As long as her friends treat her well, and she's eating and drinking and looking brighter, she can absolutely stay with the flock. It's all in watching how she does and that nobody harasses her. I think chickens with ascities actually do better when they can move around freely - being constricted in a crate makes the problem worse.
I would definitely get some 14 or 16 gauge needles - at farm supply stores they sell them in small packs of 3 or 5, or search online to buy a box of 100. The thicker fluid will flow out much easier, even a 16 gauge will make a difference
Staying on the right lower side of her abdomen is ideal. With a 1" long needle in that lower right side, you're clear of organs. Gravity will do the work for you - it's all just one big open cavity- chickens don't have a diaphragm.
Just pay attention to how you position and hold her during draining - watch her to see how she's breathing, whether her comb darkens up right away - often times when you pick a chicken with ascities up, it further compresses everything and makes it harder for her to breathe.
It's hard to know how long she'll hold on. It always seems to come to a point where they drop weight VERY quickly and spiral down hill. One with a terrible case of EYP (hers was yellow chunky horrid nastiness) did well with routing draining for about 4 months and took a turn after that. She got to spend most of her days with the flock, and always bounced back after draining- until the time she didn't. I too was lucky that my flock was nice to her.
As far as whether she will make it to summer where the heat will be a concern, it's hard to know what course her illness will take and how long she'll go. Usually we're talking months when we manage their care. When you get to the point where she loses a lot of weight suddenly and her breast bone feels like a knife, then you're looking at a week, give or take.
As far as when to drain to keep her quality of life:
Look for:
1. Darkened purple comb
2. Hunched pose (like the original picture on your post)
3. Watch her breathe: is she taking 'open beak' breaths if you watch her for a couple minutes?
4. Pay attention to how she walks - chickens with ascities tend to wind up with a much wider waddle step as the fluid comes back, and can't do the one foot in front of the other thing
5. Pay attention to her smell and how her crop is functioning- many times the first indication we notice is a crop not emptying. In chickens with ascities, the fluid is compressing everything and making it harder to digest and eliminate.
6. And of course- hands on inspection, the tighter the abdomen feels, the more fluid is in there needing a drain
I try to poke as few times as possible while maintaining their quality of life. Keep in mind the skin around the pokes will turn green (chicken bruises show up as green skin) so … don't panic and think the green skin is a horrible infection caused by the draining.
Vetricyn antiseptic spray does a great job in and around the site, and doesn't sting the chicken or inhibit healing. It is spendy, but a little goes a long way and you can use it ANYWHERE without adverse effects, unlike rubbing alcohol or peroxide.
