Egg yolk peritonitis, water belly, or just fat?

[Lovelyhens22]

Hello! My 2 year old Barred Rock, Rosie, has been acting a little odd these days. Under further examination, I realized pretty quickly that her abdomen has grown a bit large. It's not hanging low as I've seen in many photos; it's not hard (eliminating the possibility of it being egg yolk peritonitis, I think); it's just kinda squishy, and definitely inflamed.

She isn't laying eggs right now, as far as I know, but as we are just coming out of winter, I think she might start back up. (No soft shells from her, btw.) One strange thing I noticed is that she takes a while to poop. Like, she seems to stop, open her bum feathers, wait a few seconds (as if she was almost pushing hard), and then out comes this tiny dollop of poo (which looks normal, btw). She doesn't eat much during the day, but also doesn't seem super sick.
Also, she's at the top of the pecking order in my coop, and has not had a hard time keeping the rest of the hens in line.

One more thing, she does seem to have a hard, or at least slow, time walking. She doesn't quite waddle, which makes me think it can't be water belly, but I just don't know at this point. And I have absolutely no idea what a just plain fat chicken looks or acts like. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! (I'm also open to posting pics if needed.)

 

[nuthatched]

What's her diet?

 

[Lovelyhens22]

What's her diet?

22% protein layer feed, maybe a little too many healthy kitchen scraps , and naturally growing backyard plants.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would use a 20% protein feed, unless there is a reason for that in the flock, and cut out the scraps. It has all she needs. She may be heavy. Most of the time, I could never tell what was wrong until after death when a necropsy can be done. If she is having problems walking, and not laying eggs, it could be a reproductive issue. Check her crop early in the morning to make sure it has emptied of food overnight.

 

[Lovelyhens22]

I would use a 20% protein feed, unless there is a reason for that in the flock, and cut out the scraps. It has all she needs. She may be heavy. Most of the time, I could never tell what was wrong until after death when a necropsy can be done. If she is having problems walking, and not laying eggs, it could be a reproductive issue. Check her crop early in the morning to make sure it has emptied of food overnight.

Ok, will do. I checked, and her crop is emptying overnight. What kind of reproductive issues do you think it might be?

 

[Eggcessive]

It’s hard to know exactly what is going on. They can lay internally with salpingitis, have oviduct cancer, or have infection. Some hens can have water belly or fatty liver disease. Usually we don’t know until after death when a necropsy is done. I do mine at home, but the state vets do a thorough one with testing for diseases. Hopefully, she will start laying again since she is still young. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[Lovelyhens22]

It’s hard to know exactly what is going on. They can lay internally with salpingitis, have oviduct cancer, or have infection. Some hens can have water belly or fatty liver disease. Usually we don’t know until after death when a necropsy is done. I do mine at home, but the state vets do a thorough one with testing for diseases. Hopefully, she will start laying again since she is still young. Let us know how she gets along.

Ok. I really hope that she can get better. I had to cull her sister a few months ago because she had egg yolk peritonitis. Rest in peace, Toothless. Thanks for your help, and I'll keep you posted.

 

[Lovelyhens22]

Bad news! This morning she has been sitting around the coop with an empty crop and is now taking on the penguin stance. I hope it's only because she's cold... (It got pretty cold here last night)

 

[Lovelyhens22]

Update! Rosie has been doing MUCH better these last two days. We gave her a nice water bath on Saturday. We put Vaseline around her vent, massaged her behind, and gave her lots of special attention.

Yesterday, I noticed that she was eating more and was lot more active. Her behind had even shrunk a bit. Then, just now when I went into the coop, her crop was quite full and her behind was normal-sized again and squishy like any other hen!

I'm not exactly sure what was wrong with her, but the bath must have helped. She is still acting a tiny bit lethargic but I think that will wear off pretty soon. Thank you so much for your help, @Eggcessive !