Chicken with swollen/hard belly.

[Chicka_deee]

over the past 6ish days I’ve noticed that one of my chickens about 4 years old has a hard swollen stomach/bottom. I’m really worried about her and don’t want to lose her. What could it possibly be? Please help!
A photo won’t help that much either because it is hardly noticeable, yet it is really hard like a squishy rock. She is the lowest in the pecking order and looks like she is a little uncomfortable about her stomach/bottom. She doesn’t move that much and stands in place for long periods of time. She seems sick and tired all the time...

Is there anything I could do? :’(

Here re some photos.... YoU still can’t really tell the difference though...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

6ish days I’ve noticed that one of my chickens about 4 years old has a hard swollen stomach/bottom. I’m really worried about her and don’t want to lose her. What could it possibly be? Please help!

it is really hard like a squishy rock

She doesn’t move that much and stands in place for long periods of time. She seems sick and tired all the time...

Is she still laying eggs?

A hard swollen stomach could be due to a reproductive disorder - Egg Yolk Peritonitis, Internal Laying, cancer, tumors and Salpingitis are some of the more common problems found in laying hens.
Some hens can live for quite a while with reproductive issues.
Does it feel like there is fluid in the abdomen as well or just hard?

Sadly, there is not a lot that you can do if she is suffering from a reproductive disorder. Vet visits can be expensive, but if that's an option for you then an xray may reveal what's going on. Sometimes something like a Suprelorin implant can be used to stop the hen from laying eggs and that makes them feel better, but implants need to be refreshed about every 3-5 months so this would be an ongoing vet visit.

I would offer her supportive care. Make sure she's eating/drinking. If she is relatively active, I would just observe her. Look her over well time to time to make sure she has no parasites (lice/mites) and just enjoy her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your sick hen. I agree with @Wyorp Rock that the hard swelling in her lower belly may be from internal laying masses or even cancer. Those are very common in high production hens, especially after the age of 2. When she stops eating and moving around, and seems to be suffering, I would put her down. Many times when they get to that point, the other chickens will start pecking on and hurting the sick chicken, since they sense that they are dying. When she does die, it would be very educational to do a necropsy on her, and open her abdomen to look at her abdominal organs. If you do, take pictures of her oviduct, liver, and other abdominal organs and post them here for advice. After losing several chickens to suspected reproductive disorders, I now do necropsies on all of my chickens who die. I usually just do the abdomen, but here are 2 links to help:
https://thepoultrysite.com/articles/poultry-necropsy-basics

https://vet.uga.edu/oldvpp/programs/afvet/attachments/how_to_necropsy_a_bird.pdf

 

[Chicka_deee]

Is she still laying eggs?

A hard swollen stomach could be due to a reproductive disorder - Egg Yolk Peritonitis, Internal Laying, cancer, tumors and Salpingitis are some of the more common problems found in laying hens.
Some hens can live for quite a while with reproductive issues.
Does it feel like there is fluid in the abdomen as well or just hard?

Sadly, there is not a lot that you can do if she is suffering from a reproductive disorder. Vet visits can be expensive, but if that's an option for you then an xray may reveal what's going on. Sometimes something like a Suprelorin implant can be used to stop the hen from laying eggs and that makes them feel better, but implants need to be refreshed about every 3-5 months so this would be an ongoing vet visit.

I would offer her supportive care. Make sure she's eating/drinking. If she is relatively active, I would just observe her. Look her over well time to time to make sure she has no parasites (lice/mites) and just enjoy her.

I haven’t seen her lay an egg, and there isn’t really liquid that you can feel and it’s pretty hard.

 

[Chicka_deee]

Sorry about your sick hen. I agree with @Wyorp Rock that the hard swelling in her lower belly may be from internal laying masses or even cancer. Those are very common in high production hens, especially after the age of 2. When she stops eating and moving around, and seems to be suffering, I would put her down. Many times when they get to that point, the other chickens will start pecking on and hurting the sick chicken, since they sense that they are dying. When she does die, it would be very educational to do a necropsy on her, and open her abdomen to look at her abdominal organs. If you do, take pictures of her oviduct, liver, and other abdominal organs and post them here for advice. After losing several chickens to suspected reproductive disorders, I now do necropsies on all of my chickens who die. I usually just do the abdomen, but here are 2 links to help:
https://thepoultrysite.com/articles/poultry-necropsy-basics

https://vet.uga.edu/oldvpp/programs/afvet/attachments/how_to_necropsy_a_bird.pdf

Thank you all, she doesn’t eat that much because she is the lowest in the pecking order so I try and feed her off to the side, she does get bullied from this one other hen, I’ll try my hardest to keep her alive and hopefullY she survives for long And if she stops moving and is weak I’ll put her out of her misery and she will have a peaceful sleep

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I haven’t seen her lay an egg, and there isn’t really liquid that you can feel and it’s pretty hard.

