swollen abdomen, spreading throughout flock

[daniefon]

Week before last one of my hens was acting very lethargic, when I examined her she had a very swollen belly. I treated her like you would for an egg bound problem, on the advice of my vet. When I got nowhere, I took her in. He thought it was liver disease and I treated her as he advised and she died. He said the chances were slim, but treating was worth a shot.
Now, another is acting the same way, so I checked and she is swollen. I checked the other 11 and all have varying degrees of swollen bellies. I'm waiting to hear back from the vet. In the meantime, I've isolated the lethargic bird and given her the meds I was given for the first chicken. I've given the others Duramycin, wormer and vitamins with electrolytes in their water at the advice of the feed store where I bought the birds. They are almost 3 years old at this time, have been eating, drinking and laying. Anyone have a similar experience?

 

[seminolewind]

I would make sure the feed is not moldy or contaminated. Since you really have nothing to lose, if there's a chance it's bacterial, I would treat them all with a worming , (Valbazen), Sulfadimethoxine (for cocci and bacteria), and Tylan or Euromycin (more bacteria). That should cover everything treatable.

If it's ascites, I would not know what could affect them all. If it's egg yolk peritonitis, the cause could be e. coli going up the egg tube and infecting the ovaries. It's hard to say without a necropsy. If you can do a necropsy, I have Casportpony's instructions at the bottom in my signature. It includes addresses and instructions.

 

[Eggcessive]

What breed are the chickens, and what type of food do they eat? Fatty liver hemorrhagic disease is common in overweight hens. On examining the liver after death, it can look tan, yellow, or have bloot clots ranging from bright red to green or brown. There is usually a drastic decrease in egg laying, and there may be large amounts of greasy fat around organs, and a pale comb. I don't know if that could be a problem with your flock, but here are some articles to read about it:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/p...ty_liver_hemorrhagic_syndrome_in_poultry.html
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...oultry/219/fatty-liver-haemorrhagic-syndrome/
http://www.tillysnest.com/2013/11/fatty-liver-diseases-in-backyard.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/12/chickens-obesity-silent-killer-how-to.html

 

[daniefon]

Thank you for your advice! It's pretty much what I am doing right now, but confirmation is always good. I can't get the exact products you recommend, but I have gotten the best substitutions that are available here.

 

[daniefon]

Thank you! I will read the articles.
Mine are a mixed flock, but they aren't overweight. They eat layer rations, and any leftover fruit and vegetable trimmings that I have. That's pretty much it.

 

[Michael Apple]

You may want to examine this: http://www.nda.agric.za/docs/gut/default.htm
LS-50 or LinxMed is pretty effective for bacterial infections in the gut:
http://www.qcsupply.com/540347-lincomycin-soluble-powder-80-gm.html

A water soluble powder Amoxicillin could be used too. I suggest if you lose one soon, get the bird to a lab for a necropsy. Here is a list of labs by state: http://www.poultryimprovement.org/documents/AuthorizedLaboratories4-3-2015.pdf

 

[daniefon]

Thank you! None of them mention swollen abdomen, but almost all of them suggest treating with tetracycline, which I am doing. I will look for the Amoxicilin too. Do you know if they can take both at the same time. Also, I am considering giving them ACV to replace the probiotics being killed with the antibiotics, however, I've read not to do it with wormers. Do you know how long to wait?

 

[Michael Apple]

Thank you! None of them mention swollen abdomen, but almost all of them suggest treating with tetracycline, which I am doing. I will look for the Amoxicilin too. Do you know if they can take both at the same time. Also, I am considering giving them ACV to replace the probiotics being killed with the antibiotics, however, I've read not to do it with wormers. Do you know how long to wait?

What age are the birds and what condition are the droppings (watery, foamy, bloody, excess mucous, etc.)?
What all intestinal diseases have in common is the ability to cause enteritis (intestinal inflammation) which eventually destroys the intestinal lining if not treated early enough. ACV won't do anything positive for your birds in this condition, and is not a necessity when it comes to supplements.

What would greatly help the problem would be a fecal test and culture to find out what you are dealing with. Tetracyclines really don't have much affect on anything but very mild bacterial infections.

Metronidazole (Flagyl), Trimethoprim-sulfa, Furaltadone, Lincomycin-Spectinomycin are useful antibiotics when it comes to bacterial diseases in the intestinal tract.

Amprolium, Toltazuril, are effective against coccidia. Piperazine is not very effective, and only is on roundworms. Albendazole, Fenbendazole are more effective on most all worms.

When using water dispersible powder antibiotics, there is no use giving probiotics until the day after the end of antibiotic therapy, which generally lasts a week or less. The label directions on tetracycline powders give it away since duration of therapy can be anywhere from 7-21 days. It just lost it's effectiveness due to overuse.

 

[daniefon]

I was finally able to talk to the vet and he said it sounds like chylmidiosis (pardon the misspell) and that he will test droppings today. The good news is that it's curable with tetracycline. I will keep you posted so that should you encounter the same situation, you'll have some insight.
The bad news, it can be passed to humans-ugh! Sadly, I was more worried about my dogs, it is not something that dogs can catch.

 

[enola]

Do you mean chlamydiosis?