cloverheart
In the Brooder
- Apr 20, 2023
- 3
- 1
- 11
Hello! I've recently noticed my 4 year old Buff Orpington hen has quite a distended abdomen. I've attached pictures. Ascites is a possibility, but I'm unsure.
She has no other symptoms of ascites. She's been a bit more lethargic than the rest of her flock, but she's always been a sleepier bird, so that doesn't alarm me. She's drinking well, she flocks and scratches like the others, she hasn't lost weight so I assume her appetite is also good. Her poops are normal and healthy. She hasn't laid eggs since last year, but she stopped after we lost the head hen, so I assumed it was because of grief (she showed other signs of grief at the time as well). However, even as her sisters have begun laying again, she still hasn't.
When I feel her abdomen, it is firm, and is the same temperature as her body. It doesn't appear to cause her pain when I palpate it.
I just gave her a bath, as she has a tendency to have watery poops and soil her feathers as a result. I lost a hen to flystrike last year, so I'm a bit hypervigilant to dirty vent feathers now. I noticed as I bathed her that she must've pulled out some feathers, so I sprayed her with Vetericyn after her skin dried.
In terms of diet, she and her flock are on 16% layer pellets. They free range all day, so they eat plenty of bugs and plants. They have multiple sources of fresh water.
Since her quality of life isn't poor because of this, I'm not too worried for her health, I just hate not knowing when something might be wrong with my ladies. This hen is so unbearably sweet and loves cuddles, I love her so much.
If anyone has any ideas, please chime in! Thank you.
She has no other symptoms of ascites. She's been a bit more lethargic than the rest of her flock, but she's always been a sleepier bird, so that doesn't alarm me. She's drinking well, she flocks and scratches like the others, she hasn't lost weight so I assume her appetite is also good. Her poops are normal and healthy. She hasn't laid eggs since last year, but she stopped after we lost the head hen, so I assumed it was because of grief (she showed other signs of grief at the time as well). However, even as her sisters have begun laying again, she still hasn't.
When I feel her abdomen, it is firm, and is the same temperature as her body. It doesn't appear to cause her pain when I palpate it.
I just gave her a bath, as she has a tendency to have watery poops and soil her feathers as a result. I lost a hen to flystrike last year, so I'm a bit hypervigilant to dirty vent feathers now. I noticed as I bathed her that she must've pulled out some feathers, so I sprayed her with Vetericyn after her skin dried.
In terms of diet, she and her flock are on 16% layer pellets. They free range all day, so they eat plenty of bugs and plants. They have multiple sources of fresh water.
Since her quality of life isn't poor because of this, I'm not too worried for her health, I just hate not knowing when something might be wrong with my ladies. This hen is so unbearably sweet and loves cuddles, I love her so much.
If anyone has any ideas, please chime in! Thank you.
