Three-year-old Phoenix chicken with swollen abdomen

[Clare_CA]

Hello there, I am trying to figure out what is happening to certain members of my flock. This is the second Phoenix girl to have a bloated swollen abdomen, and she is unable to stand for very long and loses her balance and has to lie down. Her eyes seem to be bugged out a little bit too.

She is not eating or drinking, but I have her in a dog igloo in the house now and am giving her water with an eye dropper. Her poop looks normal, but she is very heavy when I pick her up. She is keeping her eyes closed most of the time. Any idea what this could be?

My vet is clueless when it comes to chicken problems. I may have to drive to another town to take her to a vet that knows about chickens. In the meantime, I am trying to figure out what this could be so that I can help her.

Please help. I don't think she will live much longer if I can't get her to drink. I am trying to get her to take some liquid by mouth, but she won't take much. Any ideas are much appreciated.

 

[Clare_CA]

I found some information by doing a search, and we did drain 12oz of green fluid out of her, but sadly, my girl died a short time later. My husband did a necropsy, and she had a yolk inside her and a large blood clot and lots more fluid. We think it was Egg Yolk Peritonitis: http://www.avianweb.com/eggyolkperitonitis.html I'm including this response for anyone else that has a chicken with fluid in her abdomen. What a terrible way to go for a chicken.