Now I Have a Bloated Chicken !!! ............. Help Please

[chickenzoo]

Chicken: 2 EE Hens aprox 3-4 years old.

Poo on first chicken seems normal, although not seen poo from the second chicken yet.

Feeding a chicken Starter from our local mill mixed with sweet feed and dog chow, (recently stopped the Mills layer because of concern with too much calcium for the roos.)
They are some what heafty girls.

These girls normally free range. I feed them OS and also egg shells.

Just noticed 1st chicken Tuesday then the other today. Started them on Amoxicillian and inserted mineral oil in vent on the 1st girl. Tried to drain fluid off their abdomen with 16 gauge short stumpy needle - but it only weeps clear yellow fluid.


Can not feel an egg, but it's hard w/ all the swelling.


What else do I do now? Is it because of the change in feed that is causing this? ( I trimmed the feathers on the 1st girl for a better view)

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

I don't know so here is a *bump*

 

[chickerdoodle]

I wonder a lot about that diet. Doesn't dog food have too much salt? I am not so sure it is balanced and would definitely wean back onto a better mix. You can offer free choice oyster shell for the hens for calcium and/or feed back their egg shells after they've been been cooked and crushed. You could also give a diet with less calcium although roosters often eat layer feed and are fine. OR--you could give the rooster some different feed first thing in the morning or last at night to reduce the calcium in his diet instead of changing the hens from a good layer feed. It seems like the hens have a fluid buildup which may be from kidney disease, tumors, internal laying, or any number of things can cause fluid in the abdomen. Please contact a veterinarian ASAP.

 

[chicmom]

I am also concerned about the diet. I feed my EE hens strictly layer pellets and they free range. I have never seen bloated chickens like that! They look like they could just pop if you stuck a pin in them! (Figuratively speaking of course.)

Starter is for chicks. I believe they are too old for that and need the layer mix, which is specially formulated for hens that lay eggs.

 

[chickenzoo]

The feed is in a big free choice bin for the free range chickens, ducks, geese, turkey etc.... so they pick out what they'd like. The feed comes from the mill, the starter and layer are almost the same thing except for the added calcium in the layer or a little higher protein in the starter.I fed the sweet feed and other stuff for years w/o problems..... I feed over 300 of various ages and it was mentioned that too much calcium in a roos diet can cause liver problems, so I switched to the starter since they only carry one or the other.... no grower. Out of all those, these are the only 2... at least for now and they are sisters... so I don't know.

 

[AccentOnHakes]

Quote:
Do you have the parents? I don't know...maybe they have some kind of allergy they inherited from the parents if they came from shipped egg? Or a recessive bloating gene that both parents carried?

 

[chickenzoo]

I'm sure it's either a reproductive issue or an infection............ just need to know what else to try......

 

[chickenzoo]

 

[prncssprplfrog]

Personally- I think a trip to THE VET is in order. I know someone else mentioned it. Some things I treat at home, but I also know when it is time to get my beloved pets to the DR. Just my 2¢.

 

[fiberart57]

Go up to the search option and do a search for acsitis. It's a condition of fluid buildup in the abdomen. There are tales and procedures for draining it in previous posts. Or as was suggested, take her to a vet.

Good luck, Mary