I believe the medicated feed is not allowed in the EU.but is the starter feed medicated?
Im worried about your sick chickens Manue. I had a heritage breed chicken (naine de Tournaisis) who had a big belly one day after laying eggs without shell on and off. I was way too late to help her when I noticed her belly was swollen.
I now now that giving extra calcium might have helped. Helping a chicken with ascites is very complicated and even for a specialised vet not successful most of the time. Don't read the spoiler if you look for good news for Canelle.
From the Dutch rescue laying hens site
Big belly
If your chicken suddenly has a palpably large and large belly, something serious has gone wrong with her egg laying device and there are most likely rotting eggs in her abdomen, tumors or other inflammations. There may also be peritonitis.
She also eats well and if she is still quiek then you can consider having her operated on by a bird veterinarian. She then removes the often rotting eggs from her belly and part of the fallopian tube, so she probably never lays eggs again. As a result, she can live for a long time if all goes well. Unfortunately, we also have the experience that half of the chickens did not survive such an operation. So that's a trade-off you have to make. If she doesn't seem to have much trouble, you can also choose to let her wander around with a big belly as long as she's still having a good time. If she is already clearly quite sick because of the big belly, then unfortunately our experience is that surgery rarely helps. It is then best not to let the chicken suffer for too long.
If you notice that your chicken has problems with laying eggs but she is not yet seriously ill and she does not yet have a very big belly, then you can consider having a Suprelorin implant inserted by the vet. As a result, she no longer lays eggs for a while (the implant is estimated to works 2 to 4 months) and can relax from the inside. If she gets problems again after that, you will be able to give her an implant again. Unfortunately, implants are on the pricey side.
If your chicken suddenly has a palpably large and large belly, something serious has gone wrong with her egg laying device and there are most likely rotting eggs in her abdomen, tumors or other inflammations. There may also be peritonitis.
She also eats well and if she is still quiek then you can consider having her operated on by a bird veterinarian. She then removes the often rotting eggs from her belly and part of the fallopian tube, so she probably never lays eggs again. As a result, she can live for a long time if all goes well. Unfortunately, we also have the experience that half of the chickens did not survive such an operation. So that's a trade-off you have to make. If she doesn't seem to have much trouble, you can also choose to let her wander around with a big belly as long as she's still having a good time. If she is already clearly quite sick because of the big belly, then unfortunately our experience is that surgery rarely helps. It is then best not to let the chicken suffer for too long.
If you notice that your chicken has problems with laying eggs but she is not yet seriously ill and she does not yet have a very big belly, then you can consider having a Suprelorin implant inserted by the vet. As a result, she no longer lays eggs for a while (the implant is estimated to works 2 to 4 months) and can relax from the inside. If she gets problems again after that, you will be able to give her an implant again. Unfortunately, implants are on the pricey side.