I write this still in the treatment stages, however, my level of success pushes me to share.
I have a 2 year old Orpington hen who developed waterbelly. I had several die from it a while back and while I successfully drained one, they all passed. I searched for the reason and fell short of cause. When Lilah developed waterbelly I decided not to torture her and just let her be a chicken until such time her quality of life became untenable.
I have been waiting and bracing for her death for 3 months. But she chickens on.
A few weeks ago, she became so heavy she could no longer jump on the roost. So, I brought her in to allow her to rest comfortably while I worked up the strength to euthanize her. She ate sparsely and drank nothing. She passed poops of mostly water and urates.
I had made several attempts to treat whatever ailment causing the waterbelly with no success. But, in the house, under watchful eyes I noticed she was a very picky eater. She wouldn't touch feed. She ignored veggies. She gobbled down fruit, cheese and meat. She even slurped down a few minnows. Not exactly the healthiest of diets.
I looked into it and learned she likely had a fatty liver and a malfunctioning liver would excrete excess fluid into her abdominal cavity. It got me thinking, I'd read a white paper on a clinical trial where Milk Thistle was used to treat several liver conditions. I myself take it to combat pharmaceutically induced liver failure. So, why not.
I gave Lilah milk thistle suspension. On the third day (yes, she was still kicking), I couldn't see noticeable improvement. I was concerned that even if the milk thistle works, she was clearly struggling to breathe. So, I Googled herbs that strengthen the lungs. I crossed checked for whether they were suitable for chickens, made a list and raided my herbal cabinet. I made a strong tincture of Peppermint, Spearmint, Ginger, Goldenrod, Nettle leaf, Oregano, Thyme and Yarrow. I added Tumeric to aid with inflammation.
20 drops of Milk Thistle and 20 drops of lung tincture, twice a day. She began breathing easier after the first dose, but it didn't last, thus the twice daily dosage.
The next few days, she still drank nothing but fluid no longer leaked from her nose, she ate more and her breathing was far less labored. Her poops were still mostly water and urates. But I decided to keep it going. After all, I was seeing improvements, just nothing to feed my need for instant gratification. After about the 6th day, she began drinking water again. Her poops had more solid matter in them and her abdomen was getting softer.
Every day of the second week it seemed she improved just a tad. Her abdomen was definitely shrinking.
It's been 3 weeks. He abdomen is reduced by more than half. She breathes fairly normally and eats. She jumps onto furniture.
I'm extremely hopeful. This clearly helps. I can't say it's a cure, but it's definitely a treatment other than poking a hole in her.
I'll update with any new developments, but wanted to share my experience in case someone else wants to give it a try.
Update: Lilah's waterbelly is almost gone. She does have a large lump in her abdomen. She's either got a tumor or she's about to start laying again.
Second update: The lump is gone. It was a giant solid poop. She left it on my couch so I'm sure. It's week 4 and other than a dirty butt and some inside chicken entitlement issues, she seems fine. I'm going to treat her for another week and then stop. I'll monitor her for a relapse and attempt to change her eating habits.
Edit: the milk thistle suspension is 10 1000 mg capsules drained into 15 ml of vegetable glycerin with a few drops of alcohol and a few drops of sterilized water.
Third update: Previously I stated Lilah seems to have recovered from the water belly and my intent to reduce and stop treatment. I reduced her dosage to once a day for 3 days and then stopped.
I am saddened to say, her abdomen plumped up a little inside of 2 days. I am returning her to full dosage twice a day. Once her water belly resolves again, I intend to reduce it to once daily and monitor for a relapse.
Final update. Lilah had been doing well. The water belly has remained minimal and she's been scratching around in the yard with the other hens. Until yesterday. She became very lethargic, inactive and just standing in one spot, her comb was completely limp. I brought her back in. Checked her over. The water belly was still minimal. But the fact that it was still detectable told me that whatever is causing it, was not been resolved. This morning she began stargazing with her wings slightly up. I had noticed she stopped eating yesterday, a nutritional deficiency wasn't out of the question. But without being able to find and fix the cause, I knew it wasn't likely she was going to recover. I did give her a few vitamin drops, but I felt it was futile. I let my husband know it was time to euthanize her. I wasn't going to make her suffer.
Shortly after, she graciously passed on her own.
I honestly feel milk thistle is a remedy for water belly, but unless the root cause is found and addressed, it is not a cure. It bought some time and improved the quality of life. Her last days were good ones.
