What is Water Belly?

Ascites, also known as water belly, is a condition in which a chicken's abdominal cavity has an abnormal accumulation of fluid. There are numerous reasons why this happens, but are most often due to heart disease, liver disease, kidney failure, or an infection. Once water buildup occurs, the liquid remains in the abdominal cavity and can cause the chicken to drown. 

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Unfortunately, this is common in older laying hens. Thankfully, it is not contagious. 

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How to Check for Water Belly:

Water belly often leads to a swollen belly - which can feel like a water balloon or hard ball depending on the duration of water build up, a widened stance, and possibly a pale or purple comb. When it becomes severe, a chicken may have difficulty breathing, become lethargic, and have a reduce in appetite. You can also tell if your chicken has a red backside with missing feathers and poop dripping down. The protrusion causes a shelf that can collect poop, which will eventually build up and cause issues. 

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Treatment:

As always, please refer to our list of veterinarians to consult with before attempting anything listed as a treatment. We are not veterinarians, we've just been able to treat our flock with suggestions which we share for life saving emergencies. 

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Please note, there is no true cure and treatment prolongs life and reduces suffering.

 

It's best to know if it is heart or liver. An x-ray is the best way to show you if it is is heart , and an ultrasound is the best way to show you if it's the live. Regardless, there is no damage treating for the liver if you're unable to tell. 

 

If liver, milk thistle extract may be helpful. Please note, this is a condition in which always leads to death but there are ways to slow it doesn't and reduce suffering. If it is liver related, 50-75mg/kg may assist in the process. This can be given every 12-hours. If purchased as a capsule, you can mix with water and fill a raspberry, put it on bread, put it directly in their mouth, use baby parrot food, or other creative ways. Please make sure to weigh your chicken and do not assume their weight. 

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When it comes to draining a chicken, this should be done by a veterinarian. Draining will help fluid build-up, but it is a temporary fix. Draining will provide your chicken more comfort, but will not "solve" the problem.  The cavity will fill back up and you will have to keep draining it to relieve the pressure. In early stages it could take months to fill back up, in later stages of heart failure it could fill back up in days.

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How to Drain:

A local vet will do the following to drain your chicken.

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They will ensure the place of drainage is on the chickens right side, which is the side without organs. They will then clean and sanitize the area before inserting the 18-20 guage needle. The needle will only be inserted about 1/4" to protect the internal cavity of the chicken, and only 1/3 of the fluid will be drained. After draining, the chicken will be wrapped and left to continue draining until their injection hole seals up. You will want to keep an eye on them and have them drained on scheudle accordingly. The fluid drained from the cavity will be yellow in color which confirms it is indeed leaking from the liver. It could be clear or cloudy. 

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