Water belly in multiple chickens!/ what am I doing wrong?!

[Egg_cited]

Hey there everyone, around 5 months ago one of my 3 year old old EE'S has been experiencing water belly. Her abdomen feels extreme full, squishy, and firm. However the really weird thing is that it comes and goes. She will have it for a couple weeks and it almost completely goes away on it's own without me interfering. Until it comes back again.

Now keep in my mind I will not be doing any sort of daining on my own, and a vet is unfortunately not an option rn.

I do provide her tons of electrolytes and extra vitamins.

However this hen is also not looking terrible she isn't sitting bent over or anything. When her water belly gets worse, she just looks uncomfortable and is a little wobbly. I do understand that chickens will hide there symptoms until it's often too late. But in this instance her case has been going on for over half a year already.

Now just a few days I have noticed one of my three year old leghorns has water belly too. Her abdomen is really big and just very hard and firm. She is sitting down alot but still looks like she's filled with life. However she just simply doesn't look good and is also extremely unstable. I was thinking it may be a reproductive problem since she's a leghorn but she has never layed eggs everyday or even close to that.

Without a vet and me doing the draining I know there is probably very little I can do and I understand that. However, if anyone has any advice or input please leave it here. I guess at the moment I'm trying to understand, what is causing this? Is it something I'm doing wrong? They've always been fed organic layer + occasionally chick starter for extra protein from tractors supplies.

I was also thinking mabey it's potentially genetics? My EE is from tractor supplies and my leghorn is from a local feed store. Mabey it's just the quality of the birds? Because the hens I've gotten from high-end breeders are not experiencing these issues.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your two hens. It is kind of hard to know if one has ascites or water belly without an xray, draining the yellow fluid, or doing a necropsy after death. Water belly or ascites can be from a reproductive disorder causing liver failure, cancer, fatty liver disease, and heart failure. I usually don’t know it is there until after doing a home necropsy, although I have suspected a few to have it.

A leghorn that has never laid eggs probably has been laying internally, and may have salpingitis. That causes solid firm masses of egg material and infection in the abdomen or oviduct.

Has your EE been laying or laid eggs in the past? I don’t usually drain a hen that I suspect of water belly, unless it is causing labored breathing or discomfort. It is not cured by draining, but it can give some temporary relief. There always is a chance of infection or more rarely, death in draining. Some do it occasionally, but eventually the reason for the water belly will kill them.

 

[Susan Skylark]

Swelling in the abdomen (ascites or water belly) can be from a variety of causes, water belly is not a diagnosis but a symptom (like coughing can be caused by colds and heart failure). You also need to differentiate between fluid in the abdomen, a space occupying mass, organ enlargement (liver, spleen, guts, stomach (if applicable!) or even in some cases abdominal fat! Draining is not a good idea, it only offers temporary relief and you risk peritonitis. If it comes and goes I would suspect some sort of cyst (fluid ruptures and refills or hormonal fluctuations cause it to shrink/expand or maybe a gi or uterine transit issue (food or eggs bog down and take up space). If she feels good, just let her be. As for treatment, beyond good nursing care, you really need a diagnosis but even if you do most issues aren’t easily treated or carry a poor prognosis.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hey there everyone, around 5 months ago one of my 3 year old old EE'S has been experiencing water belly. Her abdomen feels extreme full, squishy, and firm. However the really weird thing is that it comes and goes. She will have it for a couple weeks and it almost completely goes away on it's own without me interfering. Until it comes back again.

Now keep in my mind I will not be doing any sort of daining on my own, and a vet is unfortunately not an option rn.

I do provide her tons of electrolytes and extra vitamins.

However this hen is also not looking terrible she isn't sitting bent over or anything. When her water belly gets worse, she just looks uncomfortable and is a little wobbly. I do understand that chickens will hide there symptoms until it's often too late. But in this instance her case has been going on for over half a year already.

Now just a few days I have noticed one of my three year old leghorns has water belly too. Her abdomen is really big and just very hard and firm. She is sitting down alot but still looks like she's filled with life. However she just simply doesn't look good and is also extremely unstable. I was thinking it may be a reproductive problem since she's a leghorn but she has never layed eggs everyday or even close to that.

Without a vet and me doing the draining I know there is probably very little I can do and I understand that. However, if anyone has any advice or input please leave it here. I guess at the moment I'm trying to understand, what is causing this? Is it something I'm doing wrong? They've always been fed organic layer + occasionally chick starter for extra protein from tractors supplies.

I was also thinking mabey it's potentially genetics? My EE is from tractor supplies and my leghorn is from a local feed store. Mabey it's just the quality of the birds? Because the hens I've gotten from high-end breeders are not experiencing these issues.

First hen, you mentioned it coming, & going. Makes me think she gets fat, & burns it off, & repeat. Water belly always in my experiences continuously builds up until the hen is like a firm water balloon causing her to become miserable.
The first signs of water belly I generally put them down since it's a chronic condition.