Cochin missing feathers and has a swollen bottom

[BriannaR]

Hello all!
My 1 year old Cochin hen has been losing feathers over the last few months. It started with her saddle area, which didn’t surprise me because she is one of my roosters favorites. So I put a saddle on her hoping that would help.
However, she has since been losing nearly all the feathers around her vent/bottom and a strip of feathers on the front of her neck. Her bottom is now starting to look red, and it feels swollen to me ( although I’ve never really felt it before this, so not sure if this is how it has always looked).
She is lowest on the pecking order for sure, and is very docile, but I’ve never seen the other hens peck or pluck her feathers. I have 8 other hens and one rooster, and they are all fully feathered and healthy looking.
As far as I can tell she is acting normally, laying eggs ( I think- hers are brown and I have three others laying a very similar color), eating, drinking, pooping. Keeping up with the rest of the flock just fine. I have noticed loose stools with her periodically that used to stick to her feathers, but now that all the vent feathers are nearly gone I’m not seeing that as much. But she could absolutely still have loose stools that I’m not seeing.
She is on layena pearls, free choice oyster shell, and meal worms a few times a week as a treat. They all free range on about 1/4 acre that is grassy.
Could this be feather plucking that I’m not seeing? Could she have mites? She’s just looking disheveled and I’m concerned she has a chronic illness of some kind.
Thank you!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

She appears to be molting. You can increase her protein by switching to an all flock/flock raiser feed with 20% protein. Do you have a pt least 2 feed and water stations, in case she is getting bullied? Some of the feather loss could be feather picking as well. Are you seeing feathers inside the coop and run? Her bald rear end may make it appear enlarged, so compare it to others. Poop pictures are welcome. Loose poops can happen during warm weather when they drink more fluids.

 

[BriannaR]

She appears to be molting. You can increase her protein by switching to an all flock/flock raiser feed with 20% protein. Do you have a pt least 2 feed and water stations, in case she is getting bullied? Some of the feather loss could be feather picking as well. Are you seeing feathers inside the coop and run? Her bald rear end may make it appear enlarged, so compare it to others. Poop pictures are welcome. Loose poops can happen during warm weather when they drink more fluids.

Ok thank you I will try adding another feeder and switching to flock raiser for a bit. I can get a poop pic tomorrow and add it!
I tried comparing to the other Cochin I have and this one does seem to be enlarged/swollen around her vent. It almost feels like the area is full of fluid? Could this be irritation from feather picking? I haven’t seen any feathers in the coop or run, but they are in a pretty big area that’s got a lot of grass and brush so it might just be hidden. If she’s getting picked at, is there anything I can do to discourage the others from doing that?
Thank you so much!

 

[Eggcessive]

If she is full of fluid, that could be ascites/water belly. That would be usual in a one year old, but it could happen. I don’t normally drain a hen with water belly, but if they are having labored breathing, draining some fluid with an 18 gauge needle (disinfect the skin first) can relieve it some. Ascites fluid is yellow to dark amber. If clear colorless fluid comes out, it may be a cystic right oviduct. Feather picking can be from boredom, not getting outside to roam around, and overcrowding. Look her over for lice or mites under her belly and elsewhere.

 

[BriannaR]

If she is full of fluid, that could be ascites/water belly. That would be usual in a one year old, but it could happen. I don’t normally drain a hen with water belly, but if they are having labored breathing, draining some fluid with an 18 gauge needle (disinfect the skin first) can relieve it some. Ascites fluid is yellow to dark amber. If clear colorless fluid comes out, it may be a cystic right oviduct. Feather picking can be from boredom, not getting outside to roam around, and overcrowding. Look her over for lice or mites under her belly and elsewhere.

Ok! I felt her vent area again today and it does feel sort of like an inflated water balloon, so I think it might be ascites. I have a nurse friend that can bring over some needles and give me a hand so I think I’m going to attempt to drain it, just to see what color I get and try to get a definite diagnosis. I don’t see any evidence of mites/lice, nothing moving and no clusters of anything on her feathers.
Is draining the fluid mostly just for comfort? Will it likely come back over time?
Thank you!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

If your hen has ascites, that is fluid from liver disease that will accumulate again. It eventually will kill her. I have had a few with reproductive disorders, one with cancer, and another with fatty liver disease, who developed ascites. I found it when I did a necropsy on each one after they died. The only hen I drained when she was alive, was a small 11 year old pet bantam, who was having labored breathing. Her belly turned purple and was enlarged. She died about 2 weeks later, and had fluid filled cysts inside her. You can attach a large syringe to an 18 gauge needle and with draw the fluid, but I found it easier to insert the needle and let it drain onto a towel or puppy pad. Let us know what you find.

 

[Eggcessive]

Look at the pictures in post 42 below for pictures of a hen being drained:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/laying-hens-with-water-belly-or-ascites.68731/page-5