The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: mentalmilly on April 21, 2014, 06:50:37 pm
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I had a problem with a hen that suddenly looked very poorly. Had been eating , drinking and running around with the flock until yesterday. Looked a bit off but still nice red comb etc. This morning fine as usual but this afternoon she looked really ill, picked her up and her abdomen was really distended. We put her out of her misery as she was in obvious discomfort. I decided to have a look inside and as soon as l cut her open lots of fluid came out, no smell and her gut looked hard and knobbly. Has anyone any idea what this could be, has it happened to anyone else? this is the third bird to get this and the signs are all the same, seems OK one minute ill the next. All speckeldy hens at 3 years old. Any help please. Getting a bit worried now.
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Sorry Mentalmilly, but I have no idea. The usual cause would be peritonitis, but you found no eggs in the abdomen. There is another condition called 'water belly' when they just take on colourless fluid which can be drained and not reoccur. Perhaps you have a poultry strain predisposed to something? What hens are they?
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Thanks Chrismahon I thought of peritonitis but no eggs in sight. The confusing sign was the gut looking hard and with lumps on them. The nearest symptoms l can see on the web is salpingitis , but this is a sudden show of symptoms in our hens. All of the three were speckledy hens, none of the other hens are affected but they are a mixed bunch. I have one speckledy hen left and if she goes down and no other hens l will have to assume it is the breed. Very puzzling. Vets brain dead where chucks are concerned so cant ask them.
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I don't think peritonitis always involves fully formed eggs stuck, you also get peritonitis when yet unformed eggs empty into the belly instead (I nursed a hen through 9 months of this til the bitter end). Was the liquid yellowish and 'eggy' or clear?
The liquid build-up with peritonitis would be slow though so doesn't quite match your sudden symptom picture, on the other hand it takes some time to notice the distension if the hen is otherwise fine. Maybe acute peritonitis?(where the liquid gets infected thus poisoning the bird very quickly).
Just guessing here, in case it helps. I feel for your loss...
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Yes LadyK it could have been an acute peritonitis but the hen was fine with no signs of distention, and there was a lot of fluid, paleish yellow, no smell. I handled this hen a lot before she became ill, she was very tame and l could not see anything wrong with her. A pity vets have very little knowledge of poultry. Thanks for your input.
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When I was a child and my mum kept hens occasionally she would have one with what she called "Floppy Bottom" and would kill it but it would not be eaten
When many years ago I had one with these symptoms I took it to the vets for PM but it cam back with no real conculusions other than it had many "small growths" inside it
Since then I have only ever had one other fowl with the symptoms but being interested have since done some research, and think it might have been
Avian Leukosis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avian_sarcoma_leukosis_virus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avian_sarcoma_leukosis_virus)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphoma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphoma)
I might have been wrong of course, but take a look and see what you think
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Thanks The more l find diseases the more confused l get. The only way to really find out l suppose would be a PM but that is an expense not to be undertaken at the moment and it would not stop any other hens getting sick.
Hope no more go down with it then l will know it was one off thing. If its not mites its something else, if chucks were not so delightful to keep it would put me off. Thanks everyone
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We had a hen like this, she would suddenly stand like a penguin because she was bottom heavy. As she didn't seem distressed by it we left her a while and it rectified itself but did recur a couple of times. Never did find out what caused it either.
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The penguin stance thing is normally a stuck egg. Sometimes a large on that they get out eventually or it can be asoft shelled egg they are finding diffic ult to lay. This can happen when the hen is getting old and often you are unaware as the egg gets eaten before you spot it
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I don't get it hyebred hens get so money things that go wrong .You did the best thing with it .Naw its harder to get meds as you have to go to the vets .lv been told I carnt get meds enemy more till I take the stock to the vets .Its 25 pound a visit .So culling them NaW is a must .I've saved meney in my time.