Thought chicken had water belly but….

[natasha south africa]

Hi all,
I have a 5 year old Lohmann Brown chicken who I thought had water belly but it’s been two weeks and she is still eating well, drinking, pooping normally and reasonably active. Although she is walking like a duck and does sometimes sit as though tired and she hasn’t been able to roost. When I examine her, her vent is clean and normal, not swollen. But between her legs she has a hard solid mass which is slightly larger than a usual egg and that is within a squishy swelling like a balloon and I’m pretty sure there’s fluid in there. She doesn’t seem to be suffering from pain. Even when I examine that area. Her wattle is bright red and healthy looking. Her eyes are alert and clear. She seems to have lost her voice - just a rough rasping. But breathing is totally fine. I really thought it was EYP with water belly and was ready to euthanize her when she stopped eating. But two weeks in she still seems pretty perky. Does an internal egg with associated inflammation ever resorb? Is there anything I can do to help her get back to herself if this issue doesn’t seem to be killing her? If I can save her I’d be so happy because I lost 2 other chickens after bad feed supplied causing sour crop so if this ones passes I’ll only have one lonely old lady left I am in South Africa so avian meds are not readily available. Also don’t have access to an avian vet. Any advice much appreciated

 

[the jolly onion]

Hello---sorry to hear about your hen. Could be internal laying or egg bound. If it is, you can do warm water soaks to try and help her pass it, but i am attaching a link to an article that has information that could help give more information to help you determine if this is possibly the issue/what interventions you can try.
https://grubblyfarms.com/blogs/the-...181J68gObHwvVlBSMdg5f1Mes-2umQdM6785SeM55d7uF

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like a couple of older hens I had with reproductive disorders (salpingitis, egg yolk peritonitis,) and enlarged abdomens. They both lived a couple of years, seemingly to have lead a fair life, just mostly hanging out with their flock. They sat or laid down a lot, ate some, and roosted at night. Crop problems can happen, and I noticed that my 2 hens had yellow urates in the poop, and those are normally white. They did both have water belly when I did home necropsies after death. I never did drain them although I suspected it from the yellow urates. Could you post any pictures of the droppings?

 

[theoldchick]

https://poultrydvm.com/condition/ascites-syndrome

 

[natasha south africa]

It sounds like a couple of older hens I had with reproductive disorders (salpingitis, egg yolk peritonitis,) and enlarged abdomens. They both lived a couple of years, seemingly to have lead a fair life, just mostly hanging out with their flock. They sat or laid down a lot, ate some, and roosted at night. Crop problems can happen, and I noticed that my 2 hens had yellow urate in the poop, and those are normally white. They did both have water belly when I did home necropsies after death. I never did drain them although I suspected it from the yellow urates. Could you post any pictures of the droppings?

Thanks. Here’s photo of her face, her stance and a just made poop. Which I now see is not looking as healthy as this morning. When it looked normal. She’s been eating well and fairly lively all day. I will try the bath tomorrow once I can get some epsom salts.

 

[natasha south africa]

Hello---sorry to hear about your hen. Could be internal laying or egg bound. If it is, you can do warm water soaks to try and help her pass it, but i am attaching a link to an article that has information that could help give more information to help you determine if this is possibly the issue/what interventions you can try.
https://grubblyfarms.com/blogs/the-...181J68gObHwvVlBSMdg5f1Mes-2umQdM6785SeM55d7uF

Thanks for the link. Will have a look and see if there are any options I can try. Appreciate it

 

[natasha south africa]

Thanks for the link. Will have a look and see if there are any options I can try. Appreciate it

Thanks. Have read through. My chick has had the swelling and strange stance for well over 10 days now so I am sure she isn’t egg bound because she’d be dead by now, or in a lot of distress at least. Her vent also looks totally healthy and I have seen her straining at all. This is why I’m fairly sure she has laid internally so I’m not sure if she’ll just slowly fade due to the weight of the building up ascites and getting more and more tired? I haven’t found any way to treat an internally laid egg except surgery which is not an option where I am

 

[Eggcessive]

Her posture is very common of a hen with internal laying or salpingitis (lash eggs, coelomitis.) Her urates do not seem to have the yellow coloring at this point. You could try giving her a dose of human calcium citrate with vitamin D in case she is having trouble passing an egg or lash material.

Does she have swollen hocks or ankles? The one in the photo looks a bit swollen.

 

[natasha south africa]

Her posture is very common of a hen with internal laying or salpingitis (lash eggs, coelomitis.) Her urates do not seem to have the yellow coloring at this point. You could try giving her a dose of human calcium citrate with vitamin D in case she is having trouble passing an egg or lash material.

Does she have swollen hocks or ankles? The one in the photo looks a bit swollen.

I’ve compared with the other chicken and I don’t think so. They don’t feel boggy or swollen either. The first photo (1328) is her and photo 1327 is her flock mate. Her feet are more splayed but the actual joints don’t seem swollen. Her photo is taken a bit closer so everything seems a bit bigger

 

[natasha south africa]

I will see if I can get some oyster shells for them to boost their calcium.