Swollen belly, comb dark & dropped, penguin stance. And now a fly-strike.

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Hi, this is rough and I am already in tears, so please no judgement.

Cocotte is a white Leghorn and normally not a fan of cuddling.

She has a very swollen abdomen, her comb is dark and shriveled looking. Her breathing is labored and she is letting me sit her on my lap for long periods. She stands like a penguin and for the last day or two wasn't laying down (my Leghorns often like to sleep in nestboxes and I let them) but sleeping in penguin stance.

I was washing her butt because she had diarrhea and found some flies got her above her "hole". I washed it and put powder on it (in past that has been best treatment for fly-strike on other hen.

I have not put a finger in her as I am afraid of breaking an egg inside her. My spouse "felt" her sides and did not "feel" and egg but there was no internal exam.

I don't want to see her suffer if she will not recover and I have no access to a vet.

Should she be culled or can she be treated ?

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Here is her comb and diarrhea

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Butt pic

 

[Carolforeman63]

May be Coccidiosis. It can be treated with corid in their water for five days. I had one that I lost last week. But I have been sick for a while and had a friend watching my chickens. I have been treating the rest of them with corid. I don’t see any more diarrhea in the coop. So I guess it’s helping the rest of them.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Sounds like she's suffering from a reproductive Disease, like Water Belly(Ascites), or possibly a tumor. The penguin posture is a symptom.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

How do I tell the difference between coccidiosis and tumour/reproductive issues?

 

[MysteryChicken]

I had a hen with water belly that was too far gone for saving early this year, or sometime last year(I don't Remember), & I had to put her down. Her belly was like 10lbs of liquid weighing her down.

 

[MysteryChicken]

How do I tell the difference between coccidiosis and tumour/reproductive issues?

Coccidiosis has different symptoms. Puffing up, standing alone, excessive thirst, Bloody Diarrhea, or Bubbly Diarrhea.

Reproductive Disease often have the penguin posture, whether there's straining, or no straining involved, distended belly. The symptoms depend what exactly is going on, so some may display slightly different symptoms then another.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

She is straining, her bum hole pulses like she wants something out

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

She has no real appetite or thirst.