Swollen abdomen, no egg that I can tell

[Sntjimmy]

Hey all, hoping for help if anyone has advice to give for a sweet 2 year old maran not doing too well.

Symptoms:
Lethargic, swollen abdomen, throbbing vent, reduced appetite, runny poop, not laying for past 2 days, going up to roost early.

Treatment so far:
Isolated, warm epsom salt baths, a little bit of gentle abdomen massage, 5mLs diluted ACV(suspected sour crop at first). Also did a lubed finger probe of vent to confirm if there was an egg bound up but did not feel anything.

I was really considering vent gleet based on everything I’ve read, except sticky paste-like poop stuck to feathers seems only mild. At least, not more than normal, or vs other birds in the flock and doesn’t smelly terribly foul to me.

I don’t think she has an impacted/sour crop as it feels soft and doesn’t smell foul. I recently had another maran die in my arms from impacted crop a few months back and I definitely remember the smell. That was my first assessment with this girl mostly from the trauma of the last.

Everything points to being egg bound in my very unqualified evaluation so far. I cant feel a hard egg from outside of abdomen, and I can’t feel anything with finger inside(approx 3” deep).

Worth noting-
After 10 minute epsom soak she was so relaxed and let me do the finger probe without me even needing to hold her at all. Once she realized what I was trying to do she just laid down comfortably, lifted her tail feathers, and let me do my thing for a solid 5 minutes. She had bowel movements twice while I was in there and it really seemed like she was relieved to let it out. She also had the best appetite I’ve seen her have all day right after that. Chowed down on some water soaked feed like she hadn’t eaten in days.

Could this be anything else I’m not aware of? Worms? Some other specific disease?

Sorry for the long post and thank you in advance for any help.

 

[azygous]

Since she was laying before this, it's logical to treat for egg binding. It can cause poop to back up, so your poking around likely gave her some relief. But continue to treat for egg binding.

She's had enough soaks. Now she needs rest, quiet, and privacy. And a calcium tablet to promote contractions. Get this and give one whole tablet directly into her beak by prying it open and shoving the pill in.

 

[Sntjimmy]

Will do, thank you! I’ll be sure to post any outcomes.

 

[azygous]

And be sure she has access to water to drink. Dehydration complicates egg binding. A little added sugar will both encourage drinking and the sugar will elevate glucose to give her more strength to accomplish her mission.

 

[Sntjimmy]

Yes she has water, did not know that about adding sugar. I’ll do that first thing in the morning. Thanks!

 

[Sntjimmy]

Well I have an update…she finally had a good sized poop this evening and I dug around in it and found a worm. Checked for more but didn’t find any.

She seems a little bit more peppy after giving calcium citrate, but only slightly.

Probably going to rethink current coop hygiene level for the rest of the flock, but is there anything immediate I should be doing to help this hen?

 

[azygous]

The round worm you found in the poop indicates her intestines are likely clogged with worms. She should be wormed. Safeguard is the safest and gentlest. Grab some form the feed store. Give it to her immediately.

If you are using Safeguard the dose is .23 ml per pound of bird weight, two doses 10 days apart for roundworm. (For some other types of worms other than roundworm you would do that dose 5 days in a row). If using Valbazen the dose is .5 ml for a 6 lb bird, two doses 10 days apart. The math for dosing Valbazen is "weight in lbs / 2.2 X 20mg / 113.6". That will treat everything except tapeworm.
Roundworm in particular is really easy to pick up in the environment and reinfection is common. Time will tell you how often you may need to worm, it depends on the worm load in your environment. Some can worm once or twice a year and that's good enough. If you have a worm heavy environment you may need to do more often. I personally have to worm every 3 months for roundworm, otherwise I end up with sick birds. Another way to reduce the worm load is to rotate the area the birds are in, but many people do not have the space or resources to do that. The worm eggs that are shed in the droppings survive a very long time in the soil, and are picked up during scratching and pecking.

 

[Sntjimmy]

Awesome thank you. I just ordered safeguard fenbendazole for goats to be delivered tomorrow.
Yes, we were originally letting them free range on about 1/2 acre and weren’t having issues with this but since having kids we’ve had to restrict them to a run about 100’x50’ for the last year and they’ve absolutely decimated that small parcel to nothing but dirt. Would be challenging to rotate, but doable. Certainly preferable for their sake.

What’s your take on regular ACV treatment of their water supply? I’ve read that’s good maintenance of healthy birds after de-worming.

 

[azygous]

Most new chicken keepers jump on the ACV band wagon. It does have benefits, but most of us advanced chicken keepers have ditched it for plain water, especially if we feed fermented feed. It's best to keep to a minimum the additives and supplements you give your chickens. That way, there is less chance of interactions that might cause digestive issues. For example, some people add ACV, garlic, oil of oregano, electrolytes, and herbs and potions to their chicken water, half of which I've never even heard of. I would not advise this.

ACV is not some miracle substance that acts as a shield against disease and disorders. and I have no idea what it does for worms. But it shouldn't hurt anything. It's your choice.

 

[Sntjimmy]

Interesting, thanks for that info. I do want to start experimenting with fermented feed one day after hearing all the benefits of it. Not to mention potentially cutting operational costs.

Also, happily surprised this morning to see Amazon shipped medicine overnight somehow. Managed to get her a 1.3ml dose before heading out for work.
I’m going to treat the rest of the flock later today assuming they have/will have worm issues as well.

Is the 5 day treatment to cover all worms necessary while I’m already at it? Not sure if multiple worm types can coexist in their tract or not.