Distended abdomen. Trouble diagnosing.

[kittyvamp1884]

Hey all,
Any help you can give would be wonderful. Mabel is everyone's favorite snuggle chicken, and we don't want to lose her.

1) What type of bird , age and weight
- 22 month old RIR hen 3.4lbs

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
- Penguin walking.
- Distended abdomen. (Soft, but not watery.)
- Frequent diarrhea with pasty butt. Vent looks good though.
- Lethargic
- Also somewhat wheezy, but that has been the case her whole life.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
- 4 days

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
- No

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
- No

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

- Caused? No, but here's the rundown:
A few of my hens are just starting to come back into lay after "winter break", but most are still not laying. Mabel is still moulting, so I weren't expecting anything from her for a long while.

Several days ago I noticed her walking like a penguin with a swollen lower abdomen, and the Google searches began. Egg bound? Water belly? Egg yolk Peritonitis? ... and so on. See point 9 for treatment details.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
- Mabel is always voraciously hungry. This hasn't changed. She will eat anything, and will chase you down if you have food, Right now she doesn't want chicken feed, but she was eating it with water mixed in since coming inside. Her crop has been reasonably full each evening when I put her into a dog crate to sleep. She drains her water dish at every opportunity, but only seems to touch her feed for the water inside it.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
- Very liquidy even more so than hot weather poop. Basically water with bits of green, white and a clumpy cheesy yellow. (See attached)

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
- initially thought she might be egg bound. Gave epsom salt baths and calcium, but no egg for days and she's still with us. Cannot feel an egg in her belly.

- Attempted to drain what I then thought was water belly low on the right side of the swollen lower abdomen. Had undue resistance pulling the plunger... only a fatty discharge in the syringe. (See attached image with syringe. Yellow only poop was immediately after attempted drain)

- Currently giving her all the water she will drink, and mixing water into her food. She's not interested in chicken feed, but will stalk you for human food.

- She is still perky, in good spirits, with a bright red comb. No bleeding at the stick site. If you can't see her belly, she just seems sleepy and snuggly, and keeps trying to eat this discharge from the syringe. (She's still has an appetite)

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
- I have no choice but to self treat. There are no vets that will take chickens in the area.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
- (see attached)

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
- Housing is a 4-ftx6 ft resin shed with pine shaving deep litter. Chickens free range the yard.

 

[kittyvamp1884]

Picture of Mabel standing attached.
Videos wouldn't attach. Here's a link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/M3R9AxHHzY4tz2HB9

 

[nuthatched]

It looks like a reproductive infection, that could be lash material.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

- Penguin walking.
- Distended abdomen. (Soft, but not watery.)
- Frequent diarrhea with pasty butt. Vent looks good though.
- Lethargic
- Also somewhat wheezy, but that has been the case her whole life.

Several days ago I noticed her walking like a penguin with a swollen lower abdomen

She drains her water dish at every opportunity, but only seems to touch her feed for the water inside it.

- Very liquidy even more so than hot weather poop. Basically water with bits of green, white and a clumpy cheesy yellow.

- Attempted to drain what I then thought was water belly low on the right side of the swollen lower abdomen. Had undue resistance pulling the plunger... only a fatty discharge in the syringe. (See attached image with syringe. Yellow only poop was immediately after attempted drain)

She is still perky, in good spirits, with a bright red comb.

Sorry to hear about Mabel, it would say she has reproductive problems.
Whether the exudes you pulled out of the abdomen is from Peritonitis or infection, hard to know.
Her stance says she's not doing very well and the closing of her eyes tells the same.

Sadly, with reproductive disorders, there's no cures. Supportive care can be offered in the Hope that this will give some measure of comfort and perhaps improve quality of life and/or extend life for a short while.

You can try and antibiotic to see if that perks her up for a period of time. Batyril or Amoxicillin. With her drinking a lot and not eating very much, she's wasting, so the medications may not help very much.

I'm sorry.

 

[kittyvamp1884]

Update: Mabel is still hanging on.

I did try draining her again on Monday in case I had the positioning wrong somehow. The backward pressure on the syringe was intense, but got the same fatty/cheesy exudes the second time.

She sleeps almost constantly now, and her abdomen has continued to grow. We can see a dark colored tint through the stretched skin (Possibly unpassed bms?)

