Help, Swollen abdomen

[Chicklover]

I have a pullet that has been laying but now has a hard swollen abdomen. She is pooping and eating but no eggs. She is a sumatra and has been laying for about 3 months. Any clue what is going on?

[Sharon Yorks]

How long has it been swollen, Is it swollen back by her vent or more towards the front? Is it hard or mushy? Is there anything leaking out of her vent? Are there any other signs (difficulty walking - moving slow) And has she been wormed?

 

[Chicklover]

Just the abdomen area about the size of a grapefruit, started out mussy then now it is hard. She has been able to get some poop out since I been feeding her lettuce. I just wormed her when I found the mussy abdomen. She is walking when I let her out of the cage she is in Quatine in. It is slower then normal. I check to see if I could feel a egg in her but about 2 -3 inch in found nothing.

[Sharon Yorks]

I\'m hoping to ask enough pertinent questions to get answers for someone more knowledgeable than I to jump on here. The other questions I would ask is:

1. How long has she been this way?
2. What other (if any) symptoms does she have? Anything different about her eyes, nose, breathing...
3. Has she been checked or dusted for lice?
4. Is she eating anything other than lettuce (I\'m not sure too much of that is good for her)
5. And how long ago did she stop laying?
6. Also, did anything significant  changed in her normal routine...like a new coop or newly introduced chickens?  

If it is something whacky with her intestines, maybe you could try a little apple cider vinegar in her water, followed by some yogurt to help balance her out. It couldn\'t hurt.

Maybe answers to more of these questions will help pinpoint the problem. I wish I had answers instead of questions.

Sharon

[Mike Gilbert]

Sorry I can\'t help with a diagnosis or treatment, but with chickens \"stuff happens.\"    A few weeks ago I had a nice LF Buff Chantecler pullet laying nearly every day.  Then one day she ruffled up her feathers and went inactive.  I didn\'t see her eat that day, and that same night she died.  No respiratory symptoms, no prolapse, no parasites, nothing. Layed an egg just the day before.  Her penmates are fine, never missed a beat.   Stuff happens, and without paying for a necropsy we\'ll never know why.   My nearest state lab is about 80 miles away.

[Chicklover]

1. How long has she been this way?
2. What other (if any) symptoms does she have? Anything different about her eyes, nose, breathing...
3. Has she been checked or dusted for lice?
4. Is she eating anything other than lettuce (I\'m not sure too much of that is good for her)
5. And how long ago did she stop laying?
6. Also, did anything significant changed in her normal routine...like a new coop or newly introduced chickens?

If it is something whacky with her intestines, maybe you could try a little apple cider vinegar in her water, followed by some yogurt to help balance her out. It couldn\'t hurt.

Maybe answers to more of these questions will help pinpoint the problem. I wish I had answers instead of questions.

Sharon


We notice it on this past friday, She is eating feed and I started her on Antibotics yesterday. No signs of lice, on Friday we started her on Apple cider vinegar. She walk around outside yesterday eating grass. It is hard to tell when she stopped laying because she was in the pen with other hens.  We got her out to get ready to take her to another home when we found her this way. No runny eyes nose no coughing nothing to indecate respatory issues.  

Hope helps figure out  the problem.

Roy

[Sharon Yorks]

It sounds like you are doing all you can do...other than I would go ahead and dust her for lice and mites, just to be sure and give her a little yogurt. And like Mike said, sometime things just happen. But I\'m a fighter to the end kind of person, so I would be the type to do as much as I could, and it sounds like you are.

Pray confidently about it - do all you can - then be thankful in all things, regardless of the outcome.

That\'s how I try to handle any issues. Please keep us updated. I hope she gets to feeling better soon.

Sharon

[Beth C]

Glad she seems to be doing a bit better today.

[Sharon Yorks]

How is she doing today?

[Chicklover]

She is still alive and kicking but still swollen. Been on meds for infection and cocciditis. Try apple cider vinegar and still no good.

[Sharon Yorks]

How is your hen doing? Did the swelling go down?

[IamBlessed]

Chicklover has been busy and has not posted an update on our hen.
She is still alive and still swollen.

She is getting around quickly with a waddle and is jumping up on stuff in te garage.  She even runs one of our Wheaten Splash hens out of the garage when we let her out (W S hen is having a rest from the cock since he is messing up her back from breeding).

She seems unaffected by it except for when you hold her she pants which is probably the pressure from touching her abdomen area when holding her.

She is very alert and seems happy.  I let her out in the garage every morning and she just walks around or gets up on stuff out there all day.  I put her back up in a travel coop every night.  She is eager to get out every morning.  She does not usually leave the garage area except for maybe going to the opening to eat some grass.  She is eating normal chicken feed and regular water.  The treatments we tried did not seem to improve her condition.

History on her:  she laid an egg that was tiny (I mean like a tiny blue bird egg - way smaller than any bantam egg).  A few weeks later she laid a normal sized egg again for a few days and then no more eggs from her.  Like Chicklover said, we were actually giving her and another hen to a 4-H kid when we discovered her issues.  With as many hens as we have we do not usually pick each one of them up.  That is when our daughter went out to get her and she discovered the swollen abdomen.

Well that is the latest.  Been told by many that it is a female issue and may never go back to laying eggs or if she does this may happen again.