Emaciated hen. EYP, IMPACTED crop. Impacted Gizzard.

[chickmamat]

3 yo RIR. Has been “off” for over a year. Goes through cycles of lethargy. Hasn’t laid in quite some time. Smallest in the flock, bottom of the pecking order. Has had sour crop before (3 months ago) and I was able to alleviate it by regurgitation. She immediately perked up, resumed normal activity.
Noticed she was lethargic again a few days ago and upon picking her up realized she had lost quite a bit of weight. Palpated her breast bone to find she has no meat whatsoever. She’s just skin and bones.
I was able to get her to eat some egg, molasses, a bit of tortilla (she stole from my breakfast when I was holding her lol). Last night she seemed to feel a bit better and ate a fair amount of her normal food.
She won’t drink unless I am holding her and dripping water on her beak. I’ve added electrolytes.
Pooping but mostly clear and white liquid with small green bits.
I noticed this morning her crop was still full and firm from dinner.
When palpating her abdomen I can feel something firm and “heavy” that sits below her vent a few inches. I was gently massaging thinking maybe she is egg bound, or it’s EYP build up.
Now, I am wondering if it’s an impacted gizzard, and because she is so thin I am able to feel it?

She is very weak. Still walks around with her sisters but it quite slow, when they move to a new area of the yard I carry her to them.

I’ve been soaking her in warm ES bath daily and she is so weak she can’t jump out of the tub. She sleeps in a crate in the house at night to minimize stress from the cold.

I can’t take her to the vet, we’ve been significantly impacted financially because of the covid lockdowns in SoCal. Is there anything I can do for her? I’m worried at this point it’s just about keeping her comfortable but if anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[chickmamat]

To add, we can no longer get antibiotics for anything but fish without seeing a vet. I used the very last of my tetracycline last spring when she was acting sick and lethargic.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

3 yo RIR. Has been “off” for over a year. Goes through cycles of lethargy. Hasn’t laid in quite some time. Smallest in the flock, bottom of the pecking order. Has had sour crop before (3 months ago) and I was able to alleviate it by regurgitation. She immediately perked up, resumed normal activity.
Noticed she was lethargic again a few days ago and upon picking her up realized she had lost quite a bit of weight. Palpated her breast bone to find she has no meat whatsoever. She’s just skin and bones.
I was able to get her to eat some egg, molasses, a bit of tortilla (she stole from my breakfast when I was holding her lol). Last night she seemed to feel a bit better and ate a fair amount of her normal food.
She won’t drink unless I am holding her and dripping water on her beak. I’ve added electrolytes.
Pooping but mostly clear and white liquid with small green bits.
I noticed this morning her crop was still full and firm from dinner.
When palpating her abdomen I can feel something firm and “heavy” that sits below her vent a few inches. I was gently massaging thinking maybe she is egg bound, or it’s EYP build up.
Now, I am wondering if it’s an impacted gizzard, and because she is so thin I am able to feel it?

She is very weak. Still walks around with her sisters but it quite slow, when they move to a new area of the yard I carry her to them.

I’ve been soaking her in warm ES bath daily and she is so weak she can’t jump out of the tub. She sleeps in a crate in the house at night to minimize stress from the cold.

I can’t take her to the vet, we’ve been significantly impacted financially because of the covid lockdowns in SoCal. Is there anything I can do for her? I’m worried at this point it’s just about keeping her comfortable but if anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it.

I'm so sorry about your bird. Honesty a vet couldnt do much if it is an impacted gizzard. Describe the heaviness you feel by her vent. The gizzard is not anywhere near there. Your bird could be suffering from a reproductive disorder like an inflamed ovary. When did she last lay?

 

[Aapomp831]

Crop issues tend to be secondary to larger issues. If you really feel the crop is impacted, I would withhold food. Impacted means the food is not getting to the stomach for nourishment anyways, and continuing to feed will cause the food to pile up and ferment - aka sour crop.
when is the last time you wormed her? That could account for her being so skinny.

