What was that?

[our12]

Hello everyone, I'm hoping to glean knowledge from folks who have more chicken experience than I have. 2 weeks ago one of the girls exhibited all the symptoms of being eggbound. I read up and followed the suggested procedure for helping her. Involved Latex gloves, KY Jelly, Prep.H and saline solution. Not eggbound. Her lower abdomen was very swollen and mushy. We bathed her every other day in Epsom Salt warm water and applied Prep. H to her inflamed vent and kept her separated from the rest of the flock.
For a few days she was sluggish and definitely not feeling well. She slowly improved with Epsom Salt baths every other day and Prep H. around her vent. This morning I checked her - no swelling at all and she's in fine spirits. She's most happy to hang with the rest of the girls though. Does anyone have an idea of what that was? I'd love to know. Thanks much in advance.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm wondering if perhaps she had a bit of a prolapse, or pecked vent? Really, no idea. Glad she's better.

 

[azygous]

A swollen abdomen may indicate an inflamed liver.

A swollen vent can indicate straining due to constipation or trying to push out a stubborn egg.

Those are simply symptoms that exist on their own unless you have further clues that can help you arrive at a diagnosis. Sometimes you just need to accept there is no way to know what has caused the symptoms. Just watch this hen for any signs in the future that she may be having issues. The fact the symptoms disappeared spontaneously is no reason to assume the underlying cause has been resolved.

 

[our12]

Thank you LG. No prolapse we noticed nor pecked vent. Would either suggest the very swollen, very soft abdomen? We hope this won't be a for-ever chicken mystery. The good thing is, she's well now as if nothing ever happened, and should this recur with any of the others, we'll know what to do.

 

[our12]

Thank's for your reply A. Definitely - she'll be watched carefully!