Thank you all, she doesn’t eat that much because she is the lowest in the pecking order so I try and feed her off to the side, she does get bullied from this one other hen, I’ll try my hardest to keep her alive and hopefullY she survives for long And if she stops moving and is weak I’ll put her out of her misery and she will have a peaceful sleep

I'm sorry

Do you have a separation pen or another run that she can go into for a few hours each day? I would not remove her completely from the flock, but she may need a break every now and then to eat and dust bath without being harassed.
If that's not possible, then think about adding another feed station or 2 if you have room. It's normal for the lowest one to get run off from feed, but I've found having several feed stations does seem to help.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry about your hen. I would see that she gets her own portion of food, and a dog crate, but still remaining part of the flock for less stress would be best.

 

[Shezadandy]

I haven’t seen her lay an egg, and there isn’t really liquid that you can feel and it’s pretty hard.

You could try giving her a poke to see what comes out. Feed stores and/or online sources sell 16 gauge needles- I ordered 14 gauge to have on hand - 1" long so you can control it easily. I wouldn't go with anything smaller (18, 20, 22's have smaller holes and it takes forever to drain). It's NOT a cure, but it can make the hen more comfortable.

I've got an ongoing ascities situation with one of my oldest hens - whether it's organ failure or some reproductive ailment, I watch her closely for when she starts to breathe with her mouth open a little- then drain her. She feels as hard as a basketball when I pick her up - but the fluid is always clear yellow stuff, and she lives a good life. When she stops enjoying life, I will help her to the next place. Until then we just keep an eye on her and drain her to keep her comfortable.

Here's an excellent video that makes it easy to follow and try. Personally, I stopped with the syringe - I just do one stick with the needle, and hold her while it drips out- especially since I'm usually on my own for that kind of stuff.

 

[Chicka_deee]

I'm sorry

Do you have a separation pen or another run that she can go into for a few hours each day? I would not remove her completely from the flock, but she may need a break every now and then to eat and dust bath without being harassed.
If that's not possible, then think about adding another feed station or 2 if you have room. It's normal for the lowest one to get run off from feed, but I've found having several feed stations does seem to help.

We don’t really have another run, and I do try and feed her separately, although I only feed them a lot in the morning by dumping some food into little containers and then eat the morning and then go off and do chicken surf the rest of the day. We do have 7 young chicks that are about 7 weeks old right now and I am still introducing them with the flock yet haven’t actually ran around with them. I’m thinking that with the new chicks, it’ll not make her get bullied so much and maybe get the chickens to not worry about bulling her because of the new chicks, or it could just put a lot of stress on Sunshine, (the sick chicken, her name is Sunshine)

 

[Chicka_deee]

You could try giving her a poke to see what comes out. Feed stores and/or online sources sell 16 gauge needles- I ordered 14 gauge to have on hand - 1" long so you can control it easily. I wouldn't go with anything smaller (18, 20, 22's have smaller holes and it takes forever to drain). It's NOT a cure, but it can make the hen more comfortable.

I've got an ongoing ascities situation with one of my oldest hens - whether it's organ failure or some reproductive ailment, I watch her closely for when she starts to breathe with her mouth open a little- then drain her. She feels as hard as a basketball when I pick her up - but the fluid is always clear yellow stuff, and she lives a good life. When she stops enjoying life, I will help her to the next place. Until then we just keep an eye on her and drain her to keep her comfortable.

Here's an excellent video that makes it easy to follow and try. Personally, I stopped with the syringe - I just do one stick with the needle, and hold her while it drips out- especially since I'm usually on my own for that kind of stuff.

I’ll try and get the supplies tomorrow and give it a try thank you all so much, and is there anything else I could do? If not thank you!