distended belly & poop blockage

[EMS83]

One of my hens had a messy butt, so I picked her up, and her belly is really firm and distended. I soaked her in warmish after and worked all the poo off her butt and out of her feathers. wrapped her in towels and dried her off. And now she’s in a crate in my bathroom.

Her crop seems really firm too. About the size of a baseball.

What else should I do?

She’s about 18 months, Golden Comet. No other pasty butts in the flock. 22% later pellets with kitchen/garden scraps. Free choice oyster shells & regular grit. Pine shavings in coop and mulch in run.

Edit: I had her isolated inside for the afternoon. She had healthy poops for most of that time, but later into the evening, they got watery. I put her back in the coop around 9 p.m. Crop is smaller; belly still distended. Could she be egg bound?

 

[alinas2010]

Hey sorry to hear about your hen. How was her crop first thing this morning? It should be completely flat first thing in the morning.

She might actually be suffering from a reproductive disorder of sorts causing the distended abdomen. Sometimes reproductive disorders actually go hand in hand with crop issues. But she could also just have a fat belly that protrudes. How are her laying habits? When was her last egg and what do her eggs look like usually?

Does she seem ill as if she has a slow crop? Here is a good link on crop disorders and how to treat:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[EMS83]

Hey sorry to hear about your hen. How was her crop first thing this morning? It should be completely flat first thing in the morning.

She might actually be suffering from a reproductive disorder of sorts causing the distended abdomen. Sometimes reproductive disorders actually go hand in hand with crop issues. But she could also just have a fat belly that protrudes. How are her laying habits? When was her last egg and what do her eggs look like usually?

Does she seem ill as if she has a slow crop? Here is a good link on crop disorders and how to treat:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

None of them have laid since early July. The only abnormality I ever had was the occasional rubbery egg with a chalky/crusty shell. I've gotten 2-3 of those. I have 33 hens total, about half are golden comets like this one. The other half are black australorps.

Her crop seemed flatter even around 8:30 last night. I put her back in the coop last night around 9:00, and she was out and about with the other hens. They're not tagged and I don't have trap nests, so it would be hard to tell who's laying what.

And she's not acting sick.
Thanks for the link! I'll read it now.

 

[EMS83]

Update: I think we might lose her. She's more distended and standing upright like a penguin. that's new this week. I brought her in to monitor, and she's not eating or drinking, empty crop, and not much poop. I have her an epsom salt bath, but she's just standing here with her head buried in her shoulder/wing. We have a vet appointment tomorrow at 4; the earliest we could get.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. The upright walking and the enlarged firm belly sounds like she has a reproductive disorder such as salpingitis or egg yolk peritonitis/coelomitis. Usually, at this stage there is not much a vet could do. Antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, or hormone implant might have helped very early on, but she is probably very far along. It is common in hens over 2, but some hens may be affected earlier. If you do lose her, I would either do a home necropsy to take pictures of her abdominal organs. Or you could have your state vet lab do a professional necropsy, and they will tell you what she died from. Here is a list of state vet labs, and you can find yours to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[EMS83]

Sorry about your hen. The upright walking and the enlarged firm belly sounds like she has a reproductive disorder such as salpingitis or egg yolk peritonitis/coelomitis. Usually, at this stage there is not much a vet could do. Antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, or hormone implant might have helped very early on, but she is probably very far along. It is common in hens over 2, but some hens may be affected earlier. If you do lose her, I would either do a home necropsy to take pictures of her abdominal organs. Or you could have your state vet lab do a professional necropsy, and they will tell you what she died from. Here is a list of state vet labs, and you can find yours to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Thank you! I took her to the vet anyway, and they’re going to put her down soon and put her on ice for me. Then I’ll need to overnight her for necropsy. It’s expensive, though. It cost $67 to put our Boxer down. $180 to put this hen down.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. Have you contacted your state vet? It may be less expensive to go directly through them if you put her down yourself. When I have lost hens, I usually do a home necropsy to look over the abdominal organs, and take pictures to post here. The state vet lab will do much more testing, and send a preliminary and a final diagnosis. Be sure to explain it is for a backyard chicken and not a commercial one, since it may cost less. The contact for the state vet is in this link, and you can find the UGA info online:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

It says here that these people do free necropsies for backyard chickens:
https://www.gapoultrylab.org/about-us/departments/

 

[EMS83]

Thanks for the replies! I talked with the poultry lab, and they said that they can receive her up to 4 days after she was put down as long as she's chilled. However, I have no way to get her there within that timeframe without spending $100 on overnight fees. So I'm going to bury her behind our fence.

@Eggcessive You said it was likely a reproductive disorder. That shouldn't affect the rest of the flock, correct? And it shouldn't cause undue concern for burial (and potential critters digging)?