Swollen bellies

[Lumenflower]

Hello. I have a flock of 4 year old silkie hens. A couple months ago one of my girls became very swollen underneath in between her legs and lethargic. It didn't feel hard like an egg and I thought it must be ascites, I had her euthanized because I cannot drain the fluid myself. I was not able to bring myself to necropsy, so I'm not certain whether the cause of death was truly ascites or if it could have been something else.

Now one of my other hens is showing the same issue- very swollen belly, not as lively as the other hens. I'm trying to find an appointment for her to get looked at by a poultry vet but what should I do in the meantime? At first I thought she may be egg bound so I've been giving her calcium every day for 4 days but she hasn't laid anything. (No one is laying right now, the hot weather in the southwestern US has made everyone only lay once every week or two.)

They eat dumor all flock 17% mixed with Purina start and grow because I heard you should increase protein intake in the summer. They occasionally get treats of watermelon or dark green leafy vegetables, but I take care not to overdo it.

Are there contagious causes of ascites I should be looking for? I don't think their feed was ever moldy or compromised. What could cause this to happen to more than one member of my flock? Could this possibly be egg bound related to dehydration? I haven't felt any eggs present in the vent but I have no idea what else could be going on. : (

Edit: forgot to mention, her crop is emptying well overnight. Her vent is dirty but I can't tell if it's from diarrhea from the heat, or if she might have vent gleet, as I heard that can cause swelling in the abdomen as well.

 

[Tookie]

How is she?

 

[Lumenflower]

As of Sunday she is still alive but under the weather. She is still very swollen and lethargic. She's sitting down more often so I'm very worried. She's laying down in the run but I haven't seen anyone bothering her so I haven't separated her yet.

GF said she saw her pooping so I don't think she's egg bound but I'm continuing to give her calcium daily because I don't know what else to do.

Today when I picked her up to give her the medicine I noticed a strong scent coming from her vent like ammonia- wondering if this is vent gleet? if it is, it must be pretty advanced by now.

Should I try to treat her with antifungals or is that a risky thing to do when I have no idea if that's actually what's wrong with her?

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you clean her vent area with a warm soak? Don’t do that if she is too weak. Pictures of her vent once clean and dry would be helpful. The ammonia odor from her vent is likely uric acid from kidney waste, which is the white material in her droppings. If she is not drinking enough, that may become increased. Make sure that she is offered water often, since she is inactive. Watery feed in a small bowl can get more fluids into her. Her swollen belly could be from internal laying or ascites. Ascites can occur with reproductive problems, cancer, and liver problems. Draining her with an 18 gauge sterile needle could help relieve the pressure, and make her feel better. Infection and more rarely, death could occur. I have learned a lot when doing a necropsy on hens that I have lost. The first time is hard, but there are videos online of what to look for.

 

[LaFleche]

When did you last deworm your chickens?

 

[Lumenflower]

They were dewormed with Fenbendazole in late July and then followed up two weeks later with Ivermectin (trying to treat SLM).

I've brought her inside the house and given her water with Nutridrench, I am going to give her some soupy feed in a few minutes to try to keep her hydrated. Her crop is totally empty so I don't think she's eating well.

Is the bath extremely important? I know she's kinda dirty around her vent but my hens have always hated bath time and I'm worried it's going to stress her out, but I definitely can do it if it's going to help her. Here's a vent pic.

Thank you so much for the info @Eggcessive I think you might be right about internal laying, I searched in the forums and found a few people saying their hens smelled strongly of ammonia while they were suffering from reproductive issues. ):

 

[Eggcessive]

You may be able to remove any dried droppings manually, and you can also trim any extra fluff holding onto poop. I would not stress her out. Ivermectin, although good for mites, may not be as effective against worms as it once was. I probably would retreat her twice 10 days apart with the fenbendazole now in case worms are the problem. Fenbendazole only treats live worms, not the larvae. When you use it the second time, it kills the newly hatched worms.