I have a 2 year old Orpington hen who developed waterbelly. I had several die from it a while back and while I successfully drained one, they all passed. I searched for the reason and fell short of cause. When Lilah developed waterbelly I decided not to torture her and just let her be a chicken until such time her quality of life became untenable.
I have been waiting and bracing for her death for 3 months. But she chickens on.
A few weeks ago, she became so heavy she could no longer jump on the roost. So, I brought her in to allow her to rest comfortably while I worked up the strength to euthanize her. She ate sparsely and drank nothing. She passed poops of mostly water and urates.
I had made several attempts to treat whatever ailment causing the waterbelly with no success. But, in the house, under watchful eyes I noticed she was a very picky eater. She wouldn't touch feed. She ignored veggies. She gobbled down fruit, cheese and meat. She even slurped down a few minnows. Not exactly the healthiest of diets.
I looked into it and learned she likely had a fatty liver and a malfunctioning liver would excrete excess fluid into her abdominal cavity. It got me thinking, I'd read a white paper on a clinical trial where Milk Thistle was used to treat several liver conditions. I myself take it to combat pharmaceutically induced liver failure. So, why not.
I gave Lilah milk thistle suspension. On the third day (yes, she was still kicking), I couldn't see noticeable improvement. I was concerned that even if the milk thistle works, she was clearly struggling to breathe. So, I Googled herbs that strengthen the lungs. I crossed checked for whether they were suitable for chickens, made a list and raided my herbal cabinet. I made a strong tincture of Peppermint, Spearmint, Ginger, Goldenrod, Nettle leaf, Oregano, Thyme and Yarrow. I added Tumeric to aid with inflammation.
20 drops of Milk Thistle and 20 drops of lung tincture, twice a day. She began breathing easier after the first dose, but it didn't last, thus the twice daily dosage.
The next few days, she still drank nothing but fluid no longer leaked from her nose, she ate more and her breathing was far less labored. Her poops were still mostly water and urates. But I decided to keep it going. After all, I was seeing improvements, just nothing to feed my need for instant gratification. After about the 6th day, she began drinking water again. Her poops had more solid matter in them and her abdomen was getting softer.
Every day of the second week it seemed she improved just a tad. Her abdomen was definitely shrinking.
It's been 3 weeks. He abdomen is reduced by more than half. She breathes fairly normally and eats. She jumps onto furniture.
I'm extremely hopeful. This clearly helps. I can't say it's a cure, but it's definitely a treatment other than poking a hole in her.
I'll update with any new developments, but wanted to share my experience in case someone else wants to give it a try.
Update: Lilah's waterbelly is almost gone. She does have a large lump in her abdomen. She's either got a tumor or she's about to start laying again.
Second update: The lump is gone. It was a giant solid poop. She left it on my couch so I'm sure. It's week 4 and other than a dirty butt and some inside chicken entitlement issues, she seems fine. I'm going to treat her for another week and then stop. I'll monitor her for a relapse and attempt to change her eating habits.
Edit: the milk thistle suspension is 10 1000 mg capsules drained into 15 ml of vegetable glycerin with a few drops of alcohol and a few drops of sterilized water.
Third update: Previously I stated Lilah seems to have recovered from the water belly and my intent to reduce and stop treatment. I reduced her dosage to once a day for 3 days and then stopped.
I am saddened to say, her abdomen plumped up a little inside of 2 days. I am returning her to full dosage twice a day. Once her water belly resolves again, I intend to reduce it to once daily and monitor for a relapse.
Final update. Lilah had been doing well. The water belly has remained minimal and she's been scratching around in the yard with the other hens. Until yesterday. She became very lethargic, inactive and just standing in one spot, her comb was completely limp. I brought her back in. Checked her over. The water belly was still minimal. But the fact that it was still detectable told me that whatever is causing it, was not been resolved. This morning she began stargazing with her wings slightly up. I had noticed she stopped eating yesterday, a nutritional deficiency wasn't out of the question. But without being able to find and fix the cause, I knew it wasn't likely she was going to recover. I did give her a few vitamin drops, but I felt it was futile. I let my husband know it was time to euthanize her. I wasn't going to make her suffer.
Shortly after, she graciously passed on her own.
I honestly feel milk thistle is a remedy for water belly, but unless the root cause is found and addressed, it is not a cure. It bought some time and improved the quality of life. Her last days were good ones.
Dosage was shaking to suspend the settled particles and administering one half dropper twice daily.