Swollen abdomen

ilovemychooks1

Chirping
May 3, 2021
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I have this chicken and people say her abdomen is swollen? I don’t remember when it started but it was months ago.. that time she has lice so the feathers fell bht never grew back for some reason even if the lice is gone. She’s a year old right now and molting. She has a decreased appetite and hasn’t laid eggs for weeks. She’s also less active but does dig around sometimes. Please tell me if you think she has water belly or something. I don’t know if her abdomen feels swollen to me.. it’s not very squishy
 

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It may be a bit swollen, but it's sometimes hard to tell in photos. If she's acting normal then I would just observe her.

A molting bird doesn't eat all that well, they often stop laying eggs during molt. Encourage her to eat and drink. A mash made out of her feed is sometimes enticing. I like to add buttermilk to the mash when my birds are in molt.
 
It may be a bit swollen, but it's sometimes hard to tell in photos. If she's acting normal then I would just observe her.

A molting bird doesn't eat all that well, they often stop laying eggs during molt. Encourage her to eat and drink. A mash made out of her feed is sometimes enticing. I like to add buttermilk to the mash when my birds are in molt.
Her combs tip is purple too especially in the evening.. I’ll try to add a video.
 
Her combs tip is purple too especially in the evening.. I’ll try to add a video.
It does look distended a bit in the photo. Comb tips being purple could be lack of oxygen.

Some folks do drain the fluid from their hen's abdomen if they are absolutely sure the swelling is fluid.
For me, if they are eating/drinking, moving about and not stressed, then I just observe.

Molting birds seem to lose their appetite and are more standoffish. She does have some irritation on the skin running along underneath the vent, if you can handle her gently you can put a little NuStock there to help heal that.
 
It does look distended a bit in the photo. Comb tips being purple could be lack of oxygen.

Some folks do drain the fluid from their hen's abdomen if they are absolutely sure the swelling is fluid.
For me, if they are eating/drinking, moving about and not stressed, then I just observe.

Molting birds seem to lose their appetite and are more standoffish. She does have some irritation on the skin running along underneath the vent, if you can handle her gently you can put a little NuStock there to help heal that.
Thanks. One of my others chickens who is the same breed as her also has similar abdomen as her but with more feathers. My other chicken who seems like a bantam has full feathers and her abdomen is way smaller.
 

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