Crop empty, chicken can't swallow food

[Eggcessive]

Canker, if that is what she has, can grow rapidly. The metronidazole is often used in people in the medication, Flagyl, so if your vet doesn’t have it in stock, they can get it from a pharmacy or chemist with a prescription.

 

[Kiki]

The antibiotic you will need is not made specifically for chickens.
It's a universal medicine for many animals and humans.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you all for the replies. I managed to get some help to take a picture of Nancy's throat. Here is a picture of her. We also gave her a bit of water, couple drops of olive oil and a yogurt/pellet smoothie through a pipette to give her a bit more energy. She doesn't seem to be drinking on her own although she bends down to try. So we will keep doing that for her until it's cleared up. From the picture I took, I think it is indeed canker she's got. I live in London, UK so I could not find "FishZole" medicine nor could I find an equivalent which is okay for chickens. I found "Harkers" but this medicine is for pigeons only. I will ask a couple local vets if they have something in stock for chickens. It looks like she will be fine, as long as we keep feeding her through a pipette while we wait for medicine as she has been losing weight. But it's looking up Thank you all for the advice and help. Let me know if you agree with the treatment plan and if it is indeed canker.

I will visit the vets tomorrow, hopefully they have the medicine in stock. Often chicken medicine needs to be ordered in as our local vets don't normally get chicken patients. I will keep everyone updated. Nancy does not look too bad at the moment, so I am sure now knowing what she is suffering from I can help her get back to normal. Thank you all again for all the advice and quick responses!

Thank you for getting those photos!
Looks like @Eggcessive has made some good suggestions.
I hope your vet will have the medications to help Nancy with her recovery. Please keep us posted.

 

[chickenInTrouble]

I went to the vets with Nancy and it was indeed canker Thank you for the suggestions! They prescribed the Metronidazole as Eggcesive suggested (in runny liquid form, 0.6ml once a day - slightly larger dose to account for some liquid escaping. We are to use it until we finish up the medicine (10 days worth)) as well as some "Metacam" anti-inflammatory medication to help her recover quicker (0.5ml a day for 5 days with food). The vet suggested to crop feed her only if we knew how to (which we didn't). So we are continuing with the pipette/dropper. If she struggles to eat food through a pipette/dropper we will get a quick training class at the vet's to ensure we don't injure her and feed her that way. We are keeping a close eye on her and are quite happy that they had the medicine in stock! Thank you all again for the advice - it was incredibly helpful and made me aware of what to look out for to help the vet make a good assessment. I will keep you updated how Nancy is doing over the course of the treatment. And for anyone wondering how much everything cost - the consultation was roughly £40 and medicine £30.

 

[Kiki]

I went to the vets with Nancy and it was indeed canker Thank you for the suggestions! They prescribed the Metronidazole as Eggcesive suggested (in runny liquid form, 0.6ml once a day - slightly larger dose to account for some liquid escaping. We are to use it until we finish up the medicine (10 days worth)) as well as some "Metacam" anti-inflammatory medication to help her recover quicker (0.5ml a day for 5 days with food). The vet suggested to crop feed her only if we knew how to (which we didn't). So we are continuing with the pipette/dropper. If she struggles to eat food through a pipette/dropper we will get a quick training class at the vet's to ensure we don't injure her and feed her that way. We are keeping a close eye on her and are quite happy that they had the medicine in stock! Thank you all again for the advice - it was incredibly helpful and made me aware of what to look out for to help the vet make a good assessment. I will keep you updated how Nancy is doing over the course of the treatment. And for anyone wondering how much everything cost - the consultation was roughly £40 and medicine £30.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I went to the vets with Nancy and it was indeed canker Thank you for the suggestions! They prescribed the Metronidazole as Eggcesive suggested (in runny liquid form, 0.6ml once a day - slightly larger dose to account for some liquid escaping. We are to use it until we finish up the medicine (10 days worth)) as well as some "Metacam" anti-inflammatory medication to help her recover quicker (0.5ml a day for 5 days with food). The vet suggested to crop feed her only if we knew how to (which we didn't). So we are continuing with the pipette/dropper. If she struggles to eat food through a pipette/dropper we will get a quick training class at the vet's to ensure we don't injure her and feed her that way. We are keeping a close eye on her and are quite happy that they had the medicine in stock! Thank you all again for the advice - it was incredibly helpful and made me aware of what to look out for to help the vet make a good assessment. I will keep you updated how Nancy is doing over the course of the treatment. And for anyone wondering how much everything cost - the consultation was roughly £40 and medicine £30.

Glad you were able to see the vet!
I hope she starts to feel better soon

 

[Eggcessive]

Thanks for the update, and so glad that you were able to get treatment from your vet. Let us know how she does. We have some good threads on tube feeding if you need to learn how. Here is a good link to read about giving oral medicines with a syringe, kind of similar to your pipette:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

 

[chickenInTrouble]

So Nancy actually ate a couple green peas and pecked some grass by herself! It's a small start but its a great sign. She has also been dipping her beak into water but not quite drinking enough yet so we are still aiding her with water and food. The medicine administration has been quite successful and without sneezing. She often sneezes when we give her food and water so to ensure she doesn't sneeze the medicine out we give her plenty of breaks after each small squirt of liquid she receives. Sometimes it takes us an hour to water, feed her a bit and give her medicine. However, she is quite comfortable with us - I put her on my lap as a perch, and hold her gently. I place my hand in between the legs to feel when she breathes which helps us time the feeding of food and water in between the breaths. The timing of this helps her swallow without sneezing. Nancy still struggles receiving food and water through the pipette and by herself but so far things are looking up. It's still early days I will keep everyone posted!

 

[chickenInTrouble]

Another update: Nancy is doing better! Still recovering but she is now able to fill her own crop and drink by herself. She has a little bit of canker left in her mouth. Nancy also sometimes gets quite a bit of mucus in her mouth (I suspect it's her microplasma peaking through because her immune system is still recovering) which makes it trickier for her to eat. We are calling the vet today to ask whether we can use the antibiotic for microplasma in conjunction with the metronidazole. If not, we will wait a few days and see how her symptoms are after the canker has fully cleared and start the antibiotic treatment then. Her weight is still a low and she is still not as strong as normal but she is on a nice path to recovery! I will update everyone again as she gets on. I am so grateful for everyone's support <3 You all helped save my chicken's life Thank you

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Another update: Nancy is doing better! Still recovering but she is now able to fill her own crop and drink by herself. She has a little bit of canker left in her mouth. Nancy also sometimes gets quite a bit of mucus in her mouth (I suspect it's her microplasma peaking through because her immune system is still recovering) which makes it trickier for her to eat. We are calling the vet today to ask whether we can use the antibiotic for microplasma in conjunction with the metronidazole. If not, we will wait a few days and see how her symptoms are after the canker has fully cleared and start the antibiotic treatment then. Her weight is still a low and she is still not as strong as normal but she is on a nice path to recovery! I will update everyone again as she gets on. I am so grateful for everyone's support <3 You all helped save my chicken's life Thank you

Thank you for the update!
I'm glad to hear that Nancy is doing better