Hey, so I noticed yesterday when candling the eggs beneath my EE hen that she had a large bulge near her breast. After doing some research, I'm pretty sure it's water belly (could it be anything else?) which is obviously very unfortunate.
She's been acting completely normal for a broody. She's protectively aggresive when I check the eggs and looks completely normal, but I do know chickens can hide symptoms extremely well.
I came away quite confused after researching treatment, since some people were saying you can cure the hen and they can live good lives, but others were saying no matter how many times you drain it, the underlying cause of the swelling will kill your hen.
Which is true?
If the latter is, I'd probably be more favorable to the idea of putting the hen down right away instead of making her suffer needlessly.
But if so, what should I do with the eggs under the hen? There are six of them, all fertilized and growing well. They're a week old.
I have an incubator coming in five days. Should I transfer them into it?
I'm quite confused and saddened for my poor hen. Any advice or knowledge is much appreciated.
She's been acting completely normal for a broody. She's protectively aggresive when I check the eggs and looks completely normal, but I do know chickens can hide symptoms extremely well.
I came away quite confused after researching treatment, since some people were saying you can cure the hen and they can live good lives, but others were saying no matter how many times you drain it, the underlying cause of the swelling will kill your hen.
Which is true?
If the latter is, I'd probably be more favorable to the idea of putting the hen down right away instead of making her suffer needlessly.
But if so, what should I do with the eggs under the hen? There are six of them, all fertilized and growing well. They're a week old.
I have an incubator coming in five days. Should I transfer them into it?
I'm quite confused and saddened for my poor hen. Any advice or knowledge is much appreciated.