She occasionally perks up and eats something in the evenings. When she does, she acts like a more short-winded version of her old self for just a little while. Jumping down from the couch and stalking anyone with interesting food; stealing my daughters beverages. We're just trying to snuggle her as much as possible and enjoy the time we have left with her.

She trills whenever we speak to or snuggle her. I can't help but think she's trying to enjoy what time she has with us too.

I rigged her up a basket with towels and cushions so that she could stay out of the dog crate with me all day. Here she is enjoying some sunshine. I don't know how much longer she plans on holding on, but I'll be here as long as she does.

 

[nuthatched]

I'm sorry, I would put her down, I can't imagine that she'll make it through the night at this point and she's likely uncomfortable.

 

[kittyvamp1884]

I'm sorry, I would put her down, I can't imagine that she'll make it through the night at this point and she's likely uncomfortable.

I found myself saying the exact same thing everyday since Sunday, and yet she's still here. I put her into the crate each night expecting her to be gone come morning, and instead she trills a good morning when I come out.

The only method of dispatch I have available to me is brute force, and I don't think I have it in me to do that to Mabel. I'm no stranger to processing chickens, but Mabel isn't just a chicken to me. I don't think I can kill her.

But you're right. I've been googling alternate methods to put her down for several days now. I know she's suffering. I owe her better than this.

 

[kittyvamp1884]

@nuthatched

I wanted to reach out and take moment to thank you for saying what needed to be said. I was too wrapped up in spending what time I had left with her to see what that time was costing her. Thank you.

 

[Saaniya]

Hey all,
Any help you can give would be wonderful. Mabel is everyone's favorite snuggle chicken, and we don't want to lose her.

1) What type of bird , age and weight
- 22 month old RIR hen 3.4lbs

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
- Penguin walking.
- Distended abdomen. (Soft, but not watery.)
- Frequent diarrhea with pasty butt. Vent looks good though.
- Lethargic
- Also somewhat wheezy, but that has been the case her whole life.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
- 4 days

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
- No

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
- No

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

- Caused? No, but here's the rundown:
A few of my hens are just starting to come back into lay after "winter break", but most are still not laying. Mabel is still moulting, so I weren't expecting anything from her for a long while.

Several days ago I noticed her walking like a penguin with a swollen lower abdomen, and the Google searches began. Egg bound? Water belly? Egg yolk Peritonitis? ... and so on. See point 9 for treatment details.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
- Mabel is always voraciously hungry. This hasn't changed. She will eat anything, and will chase you down if you have food, Right now she doesn't want chicken feed, but she was eating it with water mixed in since coming inside. Her crop has been reasonably full each evening when I put her into a dog crate to sleep. She drains her water dish at every opportunity, but only seems to touch her feed for the water inside it.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
- Very liquidy even more so than hot weather poop. Basically water with bits of green, white and a clumpy cheesy yellow. (See attached)

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
- initially thought she might be egg bound. Gave epsom salt baths and calcium, but no egg for days and she's still with us. Cannot feel an egg in her belly.

- Attempted to drain what I then thought was water belly low on the right side of the swollen lower abdomen. Had undue resistance pulling the plunger... only a fatty discharge in the syringe. (See attached image with syringe. Yellow only poop was immediately after attempted drain)

- Currently giving her all the water she will drink, and mixing water into her food. She's not interested in chicken feed, but will stalk you for human food.

- She is still perky, in good spirits, with a bright red comb. No bleeding at the stick site. If you can't see her belly, she just seems sleepy and snuggly, and keeps trying to eat this discharge from the syringe. (She's still has an appetite)

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
- I have no choice but to self treat. There are no vets that will take chickens in the area.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
- (see attached)

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
- Housing is a 4-ftx6 ft resin shed with pine shaving deep litter. Chickens free range the yard.

water belly is a case of Ecoli infection in the progressive stage , poop in yellowing tone also gives hints of ecoli
baytril must be helpful but i take notes from @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @Debbie292d

 

[nuthatched]

@nuthatched

I wanted to reach out and take moment to thank you for saying what needed to be said. I was too wrapped up in spending what time I had left with her to see what that time was costing her. Thank you.

It's always hard to watch a pet die, I'm very sorry. I think she was trying to stick around but I'm not sure how else to help her