Sick chicken- egg bound?

[Osugirl2009]

I have a sick hen and I am not sure if she’s egg bound or if something else is going on. She was free ranging yesterday with the rest of the flock, but today I found her on their nesting box. At first I thought she was starting to be brody, but she is just very lethargic. We have soaked her in an epson salt bath. Put petroleum jelly on her vent, tried giving her electrolyte water as well as some scrambled eggs. She isn’t eating or drinking. I have had hens for years and never experienced this before.

 

[coach723]

How old is she? Do you know when she last laid?
Her abdomen looks bloated to me, does it feel very firm or water balloon like?
That often means a reproductive problem, cancer, infection, etc. They often hide the symptoms very well until it's pretty advanced.

 

[Osugirl2009]

How old is she? Do you know when she last laid?
Her abdomen looks bloated to me, does it feel very firm or water balloon like?
That often means a reproductive problem, cancer, infection, etc. They often hide the symptoms very well until it's pretty advanced.

She’s almost 2. Hard to say when she last laid as we have a total of 12 hens and it’s random right now being winter. Her abdomen is more like a water balloon. I was reading about it being an infection or something else. Her breathing is getting heavier as the day has gone on and I feel like we have exhausted all of our efforts as she won’t even open her eyes now.

 

[coach723]

Water balloon like is from fluid in the abdomen, called ascites. It's usually from the liver leaking, can be from organ failure and often accompanies cancers and other reproductive problems. With some hens it can be drained and they will be more comfortable for a while, but it generally recurs since the underlying condition is still there. It sounds like she's probably pretty far gone and not likely to recover, and attempting to drain would probably be more than her system could handle. I would consider euthanizing if you think she's suffering. She may not last through the night. I'm very sorry. A necropsy after she passes is the best way to know for sure what the cause is.