This has me stumped

[rebrascora]

Another possibility occurs to me..... Fatty liver syndrome which can be associated with inappropriate diet and/or lack of exercise (usually too much carbohydrate....scratch/mixed corn) that causes fatty deposits around the organs and can cause a build up of fluid in the abdomen (ascites). As with internal laying, the fluid can be drained using a large gauge hypodermic needle and improving the diet and adding a vitamin B complex supplement to support the liver may help to improve the condition along with perhaps more space to scratch and forage, to improve exercise levels.... reducing access to food and cutting out all treats except greens.

PS. I love the term ...

and look under the hood so to speak

Doing DIY necropsies can be very enlightening if you can get over the emotional trauma and ick factor and perhaps prevent further deaths in the flock by adjusting flock management system/diet/worming etc. I appreciate that not everyone can justify the cost of getting it done professionally particularly if only one bird has died, but having a look yourself and taking a few photos of the organs and anything that looks unusual and posting them on the forum can be beneficial not just for yourself but others can learn from them too..... hoping it doesn't come to that with your girls just yet though!

 

[peeper89]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ions-my-youtube-video-graphic-photos.1201052/

 

[unbaked pegga]

Well I didn't like the gloomy post from Barbara, but since we have ruled out the simple causes her information seemed to present the most likely cause. Should your chicken pass you might want to practice slaughter it and look under the hood so to speak and know for sure. All of the treatments seemed cost prohibitive at least for me for what I would be willing to spend on a chicken. Were it one of my dogs well that is another story.

Is it possible you can find a vet to do a cheap sono of the abdomen? They have those machines laying about the office anyway just collecting dust. Here is a cheasy one fur under $200- http://www.lgmedsupply.com/pselgulu...AkhYVQTs792tKkoHVRgdOAuF-WP-9LzUaAgV7EALw_wcB
and it has lots of great reviews. They are usually much more expensive, but like I said your vet has one and its just collecting dust. The unit above is crud because it only penetrates 4cm. OK that isn't even an US machine for visualizing anything I read now it is meant to deep heat tissue. Odd they would call it an ultrasound.......

edit- scratching my head who buys that kind of stuff. Your vet's actual US probably cost $5K

I don’t think I am up to looking under the hood so to speak. Don’t know that much about chicken anatomy. Plus these are pets, I don’t even eat eggs. I thought chickens were a little more sturdy than they are turning out to be and it is getting depressing having your pets only live one maybe two years and then having to bury them. So I am still stumped. If you should ever google the query “chicken with swollen bald butt” you would literally be amazed at how many posts there is about this at Backyard Chickens as well as at other forums.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Well I didn't like the gloomy post from Barbara, but since we have ruled out the simple causes her information seemed to present the most likely cause. Should your chicken pass you might want to practice slaughter it and look under the hood so to speak and know for sure. All of the treatments seemed cost prohibitive at least for me for what I would be willing to spend on a chicken. Were it one of my dogs well that is another story.

Is it possible you can find a vet to do a cheap sono of the abdomen? They have those machines laying about the office anyway just collecting dust. Here is a cheasy one fur under $200- http://www.lgmedsupply.com/pselgulu...AkhYVQTs792tKkoHVRgdOAuF-WP-9LzUaAgV7EALw_wcB
and it has lots of great reviews. They are usually much more expensive, but like I said your vet has one and its just collecting dust. The unit above is crud because it only penetrates 4cm.

I don’t think I am up to looking under the hood so to speak. Don’t know that much about chicken anatomy. Plus these are pets, I don’t even eat eggs. I thought chickens were a little more sturdy than they are turning out to be and it is getting depressing having your pets only live one maybe two years and then having to bury them. So I am still stumped. If you should ever google the query “chicken with swollen bald butt” you would literally be amazed at how many posts there is about this at Backyard Chickens as well as at other forums.

I feel ya there I'm not interested in slaughtering as we are ok I am 99% vegetarian as well. I also have 6 growing roos and 2 hens. I'll try to craigslist some but doubt I get any takers so......I'll be learning to slaughter for the neighbors benefit at least that is what option my money is on. I'm unwilling to build more coop space or segregate my flock so thems the breaks for me.

Also, if you can find someone to do a quick sono on that bird on the cheap it would be easy to rule out ascites as fluids show up black on an ultrasound.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Also if ascites @rebrascora had a very good and useful tidbit in there with stop feeding treats except greens. Ascites can resolve itself over time provided you remove what is causing the condition in the first place at least that is how it works in humans. I'd be willing to bet chicken to.

 

[unbaked pegga]

Also if ascites @rebrascora had a very good and useful tidbit in there with stop feeding treats except greens. Ascites can resolve itself over time provided you remove what is causing the condition in the first place at least that is how it works in humans. I'd be willing to bet chicken to.

You know that is definitely worth doing. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. So you are saying no scratch, no whole oats. Nothing but layer pellets..?

 

[ChicketySplit]

In order to better understand your situation, I have a few questions for you.

1. How many chickens do you have and what are their ages/breeds)genders?

2. What is the square footage of your coop? What is the square footage of your run?

3. Do you allow your birds to free-range?

4. What do you feed them regularly? Free-fed or portion-fed? If you give treats, what kind?

5. What history of sickness (or death) do you you have in your flock? At what age and what circumstances did your birds experience sickness or death?

If you can answer these questions, it may help us better evaluate your situation.

