Ascites fluid color?

[Ohio peepers]

Hello,

We have a golden laced Wyandotte whom I took to the vet in May after she presented with swollen abdomen and a penguin walk mid April (vet was closed until May due to Covid-19). Vet did paracentesis and said it could be cancer or liver, but that the chicken would end up dying. She gave us some meloxicam for comfort measures and said if I wanted to drain her at home I could. I and an oncology nurse and have had plenty of patients with ascites but I had never watched a paracentesis (thank you youtube!). Drained her every 4-7 days for about 3 weeks and then she didn't need it for awhile. The color was a reddish brown at first. Now the color is a dark green. She has lost a lot of weight. She eats very slowly and I assume she is getting closer to the actively dying process We love her dearly and she is a such a trooper as she has been sick for 5 months but now her quality of life is declining.

Does anyone know the difference in fluid color for chickens? For humans I know green is gallbladder.
her abdomen also feels hard and lumpy on the sides. I am assuming it is tumor formation, but I don't know.
I have attached a photo of before (the brown/red color) and the current color in a syringe.

Thank you!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I'm not an expert by any means but my first thought when looking at this is that the green fluid is from sepsis setting in.
You've done a kind thing by helping to keep her comfortable for so long. I'm confident she knows how loved she is.

 

[Ohio peepers]

Thank you Andrea! Yeah, I wondered too if there are malignant cells in the fluid now as I know in humans the fluid from paracentesis is often checked for malignancy when the cause of ascites is due to cancer disease process. Margaret (our chicken) has been so patient with all of these procedures...she also got bilateral bumble foot about a month ago so we have been soaking her feet. I have tried removing the corns but sometimes they bleed even after prolonged soaking. I think her immune system is too low to really heal so we soak her feet in the evening and place freshly crushed garlic to the feet and it's been keeping the bumblefoot at bay. Honestly I am closer to our chickens than our indoor cats and dogs...they have just been the most wonderful pets (we have ten). Here are some pics of Margaret. Her nightly ‘foot spa’ is the first. Took her outside yesterday and she nestled near a tree

 

[coach723]

I'm very sorry about your hen. I think she may be nearing her end, unfortunately.
I would suspect the green color is infection. If it's bile, then that would mean something is leaking into her abdominal cavity from a puncture or tear somewhere. I've lost a couple with cancers that upon necropsy there was also obvious infection, one I'm pretty certain was septic. Some other info here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...domen-and-getting-green-tinged-fluid.1133586/
I have one bird that has had a lot of problems with bumblefoot and has been really stubborn and difficult to treat. Wanted to share for future reference. I'm on my second round of really long treatment with him, first was about 2 years ago, took a year to resolve, multiple procedures and several antibiotics. It's back. Right now I'm keeping it a bay with sugardine. I pack it daily with plain white sugar mixed with a drop of betadine (it only takes a tiny bit for such a small wound). Then I cover with a duoderm bandage cut to size and wrap with co wrap. This is the only thing that keeps pus from forming in his foot. It appears to once again be very slowly getting better. Time will tell.
You can google sugardine, it's used a lot for horses, a couple of links if you want more info here:
https://www.americanfarriers.com/ar...-mess-that-works-when-treating-wound-injuries

 

[Ohio peepers]

Wow thanks for the info! I have betadine already and sugar. Her feet don't seem too bad, a little reddened at times, but they don't seem to bother her. I have systemic antibiotics i could try in case she is septic. I am going to give her some meloxicam for comfort care (prescribed by her vet). She is a middle pack bird and I did see her peck one lower on the order today so she definitely still has some spunk in her.
Any idea how to keep the coban wrap on them without them pecking it off? I believe we lost an easter egger over a year ago because she ate some coban. It was off of her foot in the morning and she was dead with her beak open. After that we do not put coban on unless we are watching them. We are still learning alot about keeping chickens and are grateful for backyardchickens.

 

[coach723]

I use the co wrap that I get for horses (Tractor supply) , it comes in 4" wide rolls and it sticks to itself much better than some of the drugstore stuff. I cut it in about 1" wide strips to use, length based on the size of the bird, but probably about 18" long. I wrap the foot really well and then up around the ankle a couple of times. If it's too long I trim after I've wrapped. On my roo I will sometimes use two lengths and wrap twice since he has pretty big feet and I really want it to stay clean and dry. I press the ends in well to make sure they are real stuck. I've never had one get it off, and some of them do try.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Thank you Andrea! Yeah, I wondered too if there are malignant cells in the fluid now as I know in humans the fluid from paracentesis is often checked for malignancy when the cause of ascites is due to cancer disease process. Margaret (our chicken) has been so patient with all of these procedures...she also got bilateral bumble foot about a month ago so we have been soaking her feet. I have tried removing the corns but sometimes they bleed even after prolonged soaking. I think her immune system is too low to really heal so we soak her feet in the evening and place freshly crushed garlic to the feet and it's been keeping the bumblefoot at bay. Honestly I am closer to our chickens than our indoor cats and dogs...they have just been the most wonderful pets (we have ten). Here are some pics of Margaret. Her nightly ‘foot spa’ is the first. Took her outside yesterday and she nestled near a tree

She's beautiful and what a lucky girl she is to have you!

 

[Ohio peepers]

I use the co wrap that I get for horses (Tractor supply) , it comes in 4" wide rolls and it sticks to itself much better than some of the drugstore stuff. I cut it in about 1" wide strips to use, length based on the size of the bird, but probably about 18" long. I wrap the foot really well and then up around the ankle a couple of times. If it's too long I trim after I've wrapped. On my roo I will sometimes use two lengths and wrap twice since he has pretty big feet and I really want it to stay clean and dry. I press the ends in well to make sure they are real stuck. I've never had one get it off, and some of them do try.

Thank you so much! I will try this. I have only purchased at the drug store so I will look at Tractor supply!

 

[Ohio peepers]

She's beautiful and what a lucky girl she is to have you!

Thank you

 

[coach723]

Thank you so much! I will try this. I have only purchased at the drug store so I will look at Tractor supply!

You are welcome, hope it works better for you. It comes in many colors, I usually stick to white or black for chickens to minimize their attraction to it.