 

[chickmamat]

I'm so sorry about your bird. Honesty a vet couldnt do much if it is an impacted gizzard. Describe the heaviness you feel by her vent. The gizzard is not anywhere near there. Your bird could be suffering from a reproductive disorder like an inflamed ovary. When did she last lay?

i would say it’s been almost a year, if not more. We have quite a few brown layers so I can’t be sure. But last March I set up a camera and watched daily and marked every egg that was laid with who laid it, I was hatching them and wanted to know. She never laid once. And her health has been up and down since then.

 

[chickmamat]

Crop issues tend to be secondary to larger issues. If you really feel the crop is impacted, I would withhold food. Impacted means the food is not getting to the stomach for nourishment anyways, and continuing to feed will cause the food to pile up and ferment - aka sour crop.
when is the last time you wormed her? That could account for her being so skinny.

I’ve stopped feeding her since realizing it didn’t empty last night. Still giving water with electrolytes though. We do parasite prevention via DE and raw pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Never had an issue or need before to use anything stronger. Most recent was October.

 

[Aapomp831]

I’ve stopped feeding her since realizing it didn’t empty last night. Still giving water with electrolytes though. We do parasite prevention via DE and raw pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Never had an issue or need before to use anything stronger.

I am sorry but DE and raw pumpkin seeds do not prevent worms or deworm chickens. There is a lot of misinformation out there and this one just simply isn’t true. Just bc you can’t see worms in poop doesn’t mean they don’t have them. A fecal float test is fairly inexpensive at any vet; it may be a good idea to look into that.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I’ve stopped feeding her since realizing it didn’t empty last night. Still giving water with electrolytes though. We do parasite prevention via DE and raw pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Never had an issue or need before to use anything stronger.

Her green poop is just an indication that she is starving. Not necessarily parasites. Does the heaviness near her vent feel squishy like a water balloon? Will she eat if offered food? Does she walk like a penguin?

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I am sorry but DE and raw pumpkin seeds do not prevent worms or deworm chickens. There is a lot of misinformation out there and this one just simply isn’t true. Just bc you can’t see worms in poop doesn’t mean they don’t have them. A fecal float test is fairly inexpensive at any vet; it may be a good idea to look into that.

You can also do a float test at home. You dont need a super powered microscope to see them. I make my own flotation fluid and do my own float tests with a kiddie microscope I got at goodwill

 

[Wyorp Rock]

3 yo RIR. Has been “off” for over a year. Goes through cycles of lethargy. Hasn’t laid in quite some time.

Noticed she was lethargic again a few days ago and upon picking her up realized she had lost quite a bit of weight. Palpated her breast bone to find she has no meat whatsoever. She’s just skin and bones.

I noticed this morning her crop was still full and firm from dinner.
When palpating her abdomen I can feel something firm and “heavy” that sits below her vent a few inches. I was gently massaging thinking maybe she is egg bound, or it’s EYP build up.
Now, I am wondering if it’s an impacted gizzard, and because she is so thin I am able to feel it?

Sorry that your hen is not well.
From your description, I would suspect she's having reproductive issues. EYP is a possibility. It's not uncommon for a hen to have cancer, masses in the abdomen, etc.

Sadly, there is often not a lot that you can do but treat symptoms as they arise.
Crop problems accompany reproductive issues - inflammation/swelling, etc. can slow the process.

Antibiotics can sometimes be used as a supportive care measure to make a hen more comfortable but unfortunately they are not a cure for reproductive issues.

You can try treating her crop symptoms following the article linked below. An broad spectrum antibiotic like amoxicillin (Fish Mox) can be administered to help with infection, but do keep in mind that antibiotics can make an problem like sour crop worse.

I would work on keeping her hydrated. If she's able to be with her flock during treatment, that ime, is the best place for them to be, less stress for them and they aren't isolated.

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