Please help-could it be egg peritonitis, egg bound or internal laying?

[dawniemc]

We have had 2 hens for 2 years and one of them has become very inactive, a bit bloated, won't eat and when my husband went to pick her up she just let out diarrhea : ( She seems lethargic and has trouble keeping her eyes open and right now she is staying in the corner in the coop and will not respond or eat. She is just standing there unhappy and bloated.

We live in the Torrance area of Los Angeles and we have a nice back yard and they get plenty of veggies, scratch, mash and most recently some all purpose pellets in addition to some Oyster Shell. I am not sure if she is reaching the height of her chicken years. She did not lay through the winter but the other one did. No surprise with it being winter but this is Los Angeles and they laid all last winter but then again it was a bit colder than usual this year, so we were not concerned. Any suggestions?

I was going to mix some cod liver oil with some spinach in case she is backed up. We both recently lost our jobs and are on a tight budget and we have limited vets to see chickens and they charge a lot. I do not want her to suffer and will take her in if necessary, but if anyone has been through this or has any suggestions I would love to hear from you. Thanks, Dawn -

She was brought in overnight and she is just resting. We gave her a heating pad under some towels and fresh water and yogurt and she has not eaten or been active at all. She is just docile. : (

Last edited by dawniemc (Today 10:38 am)

 

[Miss Lydia]

so sorry this is happening, what does her vent look like it it pulsating? you say she is bloated can you feel anything in her abdomen? I haven't had to deal with egg bound hens or ascites, which is were fluild builds up in the abdomen, Have you ever wormed your hens? have you checked for parasites like mites/ lice?
just wanted to give you this information and see if it matches your hens symptoms .Ascites is also called 'water belly' as the bird's abdomen feels like a water balloon. It must be treated or it will eventually kill the bird by stressing her heart and circulatory system. I had a silver laced wyandotte with ascites that was caused by fatty liver syndrome (the vet thinks). I took her to the vet because, like you, I didn't want to stick her myself. You have to be careful not to penetrate her intestines as you will cause peritonitis. After draining a pint of fluid and putting her on milk thistle extract for the fatty liver problem, she has recovered and is doing fine. I hope your bird can get her fluid drained and recover quickly.

 

[dawniemc]

Thank you so much for your response. The hens were seen for worms on their initial vet visit when they were younger. My husband checked her abdomen and it is like a lil water baloon. I don't know what it could be. I am afraid of hurting her so I will probably have to take her to the vet even though we can not afford it.