I have had a time with my chickens this last year. I lost one in April Andy another one in September. Recently in the last couple of months 2 of my orpington hens, a year and a half old, both bought from the same Hatchery, started losing feathers below their vent. I thought they were probably getting ready to molt. But as time went on I realized they weren’t losing any feathers anywhere else. One day I happened to notice one of the girls as she was bent over eating. As I looked closer there was this area below her vent that was swollen (about the size of 1/2 grapefruit) and completely bald and slick. It is soft and doesn’t seem to bother her. Her sister has the exact same thing!! They have a good appetite, free range and are active and bright eyed. This area is not anything that is protruding from her vent. Poop sticks to that area. Yuk. No bleeding. So I started googling the symptoms and could not believe the number of people whose chickens have had this malady. So many posts on here, but there is never a definitive answer as to what this was and some posters had even had their hens to a vet. Just today as I I was again going through articles about these symptoms I found a video on YouTube from a guy whose chicken had this very same thing. He asked that people post what they thought it was and he didn’t get one single comment. I am going to post the link to the video and this is exactly what my hens bottom looks like. Does anyone know what this is.. and if you do, is it fatal? I believe I will die if I lose these 2 after losing 2 this summer. That will only leave me one and to try to find her a companion as winter is close by would be difficult but I don’t think she could survive the winter alone. But I won’t borrow trouble before it gets here. The link is below

 

[AllenK RGV]

You know that is definitely worth doing. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. So you are saying no scratch, no whole oats. Nothing but layer pellets..?

reread Rebrascora post, basically the cells of an organ leak blood plasma into a space, so inner goes to a space outside of the affected organ. The human body will reabsorb that fluid and plasma over time, additionally excess fluid can compress organs too. Traditionally at this phase drains go in to remove the fluid. However, there is a dialysis method that uses a similar mechanism of action so that tells you in humans this space can be generally used for absorbtion, osmosis, and simple diffusion I'm going to ASSUME chickens should be able to accomplish the same. But it is her idea to hold the treats limit feed please review her suggestions. I'd rate her as A+ smart for thinking along those lines. I'm barely a chicken person I just know human A&P being a former nurse.

 

[Silkiesarefluffydinos]

I have had a time with my chickens this last year. I lost one in April Andy another one in September. Recently in the last couple of months 2 of my orpington hens, a year and a half old, both bought from the same Hatchery, started losing feathers below their vent. I thought they were probably getting ready to molt. But as time went on I realized they weren’t losing any feathers anywhere else. One day I happened to notice one of the girls as she was bent over eating. As I looked closer there was this area below her vent that was swollen (about the size of 1/2 grapefruit) and completely bald and slick. It is soft and doesn’t seem to bother her. Her sister has the exact same thing!! They have a good appetite, free range and are active and bright eyed. This area is not anything that is protruding from her vent. Poop sticks to that area. Yuk. No bleeding. So I started googling the symptoms and could not believe the number of people whose chickens have had this malady. So many posts on here, but there is never a definitive answer as to what this was and some posters had even had their hens to a vet. Just today as I I was again going through articles about these symptoms I found a video on YouTube from a guy whose chicken had this very same thing. He asked that people post what they thought it was and he didn’t get one single comment. I am going to post the link to the video and this is exactly what my hens bottom looks like. Does anyone know what this is.. and if you do, is it fatal? I believe I will die if I lose these 2 after losing 2 this summer. That will only leave me one and to try to find her a companion as winter is close by would be difficult but I don’t think she could survive the winter alone. But I won’t borrow trouble before it gets here. The link is below

One of my hens did have that!! we have no idea what caused it, but the feathers eventually did grow back, and she is happy and healthy right now!! If nobody you've seen who has had birds like that and they said their birds haven't died from it, I don't believen it is anything to worry about! It may be lice or mites, so you should check on that, or it might even be a partial molt, where she doesn't molt all they way. My bird is perfectly fine now, and it didn't seem to bother her. You said your hens dont seem affected by it right? Just keep a close watch , and if they are laying, are their eggs affected?

I hope that helped at alll!!!!

 

[unbaked pegga]

Another possibility occurs to me..... Fatty liver syndrome which can be associated with inappropriate diet and/or lack of exercise (usually too much carbohydrate....scratch/mixed corn) that causes fatty deposits around the organs and can cause a build up of fluid in the abdomen (ascites). As with internal laying, the fluid can be drained using a large gauge hypodermic needle and improving the diet and adding a vitamin B complex supplement to support the liver may help to improve the condition along with perhaps more space to scratch and forage, to improve exercise levels.... reducing access to food and cutting out all treats except greens.

PS. I love the term ...

Doing DIY necropsies can be very enlightening if you can get over the emotional trauma and ick factor and perhaps prevent further deaths in the flock by adjusting flock management system/diet/worming etc. I appreciate that not everyone can justify the cost of getting it done professionally particularly if only one bird has died, but having a look yourself and taking a few photos of the organs and anything that looks unusual and posting them on the forum can be beneficial not just for yourself but others can learn from them too..... hoping it doesn't come to that with your girls just yet though!

I think you might have a good point. These “treats” are granola bars that have oats and honey in them (and probably a lot of other things) I was tired of giving them to the chickens a long time ago but continued mainly because they raise such a ruckus that you wouldn’t believe. They come to the back door and start screaming at the top of their lungs at 3pm every afternoon. And they won’t hush until I give it to them. That is the time I began giving them to them and they have been at the screen door within 15 minutes either way of 3 o’clock since then. (Animals are smarter than they are given credit for. They have trained me to give them a treat every afternoon at 3pm). So I hoped they enjoyed those treats today because if it will possibly save their lives that will be the last time they get any. It just tears my nerves to shreds when they start that racket. I wish there was a healthy alternative. I will still have to pass on the necropsy. I just retired from nursing and have seen enough “innards” to last me the rest of my life