Red spongy bottom

[nsanfro]

Hoping for some ideas on what this, might be. One of my silver laced Wyandottes has been losing her beautiful fluffy butt feathers. I managed to give her a "bottom bath" as I also noticed her vent was a bit dirty. Her bum/abdomen are red and spongy. She acts normal though. She's around 2 yrs old. Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is she having any difficulties - labored breathing, not laying egg, off food/water, crop issues, difficulty walking, etc.?


Likely she's starting show a bit of fluid in the abdomen, possibly the beginning of reproductive problems to come. Cancer, EYP, Internal Laying, Salpingitis, etc. are all common conditions seen in laying hens. Sometimes as a condition progresses, their abdomen can become distended with fluid, tumors or material.

IF she starts to have some problems, then you can offer supportive care like draining fluid (if there's any), making sure they are eating/drinking, keeping parasites under control, etc.
Draining, medications, etc. are not cures, but are part of supportive care.

Since you report she's acting normal, then I'd just monitor her.

 

[nsanfro]

Wyorp Rock - Thanks for responding! Every thing seems normal, with eating, etc. I did find an egg in the compost area yesterday late afternoon, it was possibly hers. (Laying outside of the nest boxes is a very rare occurrence.) The shell was very thin and it had a small crack - the dog was happy about that!
I'll check her crop tonight and tomorrow morning to see if there's an issue. I didn't notice any issues with the crop but wasn't really checking for that this morning. I don't really want to isolate her just yet.