Redstar w/ waterfilled/bloated belly, graphic pic pg3

[ruth]

As long as it was water and not yolk it should be o.k. The last time I drained my hen, it was sort of light broth colored and not clear like it has always been. Not sure what that means she's still fine otherwise.

 

[Lunachick]

Gosh I have redstars. But thank you Ruth for a very descriptive lesson on the syringe. I hope I don't have to do that either, but I like to be prepared...just in case....I'd be shaking like Meriruka.


How is she Meriruka?

 

[meriruka]

Lunachick, thanks for asking..... She is doing well physically, but she was in the house for a while and when I put her back out , she lost her status as Alpha hen, so she is depressed. I divided the pen and put her in with the gentlest hens, that helped a little bit.
So far, no more fluid, keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[I'M On Island Time]

I drained the belly of my 3.5 year old Brahma on Thurs. Not sure why she had a water balloon between her legs, but she is about normal now and was on the roost last night for the first time in weeks.

She had a yellowish/clearish liquid come out. About 100ccs which I thought was a crazy amount. She felt lighter when I was done, and took huge deep breaths like, "Oh my! I can breathe again!"

I lost 2 Red Stars and 3 RIRs this summer, right around the 3 yr. mark. Some dropped dead in the driveway and were found on their backs, others died within a day or two after seemingly having a respiratory problem. I just lost another hen from the same batch (Wyandotte) 2 weeks ago. she wasted away to nothing and had a bit of a watery belly. I am guessing it was internal laying, but she was too far gone to do anything.

Good luck with your hen! I bet she'll be OK--just check her out often.

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

i just read the whole thread. keep us posted! i have 5 red stars!

 

[silkiechicken]

Best of luck. It's often caused by heart or liver failure where the heart can't keep the blood flowing right and thus fluid collects, or the liver doesn't make protein right thus the osmotic gradient leads to the bird filling up with plasma. Either way, it's going to be a life long condition now so you'll have to be ready to keep up on draining.

 

[maymiegirl]

You can help your chickens by giving them a feed supplement called carnitine. (I think I spelled it right) Pressure on their liver disallows the blood to flow through it. It is like getting cancer or sclerosis of the liver. The excess bloody fluid seeps out and builds up between the tissues and causes the bloating. It is a condition found commonly in broilers but a supplement of carnitine can prevent this.

 

[sammi]

Ruth..excellent advice and teaching.

 

[fowlgirl]

My favorite hen,Condi,went through the water balloon thing.I had been keeping you all updated on the process we went through with this.Got the syringe,drained her,bathed her,all went really well.Acites it's called.She was doing well though couldnt quite get around as well after the first big balloon.A few weeks later,quickly she got the balloon again,drained her,she was ok. A few days later,her organs shut down and she died. upon reading about Acites,the thing about it is it is a side effect of the liver shutting down.it happens in humans also.Some times we pull through it,not always.So my advice is to do the drain but watch her closely and hope for the best.