Water belly/ascites

[Chickenkeeper23]

My hen Jax, is a 5 year old easter egger and I’m pretty sure has ascites. I’ve been monitoring her and it hasn’t gotten better (as expected) but worse affirming my assumption its ascites. She has all the signs.



I’ve done research on draining it to make her more comfortable. I just wanted to see if anyone had any tips draining or advice.



I also wanted to know what the specific risks were. I know you poke on the right because the left has vital organs. What is on the right? What would happen if it is poked? I honestly can’t imagine a ton of damage as I would probably only use a 20 gauge?



And so no one is worried I have been monitoring her quality of life, and if needed can put her down although I REALLY want to avoid that

 

[Eggcessive]

I do not drain hens normally with suspected ascites, but I did drain just one pet hen who was having labored breathing. There can be a risk of infection or more rarely, they can go into shock and die. Be sure to disinfect the skin if you do it. The needle is only inserted under the skin into the abdominal cavity, so if you do that it is less likely to hit an organ. Here are a few pictures of draining a hen in post 66, and note the needle opis on the left size, so I don’t know that it makes a difference which side is used:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/laying-hens-with-water-belly-or-ascites.68731/page-7