Sexlink balloon belly discovery

[electrycmonk]

This started in a private chat and I’m cut-n-pasting all my viable data here and now:

This was posted at 10PM last night:

Well HELL…. Surprise, RiR girl is likely egg bound…. Outta the blue she was laying on the floor in a recent repeated egg laying spot for other girls. Lifted her up and the belly was like a bloated balloon & she had poop covered vent feathers.

discovered that just before 9pm.
Got bowl of very warm water, paper towels & scissors then, returned to coop and turned on flashlight…

fed her some pieces of tums
trimmed away poo covered feathers
Wiped her with the warm wet paper towels

could not feel an egg

Came inside and quick searched for and found this article:


brought her inside…
Put her in the small wash tub of very warm water with Eason salt in it

she almost feel asleep twice over the last 30 minutes still feels balloon like. Trying another 15+ minutes in fresh warmed up water.

hope to “feel for the egg” in a few.
**** don’t have latex gloves OR petroleum jelly for poking the finger in the vent safely for inspection *****

dang it…. So here she is, bathing almost asleep again. This is her one good eye side view.








Next post is will be from this morning’s update before I went to work.

 

[electrycmonk]

At 8AM this morning:
Her lower belly and around to the vent is what is bloated “feels more air like” than fluid like.
She had pooped since midnight here is proof.

 

[electrycmonk]

A few minutes later I added this data:


I can’t *feel* an egg yet in my “gentle squishing” or poking. Here is the best I do pics of her bloating.

geez it’s so frustrating how the pics don’t show the bloating as stereoscopic eyeballs can *see*.


I should be home by 3PM after clients.
I was planning to get some latex gloves and petroleum jelly on way home.

I have given the 24y/o a list today and part was to keep an eye on her too.

I’m about to leave in a couple minutes.

 

[electrycmonk]

In reply to a question at 10:38 this AM I said this:


2.5 years. She is the RiR (or is she one of the sexlink?(delayed auto-correct fixed from “declined”) I keep mixing this up) who lost vision in one eye last year from the “chicken pox”/ virus and cocid medicine process I put all of them thru when the scabs showed up on the combs of the Roo’s.

she and the other girls stopped laying brown eggs about 4 weeks ago. Only EE/OE/ silkies are dropping eggs over the last 3-4 weeks. Several are molting. This was such a surprise to see her laying in the pseudo-nest below the actual nests last evening.

 

[electrycmonk]

Update on bloated hen.
As of now (4:20PM) used petroleum jelly & latex glove to check inside vent.
Was able to insert up to the obvious sphincter that was very tightly closed at approx 1 1/2-3/4” inside her vent. Did not try to press thru that section. This is the poop for today. Since I left at 8:15 and the previous picture shows the one spot.

 

[electrycmonk]

My Reply and cropped question:


This is my next reply to a question asking my awareness of the breed of this hen & who sold it to us:

Tractor supply. Need I say more? It was likely a oops they got mixed in the watering trough back then … maybe I am wrong and my better half thought to get a couple - I don’t recall as it was 2 years ago as of March/April. (Shrugs)

 

[electrycmonk]

My reply as to the age of them first dropping eggs:
I want to say - without scrolling back in postings of our flock thread - they started to drop eggs in the 7-10 month age window?

 

[electrycmonk]

Okay I’ll be editing my latest banter to clear up some - what I feel is my dyslexia clouding the dialogue…..



to clarify :
From what I quickly skimmed, this term ascites is all about “very obvious” fluid buildup in the chest cavity.

When I gently squish the hens belly and back around to her vent it feels very much like a balloon with air in it. I don’t feel a viscous sensation in the balloon area.

I was advised to ping a couple wise ones:
(Grins & coughs) Hey @casportpony & @Wyorp Rock y’all have any suggestions, advice, or “goto links” for this situation?

and one quick last update :

 

[Lizzy733]

The yellow in the urates generally indicates liver/kidney function issues.

If she is drinking heavily, acites fluid can build up quickly. You could try draining her - I would recommend a 22 gauge syringe, no plunger - but do try to catch and measure the fluid as it comes out. Use betadine or alcohol swab over area before inserting syringe; area to insert should be down roughly 1-11/2 in from vent and 1 in to left or right.

It should be urine colored, with no smell. You could get 500-750ml if it's severe enough. There are videos on how to do this online. I would recommend giving them a watch to know exactly where to insert the needle.

Green fluid would indicate the abdominal fluid is infected, or possibly an ovarian cyst.

Unfortunately, acites is a terminal condition, so you can only offer pallaitive care - it will catch up to her eventually, though that could take months. It's generally caused by tumors, congestive heart failure, or enlarged liver. It can be a painful condition and, unfortunately, any pain killers you could offer that will do any good (loxicom\medicam etc family) also put a strain on the kidneys/liver, which she appears to already have.

Be considerate of her quality of life and use your best judgement going forward. It may not be time just yet, but when it does come, don't shy away from culling. We went to the vet with our girl after her downturn and decided to put her down that weekend when I'd be at our bird rescue volunteer center.

She, unfortunately, passed in her sleep before then. At least she did seem to pass peacefully, which was all we could ask.

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree that this sounds like ascites (water belly,) because of the swollen lower abdomen and the yellow urates in the droppings. Ascites is caused by liver disease that may be caused by a reproductive disorder such as egg yolk peritonitis or cancer, and also can be a sign of heart failure. Draining should be done with a sterile18 gauge needle, since the fluid can sometimes be thick and full of white blood cells. Sometimes the hen may continue to drain once the needle is removed, so placing her on a puppy pad or towel would be helpful. Draining is only a temporary fix, and can introduce infection, shock, or death. Your vet could do it for you. Ascites fluid is yellow, but if you find clear colorless fluid, that can be from a cystic right oviduct. In post 42 of this thread, there are pictures of a hen being drained:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/laying-hens-with-water-belly-or-ascites.68731/page-5