Poss. water belly, put down or let nature take its course?

[ReindeerStationFarm]

Hi, from what I've read on the forums I think I have a hen with water belly. Her abdomen feels like a water balloon. Now she's losing all her feathers on her abdomen. She stumps around like a penguin - probably because of the weight of her abdomen - and her wings are droopy but otherwise she tries to act like a normal chicken. I feel so bad for her, but if water belly is caused by a failing liver there's no cure, right?

I thought she was going to die in the night she had so much trouble walking last night. I had to lift her into the coop. This morning she seems fairly perky though moving slow and has greenish poop around her butt...I guess my question is, if there is no cure should I just let nature take its course or should I put her down and if I should put her down is there a humane way? I've only ever seen chickens butchered and what I've "heard" is that if you put them upside down in a funnel they are calmer (because the blood rushes to their heads?) I'm a vegetarian so even humanely butchering chickens would be hard for me but I'll do what I have to do I guess. Any thoughts? Thanks,

Céleste

 

[cafarmgirl]

It can be caused by several different things, none of which are curable. Commonly caused by internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis. It can also be caused by heart problems which in turn causes poor circulation and build up of fluids in the body cavities. So no, the outlook is not good, it's going to get her eventually. If you are not comfortable putting her down do you have a vet in your area who could do it?

 

[CMV]

She could have ascites or EYP. Both have a poor prognosis. You will have to make the call about what you want to do. I culled my hen with EYP. I hated it, but she was so very sick that I didn't feel right letting her suffer anymore knowing she was going to die regardless. Letting nature take its course can take an awful long time. Too long in my opinion.

I used the broomstick method, which is to lay the bird on the ground by holding onto the feet. Place a broomstick over her neck and step on it with your full weight. Pull on the feet until you feel the neck separate. You can use a sharp, forceful tug or a slow, consistent pull to achieve the desired result. I prefer the slow pull because there is less chance of accidentally yanking her so hard you pull her out from under the broomstick and not separate her neck. It is done. There will be some flapping, but that is just nervous reaction and means nothing. The flapping is over in less than 30 seconds. I prefer this method because it is bloodless, and cervical dislocation is faster than exsanguination.

I am sorry you are in this situation. I hope this helps.

 

[off-grid hen]

Oh, no! It seems like there's a lot of posts about this lately.

I had to put down a hen this past weekend because of the same thing. I wasn't sure if I should just let her go on her own, or ease her suffering. When she struggled to breathe, I decided I couldn't let her suffer. I waited until she was visibly uncomfortable. This was the first time I've had to put an animal down.

There is a thread here that someone drains the fluid. I will link you to that so that you may make the decision that's right for you and your flock.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/638821/ascites-swollen-squishy-abdomen-with-pics-video-page-9

Good luck.

If I have another laying hen with this, I am going to get to the bottom of this issue with the vet. She was just over a year old, this is crazy.

 

[off-grid hen]

Any update on the hen?

 

[ReindeerStationFarm]

Hi all, thank you so much for your sympathy, support, and advice. My poor hen really seemed miserable stumping around like a penguin I decided that it would be kindest to put her down. I did try to find a vet but they wanted to charge $100 so I decided to do it myself. I watched a video about respectful slaughter and felt I could do it so I let her have a last day and collected her from the coop when she went to "roost" (which for her lately was just huddling in a corner of the coop because she couldn't fly up to the roost.) I figured she would be calmer if it was nearing dark. (Sadly, our rooster had seemed a bit off the last couple days and we couldn't locate him last night even after checking all the bushes and calling for him...when I went in to collect the hen I found he'd returned to the coop sometime today and died in the corner.) I took the hen out, cradled her in my apron slanting head downward and slit her throat. She bled out fairly quickly. I feel just awful about it but I really think it was the kindest thing. Tomorrow I am going to go buy a sharper knife in case I have to go through this again. I used the sharpest one I had but it could have been sharper in my opinion.

So, it's a sad day on our farm, but thank you all for helping me to put my big girl panties on and do what needed to be done.

Céleste

 

[CMV]

I am sorry for your losses.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm so sorry. Having been there numerous times myself with the same thing, you have my heartfelt empathy. You did very well.

 

[off-grid hen]

Sorry for your losses, I know how it feels. I know what you mean about the sharp knife. I used my husband's hunting knife. I don't have bird processing equipment, so I wanted to be sure it would be as quick as possible.

 

[ReindeerStationFarm]

Thanks so much, guys. She was a 2 year old Wyandotte. Our hens all free range and you'd think they'd be so healthy but I did read that if they can eat all they want whenever they want they are more apt to get liver failure. Don't know what happened to the rooster...that will always be a mystery. He was acting a little off, but certainly not sick. He looked fine up until he disappeared. My husband said it was both sad and romantic that he came back to the coop to die. That rooster really loved his hens. He was such a good guy. It's like a light went out in the coop. I would love to know what was wrong with him.