Water Belly or just larger Barred Rock?

[HippieAtHeart]

So I just don’t know if my 3.5 year old barred rock just looks to have a larger swollen-ish area under her vent (water belly?) or if she is just a “big boned” (for lack of a better term) chicken?

She always has a poopy butt, but today it looked red and maybe bigger? I cleaned her up and put some antibiotic on the red part just in case because it was irritated. She seems normal - eating and walking around like normal. She’s not gasping, but she has for the last year roughly been laying down more often - which again I just contributed to her being a big chicken breed but now I’m wondering if maybe it’s water belly and hasn’t just been progressing?

I am thinking of trying to treat her for water belly - if I do and she doesn’t have it though will it hurt her? Could this be something else or nothing altogether?

I feel like my gut is normally right about something being up with my chickens, but this has me second guessing myself. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. She does have an enlarged lower belly I think. But she could be fat or have salpingitis (internal laying.) What do her poops look like? Are her urates on the yellow side or white? You can try to drain her belly to see if you get any fluid, and see if it is yellow or darker. There is chance of infection, and more rarely death, but usually not. Disinfect the abdomen and insert an 18 gauge needle , either leaving it open or connecting it to a large 35 ml syringe. I would not drain more than a few ounces of fluid, but sometimes fluid will continue to leak out for several hours afterward, so put her on a towel. If you do not get fluid, that won’t hurt her.There is no treatment for ascites since it is caused by liver disease from either reproductive infection, fatty liver disease, cancer, or sometimes heart failure.

 

[citymeetscountry]

Does her belly feel warm to the touch? Is it squishy like a water balloon or hard? Does she still lay eggs?

 

[HippieAtHeart]

Sorry about your hen. She does have an enlarged lower belly I think. But she could be fat or have salpingitis (internal laying.) What do her poops look like? Are her urates on the yellow side or white? You can try to drain her belly to see if you get any fluid, and see if it is yellow or darker. There is chance of infection, and more rarely death, but usually not. Disinfect the abdomen and insert an 18 gauge needle , either leaving it open or connecting it to a large 35 ml syringe. I would not drain more than a few ounces of fluid, but sometimes fluid will continue to leak out for several hours afterward, so put her on a towel. If you do not get fluid, that won’t hurt her.There is no treatment for ascites since it is caused by liver disease from either reproductive infection, fatty liver disease, cancer, or sometimes heart failure.

I think I’ll keep an eye on her to see if she is relatively normal and if so maybe let her be I will check out her poops next time I can go out between the rain storms lol. If she seems off again I’ll just do what you said and try to drain her.

She has always been a big and heavy chicken so it could just be fat. All my other chickens are pretty lean. I decided a while ago I wouldn’t get another barred rock mainly for how big she is and that she only lays very large eggs 2/3 times a week during peak.

 

[HippieAtHeart]

Does her belly feel warm to the touch? Is it squishy like a water balloon or hard? Does she still lay eggs?

Pretty sure she is still laying 2/3 extra large eggs a week

It didn’t feel warm - just looked irritated. It wasn’t tight. I felt other chickens and it seems about the same just more fatty. Starting to think she’s just a big chicken and probably won’t live as long as my other lean ones I got around the same time as her

 

[HippieAtHeart]

Sorry about your hen. She does have an enlarged lower belly I think. But she could be fat or have salpingitis (internal laying.) What do her poops look like? Are her urates on the yellow side or white? You can try to drain her belly to see if you get any fluid, and see if it is yellow or darker. There is chance of infection, and more rarely death, but usually not. Disinfect the abdomen and insert an 18 gauge needle , either leaving it open or connecting it to a large 35 ml syringe. I would not drain more than a few ounces of fluid, but sometimes fluid will continue to leak out for several hours afterward, so put her on a towel. If you do not get fluid, that won’t hurt her.There is no treatment for ascites since it is caused by liver disease from either reproductive infection, fatty liver disease, cancer, or sometimes heart failure.

@Eggcessive I checked her today and something’s up - it was full and more tight. I checked the eggs and it appears she laid her egg today. Still haven’t really seen any poop and she’s moving around and eating like normal. I’m going to do what you suggested with the syringe tomorrow. It wouldn’t be internal laying if she’s laying eggs still right?

 

[Eggcessive]

It would probably be less likely that she has salpingitis if she is laying normal eggs most days. But water belly (ascites) can happen with reproductive disorders, fatty liver disease, cancer, and from heart failure. Most times we don’t know the cause of ascites until after death. It can be hard to tell ascites from other things unless you can drain yellow fluid. So let us know if you find any yellow fluid 2with the needle, or if she has any yellow urates in her droppings.

 

[HippieAtHeart]

It would probably be less likely that she has salpingitis if she is laying normal eggs most days. But water belly (ascites) can happen with reproductive disorders, fatty liver disease, cancer, and from heart failure. Most times we don’t know the cause of ascites until after death. It can be hard to tell ascites from other things unless you can drain yellow fluid. So let us know if you find any yellow fluid 2with the needle, or if she has any yellow urates in her droppings.

So I drained my hen, Miss Olive, and she had a lot of clear odorless liquid that came out. It’s still dripping out from where I had inserted the needle. She definitely has water belly. I hope this helps her feel more normal until it’s her time. She had nothing other than her (thinking about how it is now slightly deflated after draining some) water balloon skin under her vent. She’s moving around like she has normally been but seems lighter and that she’s appreciative of me relieving the pressure (at least that’s what I’m telling myself lol).

I plan on doing this however often she seems to need it (in depth check every month or so).

Thank you @Eggcessive for helping me with this

 

[Eggcessive]

Was the fluid clear and colorless or clear yellow/amber? Kudos to you draining your hen.

 

[HippieAtHeart]

Was the fluid clear and colorless or clear yellow/amber? Kudos to you draining your hen.

@Eggcessive It was clear and colorless