sick chicken with big belly

[lov-my-chickies]

I just returned from vacation and my husband was watching my girls. He didn't notice that one of them was walking slowly, tail down. When I took a look at her I noticed a huge belly bump between her legs. Can anyone help??

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC! Sorry your hen is sick. looks to me like she probably has ascites, which isn't usually treatable.
Maybe we can get @speckledhen, @TwoCrows , and @Eggcessive to comment.

 

[TwoCrows]

I am so sorry about your girl.

If she has a water balloon for an abdomen, generally the outcome is not a good one. Fluid is leaking into the internal cavities from possibly internal laying, liver disease or heart disease, there are no doubt other reasons, but these are the most common.

You can relieve her discomfort by draining her belly, however this is only temporary. The belly will refill. And what happens is, when the belly cavity is full, the fluid fills other cavities, eventually constricting the heart and the bird dies, if not from infection from internally laying or liver disease.

I have drained birds several times to keep them comfortable but all of them in the end, passed on.

You will need an 18 or 20 gauge needle and syringe, an alcohol wipe and a big towel to wrap up the bird. If you look closely at the skin on the belly, you should see pockets of yellow, these are where you want to drain. Other darker area will have blood, and you don't want blood.

You are going to wipe the area with the wipe and then stick the needle in 1/8 to 1/4 inch only. Suck out about 2ml. Then find another area and draw out another 2ml. Repeat this about 6 times. Never try to get it all out, you can send them into cardiac arrest. 6 times at 2ml each time is enough. She will drip dry over the next 24 hours. I use those puppy pee pads and keep them separated in a cage while they drip dry.

Just remember this will not fix the problem, only relieve her for a while. As to when she refills, could be 5 days, could be 2 months. Depends on what exacly is going on internally.

 

[TwoCrows]

And depending on what color the fluid is, sometimes you can figure out what they are ailing from. Green fluid is liver disease, deepy orangy yellow is heart failure and clear to yellow is internal laying. If she is internally laying, you might also try a round of penicillin.

 

[andreanar]

I'm sorry your girl is sick.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have a hen like that which has been running around with my flock for over 2 years with her big swollen bottom. I keep planning on putting her down, but she gets up on the roost at night, then goes out with the flocks and eats and drinks, while moving about all day. Make sure to keep her vent area cleaned of poop which can attract flies. The others are more experienced with ascites or fluid in the belly from heart failure or internal laying. If the belly is tight like a drum, it might need draining. If it is spongy, it could be a hernia or evidence of internal laying. Sometimes it is hard to know exactly what is going on until after they die when you can do a necropsy. I would try to make her comfortable, get her eating a drinking. You can try to drain her if it is needed, and the others can tell you how it is done.

 

[unbaked pegga]

I am so sorry your girl is sick

 

[speckledhen]

Others have given you good information. Like @Eggcessive, I had one hen who went over two years with a bloated belly, drained her once when it got so bad, she could barely walk, but when she died and I opened her up, one lobe of her liver was two huge, baseball size tumors. I consulted a vet I know and he said it was another form of internal laying, that egg yolks are there and have to go somewhere and they were being deposited in the liver. It was insane! I'd never seen that form before. She was a giant, extra large-framed breeder quality Buff Orpington hen. A lesser hen would never have made it that long in her condition, I'm positive.

No matter what the cause of the bloat, whether reproductive, heart or liver or a combination thereof, it is, sadly terminal. Draining won't fix it. I quit draining hens unless it got just rididulous and they were dragging a bowling ball with their legs splayed apart. Usually, it doesn't get quite that bad, or hasn't except with a couple of hens. I've lost probably 16 hens now to reproductive malfunctions, mostly internal laying, some cancers, some that had other things going on inside. A few bloated up and then, were relieved on their own, but they never laid again or laid a few eggs and quit again, and are still with me, but those are the exceptions to the rule and I have no idea why the fluid dissipated on its own.

 

[lov-my-chickies]

Thank you so much everyone for responding. I think I will not prolong her suffering and discomfort since the outcome is not a good one for her. Thanks so much again.

 

[casportpony]

Thank you so much everyone for responding. I think I will not prolong her suffering and discomfort since the outcome is not a good one for her. Thanks so much again.

So sorry.