Sick chicken, swollen under vent - how to diagnose/treat?

[KellyGWillikers]

Looking for help for a Rhode Island Red hen (2.5 years old) who we found laying in the bushes today for much longer than usual. We noticed her comb had become pale and the area under her vent felt very swollen, her crop normal but on the empty side. I put on a glove with vaseline and put my finger in her vent to check for eggs/other- I didn't feel anything in the immediate (about a finger's length) area, but confirmed the swollen area was much larger than the other hens.

We moved her into the shady area by the coop and she did eat some treats (meal worms and plain yogurt) but only a small amount, and is standing around in a daze with her tail slightly lowered. We did observe her having white thin diarrhea after I checked in her vent.

In case this is useful: she is a prolific layer (last laid a beauteous brown egg yesterday) but sometimes lays soft eggs on top of other eggs during the night (once every few months).

I have lost a hen with a swollen under-vent area before, so am nervous this could end very sadly and quickly if we don't treat her soon. Does anyone have advice on how to determine what the problem is and how to treat? What does internal laying look like and is there an at-home treatment I can try?

Thank you!

 

[Perris]

@Wyorp Rock can you help with this?

 

[coach723]

A swollen abdomen is often a sign of a reproductive problem. Without images of her inards (and sometimes even with them) it can be hard to narrow it down and accurately diagnose until necropsy. If it feels like fluid (water balloon like) then it would be ascites and that is a symptom of another condition, like organ failure, cancer, etc. If it feels firm and hard then it can be from infectious matter building up from something like salpingitis or internal laying. If it's ascites, then sometimes draining the fluid can make them more comfortable for a time. But draining does not come without risk. Drain slowly and not too much at once or it can cause shock. Since she laid an egg the day before, that does confuse things, since reproductive problems will usually stop them laying, but since she has laid some abnormal eggs in the past, maybe it's just coming to a head now. Runny droppings could be from difficulty expelling them due to pressure on her abdomen, or a partial blockage. Sadly, the vast majority of things that cause a swollen abdomen are not really very treatable with success.
I will attach a link about draining ascites, and a link to information on salpingitis, and another general info on reproductive issues.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/
https://www.unusualpetvets.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Chicken-Reproductive-Disease.pdf