Possible egg yolk peritonitis

[jfmorini]

So I've read through a lot of threads on here and looked up a lot of articles and youtube videos. I'm looking for thought and opinions on my specific circumstance here. I have a hen that I think is probably laying internally. She has penguin stance, is off balance, and has the enlarged squishy abdomen. I started her off with baths when I thought she might be eggbound but quickly found that wasn't the issue. I was able to drain just over 220 MLs of clear unscented fluid from her abdomen a couple days ago. I was expecting the yellowish brown color. She looked better after and was breathing better but still has the sagging squishy abdomen. I tried draining her a few more times since then, but I get nothing except for once where I got a few droplets that looked like it had a slimy, cloudy, string like piece in it. Since I can't extract anything more I'm thinking it might be just a bunch deposited egg yolks and it's too thick. I want to try drawing from further up her belly, buy I don't want to risk puncturing anything important either. This condition appeared overnight too, there was seemingly no progression into this. Thoughts?

 

[guest226]

Have you tried to research water belly/ascites? I'm not an expert at all, but if the abdomen is squishy and large it could be that. Since the fluid you drained is yellow, that is also a symptom.

Ascites connects to heart failure, and If i can recall it is more common in larger hens. Meat chickens/broiler chickens sometimes develop this condition at a pullet age, but for older hens it can happen as they age. However, the fact that it developed overnight is strange. I don't believe ascites develops that quickly. Keep the egg yolk peritonis/egg bound in mind.

https://thecapecoop.com/water-belly-ascetis-in-chickens/
https://poultryhealth.ca/ascites-water-belly/

Again, I am not an expert and have not experienced this. I would definitely reach out to more experienced people before making any risky/surgical decisions.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So I've read through a lot of threads on here and looked up a lot of articles and youtube videos. I'm looking for thought and opinions on my specific circumstance here. I have a hen that I think is probably laying internally. She has penguin stance, is off balance, and has the enlarged squishy abdomen. I started her off with baths when I thought she might be eggbound but quickly found that wasn't the issue. I was able to drain just over 220 MLs of clear unscented fluid from her abdomen a couple days ago. I was expecting the yellowish brown color. She looked better after and was breathing better but still has the sagging squishy abdomen. I tried draining her a few more times since then, but I get nothing except for once where I got a few droplets that looked like it had a slimy, cloudy, string like piece in it. Since I can't extract anything more I'm thinking it might be just a bunch deposited egg yolks and it's too thick. I want to try drawing from further up her belly, buy I don't want to risk puncturing anything important either. This condition appeared overnight too, there was seemingly no progression into this. Thoughts?

If you are not getting any more fluid from her, then I would stop.
Most drain once, then don't drain again for a good while.

Perhaps she does have EYP or she may be the hen that expelled the material below that I saw on another thread that you recently made (Photos and link below).

The outer layer does look similar to Lash material or at least a layer of pus. The rest rest is layers of membrane/shell, etc.
Possible she's laid internally and there's fluid in the abdomen due to this.

I'd try to make her comfortable. If you have an antibiotic like Amoxicillin you can try giving her that to see if it helps with inflammation.

Sadly, these conditions can be common and hens often decline further or they may go on for a good while longer. If you lose her, doing a necropsy will help you to see what was going on inside.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/lash-egg.1601018/

 

[jfmorini]

If you are not getting any more fluid from her, then I would stop.
Most drain once, then don't drain again for a good while.

Perhaps she does have EYP or she may be the hen that expelled the material below that I saw on another thread that you recently made (Photos and link below).

The outer layer does look similar to Lash material or at least a layer of pus. The rest rest is layers of membrane/shell, etc.
Possible she's laid internally and there's fluid in the abdomen due to this.

I'd try to make her comfortable. If you have an antibiotic like Amoxicillin you can try giving her that to see if it helps with inflammation.

Sadly, these conditions can be common and hens often decline further or they may go on for a good while longer. If you lose her, doing a necropsy will help you to see what was going on inside.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/lash-egg.1601018/

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Yeah, I've stopped trying to drain her. I just thought her abdomen would be less swollen and she'd be able stand more chicken like especially with how much I got out of her. That's a good point she could be the same one that deposited that piece, but I feel like she may not be only because it was in a different coop than where she sleeps and I'm pretty sure it dropped overnight unless I missed it earlier in the day. I have had a few membrane only eggs drop overnight in her coop though so those were probably her. I moved her back out with her sister this morning from her luxury bathtub suite. She has been perky enough since that draining and I'll continue to keep an eye on her and make sure she's alright