Swollen bottom, but not egg bound? *UPDATE-we had to put her down-EYP*

[lizage]

My year-old BSL has had runny (green/yellowish) poop and a floppy comb all week. I finally was able to grab hold of one of the other BSL's for comparison and the sick hen has a really large, swollen bottom (easily 3x bigger). She has not been near the nest and I couldn't feel anything that felt like an egg. Her bottom is mainly squishy, not hard. She walks slower, but doesn't squat. I'm pretty sure she's not laying. It doesn't seem like she's gotten any worse, but she's not any better either. Her vent looks fine and there's no redness or heat anywhere. When I 'massage' her bottom, she makes little grunting noises and relaxes, almost like it feels good to her.

Is it possible she ate something last weekend and it's making her sick like this? I have googled and searched this site for the past 4 days and her lack of any other symptoms is perplexing.

Any other ideas???

 

[tinychicky]

Sounds like she has a belly full of worms to me. I doubt massaging her abdomen would feel good :/ Try wazine or piprozine 17.

I've also seen these symptoms with coccidiosis. Is she at all pale and are any other birds showing symptoms? A photo might help too. Corid is best for cocci. I hope this helps!

 

[lizage]

Here's some pictures. No, she doesn't look pale and all other 8 flock mates are fine.

Also, this came on overnight. One day she was fine, the next day this.

Full body pic


Poop picture

 

[TheNewMrsEvans]

Try deworming as mentioned, but worst case if she hasn't layed in a while she might be an internal layer.
If you are worried about her being egg bound give her a few tsp of vegi oil for the next few days and keep her warmer than usual with a lamp or heating pad on one end of her cage. Sometimes they will have runny poo while egg bound. You will know quickly if she will turn around or go south.
I had a BJG who's bum swelled up but stayed soft and she lived like that for years afterwards, just never layed anymore...who knows why she was so round!

 

[seminolewind]

I don't know if all her symptoms match, but have you thought about peritonitis or ascites?

 

[lizage]

I know she was laying as of last week (by the number of eggs I was getting/day). I have been down 1 egg each day this week. I'm stumped. If she had worms, wouldn't the other birds have them too? I think I will at least try and take a stool sample to the vet in the morning (assuming they can look at it). I have never wormed before and I don't want to worm her unless I can be more certain. I would hate to medicate her unnecessarily when she's already sick.

 

[tinychicky]

Try deworming as mentioned, but worst case if she hasn't layed in a while she might be an internal layer. I had a BJG who's bum swelled up but stayed soft and she lived like that for years afterwards, just never layed anymore...who knows why she was so round!

good point :/

Anyway she looks quite healthy besides the poop. I thinks worms are most likely the cause. You can also look through her manure and see if you can spot any worms in there. Usually only the worsed cases have worms in the manure but it's worth a try. You can also feed a little raw garlic as it is a natural wormer...just mix it into a little yogurt or oatmeal. Some apple cider vinigar couldn't hurt either

 

[lizage]

I don't know if all her symptoms match, but have you thought about peritonitis or ascites?

I suppose peritonitis isn't out of the question...will see what else I can find out about it...

 

[lizage]

good point :/

Anyway she looks quite healthy besides the poop. I thinks worms are most likely the cause. You can also look through her manure and see if you can spot any worms in there. Usually only the worsed cases have worms in the manure but it's worth a try. You can also feed a little raw garlic as it is a natural wormer...just mix it into a little yogurt or oatmeal. Some apple cider vinigar couldn't hurt either

I have been checking her poop daily and haven't seen any sign of worms. And she does look good otherwise, although my 8 yo daughter said she looked "beefy", lol.

 

[hen-at-home]

I've been dealing with this issue also with two of my girls. It lasted for months with one of my girls and she just continued to get worse. I tried worming her but nothing changed. I finally determined that she must just be an internal layer. It is the only explanation I can come up with. There was another thread titled 'balled butt and swollen below vent' in which others were describing similar symptoms. You might want to check that out. My girls never had the "balled" part though, just the green diarrhea and swelling.

I don't know much about a hen being egg bound. Since she was laying last week is it possible a few warm soaks might loosen things up or I've read about olive oil being used? I know you said you didn't think you felt an egg, but is it possible to miss it??? I know exactly what you mean about being "squishy" though, that's how my girl feels. I don't know that my girl ever laid. I think it's great that you will take a fecal sample in to be sure. I will be watching this thread as I would really like to know how things turn out for you. Sorry I wasn't more help, just wanted to share that you weren't the only one dealing with something similar.