will usually be too late. If it feels like a water balloon, then you may be able to drain it to give her some quite instant relief but it will build up again because the underlying issue causing it has not been fixed.

 

[Green Acres farmer]

It feels like a water balloon. She was in the nesting box this morning. I’m going out soon to see if she has an egg and I’ll let you know. I appreciate your knowledge and advice.

 

[Green Acres farmer]

No egg. It may be what you suggest. I’ll keep an eye on things. Just curious, by relieving pressure do you mean go in and dig stuff out of her?