Swollen abdomen on one side

[H Fletcher]

I've got this hen whose been acting strange for a few months. She's a red sex link, and I first saw problems when she was so skinny, I could feel the bones in her chest. After that, she gained a lot of weight in the back, eventually lost it and was skinny again, and now she's back to having a swollen abdomen.
She drinks a lot, so much that it comes out when she leans over sometimes. I thought she had water belly, so I tried draining her a few days ago but nothing came out. I will say, it's only the left side of her, opposite of where I tried to drain, which is swollen.
I'm giving her an epsom salt bath now and massaging, noticing something hard moving, might be an organ or an egg, although I don't think she's egg bound. Should I try draining her again? She also yawns...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've got this hen whose been acting strange for a few months. She's a red sex link, and I first saw problems when she was so skinny, I could feel the bones in her chest. After that, she gained a lot of weight in the back, eventually lost it and was skinny again, and now she's back to having a swollen abdomen.
She drinks a lot, so much that it comes out when she leans over sometimes. I thought she had water belly, so I tried draining her a few days ago but nothing came out. I will say, it's only the left side of her, opposite of where I tried to drain, which is swollen.
I'm giving her an epsom salt bath now and massaging, noticing something hard moving, might be an organ or an egg, although I don't think she's egg bound. Should I try draining her again? She also yawns...

Welcome To BYC

Does she lay eggs? When was the last one?

I'd check her crop to make sure it's emptying overnight, if it's not, then address that symptom according to the article linked below.

I would not try draining her again if you didn't get any fluid the first time, then likely there's no fluid (Ascites). What you are feeling on the left could be the Gizzard, perhaps a mass or internally laid egg, hard to know.

Do you provide grit (Crushed Granite) for your birds?

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

 

[H Fletcher]

Welcome To BYC

Does she lay eggs? When was the last one?

I'd check her crop to make sure it's emptying overnight, if it's not, then address that symptom according to the article linked below.

I would not try draining her again if you didn't get any fluid the first time, then likely there's no fluid (Ascites). What you are feeling on the left could be the Gizzard, perhaps a mass or internally laid egg, hard to know.

Do you provide grit (Crushed Granite) for your birds?

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

View attachment 4096663

Thank you. I go to school so it's hard to tell if she lays eggs, I haven't seen her lately, she's about 3-4 years old. I don't think she's egg bound because she's had this problem for a while.
Her crop empties in the morning, she drinks a lot so it comes back up sometimes. They've got lots of grit in their run. I pinched her comb and it stayed pinched for a while before returning to normal, I think that's a sign of dehydration or iron or something? And she's still only bloated on one side of her belly, breathing weird sometimes.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you. I go to school so it's hard to tell if she lays eggs, I haven't seen her lately, she's about 3-4 years old. I don't think she's egg bound because she's had this problem for a while.
Her crop empties in the morning, she drinks a lot so it comes back up sometimes. They've got lots of grit in their run. I pinched her comb and it stayed pinched for a while before returning to normal, I think that's a sign of dehydration or iron or something? And she's still only bloated on one side of her belly, breathing weird sometimes.

Never heard of pinching the comb, sounds painful to me.

I'd work on hydration, offer some electrolytes to her but make sure she also has plain water available too.

Drinking a lot of water often points to some type of digestive issue, if the crop is emptying, it could be that she has some other problem going on. Photos of her poop may help.

 

[chickengr]

3-4 years is a life span for hybrids.

 

[H Fletcher]

Never heard of pinching the comb, sounds painful to me.

I'd work on hydration, offer some electrolytes to her but make sure she also has plain water available too.

Drinking a lot of water often points to some type of digestive issue, if the crop is emptying, it could be that she has some other problem going on. Photos of her poop may help.

Thank you. Her poop is very watery, with bits of green and brown. I'll get electrolytes.

 

[H Fletcher]

She's doing okay, still moving and eating, but feeling really slow. After I gave her some electrolytes and pumpkin, her wattle isn't as dehydrated (I meant wattle when I said I pinch the 'comb' to check). The left side of her belly is still much bigger that the other and that makes it hard for her to walk.

 

[H Fletcher]

She's not doing so great now. Very lethargic. In the morning she's eating and drinking, but then she gets tired and I can't persuade her to free range. Still very bloated belly on one side, making it hard to walk, but not a lot of muscle so she's very light. When I pet her, she makes little groans.
Any more help would be appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's not doing so great now. Very lethargic. In the morning she's eating and drinking, but then she gets tired and I can't persuade her to free range. Still very bloated belly on one side, making it hard to walk, but not a lot of muscle so she's very light. When I pet her, she makes little groans.
Any more help would be appreciated.

Do you have vet care? Draining could be attempted to see if that makes a difference, but since you tried before and it didn't result into anything, it's hard to know about trying again.

Unfortunately with laying hens, having reproductive issues is common. Sometimes the best we can do is offer supportive care until they are longer able to keep going and then kindly put them down.

If you lose her and want to find out more about what was causing her symptoms, send the body to your state lab for necropsy or you can do an informal one yourself to see what the bloat/swelling was.

You can find your lab here: https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...Yrx_0qoXoPdUvfo_4WjifZ7GxLrNFGF9arZyn8UL4ZVDK