Oldest Chicken not pooping very well and has a swollen, hard abdomen!!

[chickensarefamily2me]

Please help me. My oldest chicken is named Ethel, and for quite a few months, she has had a very swollen and hard abdomen. Today, I noticed that she wasn't pooping very well. It appeared to be that she is constipated. Ethel is 5 years old, and my sweet "Old Lady Ethel". I know she is older, but I would like to atleast know why she is this way. She is very alert, and likes to talk to me in my mornings before school. She doesn't lay eggs anymore.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi and welcome to BYC! sorry about Ethel, don't know all of her symptoms but maybe look up Lymphoid Leukosis, not saying this is Ethels problem but at her age it's a possibility. What all do you feed her? I am not sure what to do for a constipated hen

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

Is she still laying, has she layed in the cast few days? oOps, missed she is not laying, still possible she is eggbound or having some internal laying.

 

[CMV]

Quote:
Agree. Sounds like she may be laying internally. Not uncommon in older hens. Look up some posts by SpeckledHen. She's one of the mods here and has dealt too often with these issues. She has had several older (and younger) hens that are internal layers. She has had some valiant battles keeping her girls alive when they would have succumbed to these issues. If anyone can help Ethel out, she can. Unfortunately, internal laying is almost always fatal in the end, but you may be able to keep Ethel more comfortable until that end comes.

Good luck. And sorry for the tough times.

 

[chickensarefamily2me]

Thank you for everyones' help. Ethel appears to be quite fine and alert, if it weren't for those strange two symptoms. But, chickens always hide weakness til the end. I feed Ethel Purina Hen Scratch, Layena, pure Protein crumbles, and cracked corn. I unfortunately cannot take Layena out of her diet; all my chickers eat the same mix. She is no longer in production, as her comb in a light pink amd much smaller than it was a year ago.