Swollen belly

[elizajay]

Barley, my 5 year old pekin bantam has a soft, but swollen belly. She has had runny poo some some time - no change after worming her and tends to stay in the coop in the mornings until I open the door for them to free range in the morning. When I feel her belly, she does not appear to be in pain, but perhaps a little discomfort. Her comb and wattles are red and healthy looking and she spends her days happily pottering about with the others. It is hard to know if she is laying as I have another pekin, I think she was laying occasionally because she crouched when I approached her, but isn't now. Really not sure what to do for her. Any suggestions?

[Suechooks]

Ascites is a symptom of several conditions most of them serious. It tends to occur in ex-batts when they stop laying. Your best bet is a good vet who understands poultry but they are few and far between. I've had several ex-batts go down with this. My vet has just started taking an interest in poultry and offered to try and aspirate the fluid on the last one and I've heard of this being done before. If your girl is ok otherwise it could be worth exploring that route but you could do with a proper diagnosis anyway. Good luck.

[vicky]

One of my ex batts had perotinitus which a swollen belly was a symptom of. An injection of Baytril sorted it the first time but sadly the second time she got it (8 months later ish) she died from it.
I understand growths are pretty common in ex batts too which can also cause a swollen tummy.
If you have a poultry friendly vet you could try them, I think I paid about £25 for the first treatment.