Green watery poo and soft crop

[Eggcessive]

I don't know if you have Rural King near you, but they had Corid priced much less than TSC.

 

[Lynnski]

Good morning Eggcessive, im hoping you have some crop ideas for me today! Poor Plinky is still unwell. She roosted with the others and stayed in one spot puffed up till the morning. Her poop is back to green and watery and her crop didnt empty overnight. Felt like a golf ball in there.

I got some water with baking soda into her and its a softer mass. Theres no odor yet. I locked her in the coop and she went right in to the nesting box.

Is there anything else i should be doing or looking for? In your opinion, should i be trying to get her to throw it up or take her to the vet?

 

[Eggcessive]

I never had crop problems in 5 years, but last summer, I lost two hens within 2 weeks to sour crop. They died within 2-3 days of my realizing it, and may have had some other problem, though. Casportpony recommends using a feeding tube to flush water into the crop, then massage, and hopefully the impaction will move. Some use colace or stool soften 2 capsules orally to help with it. Others have had luck with Monistat suppositories, ging 1/3 orally twice a day. Your vet could prescribe fluconazole or nystatin, antifungal meds. I do not recommend using oil , and the use of ACV is controversial--some say yes, some no. I am not an expert on it, but here are a few links to read:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/answers-from-chicken-vet-on-impacted.html
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/digestive-problems/index.aspx
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments
http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/01/crop-issues-html/

A length of aquarium tube from Walmart, with the end going into the chicken's throat rounded off with a lighter to round of sharp edges, can be connected to a large syringe to flush water. It should be inserted into the back on the right side of the throat into the esophagus just down to the crop, avoiding the large hole in the center of the throat, which is the trachea or airway. You can also buy tube feeding tubes and syringes at your vet's. I have done this because I have tube fed humans before, but here is a thread about learning to tube feed:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding

 

[Lynnski]

Wow, we are at the next level of chicken care i see!

These are great links, thanks for posting them... This is great info and i am wiling to try anything.

i am just waiting on her to get out of the nesting box where shes been pretending to lay an egg all day. I ran out and got the colace so thats what ill give her now mixed with nutidrench.

Thanks again for keeping me company thru this! Ill keep you posted.

 

[Tillicans]

Hi Eggsessive, Thanks so much for the reply.

I called around to a couple feed stores and found a tractor supply who told me they had some corrid so i flew over there last night to find out he "made a mistake"! I cant find it anywhere except Amazon, it should be here tomorrow.

This morning her crop is still full and soft... I am giving her nutridrench and massaging the crop. She wanted to peck around at the ground and eat a bit after that, but i didnt want her to add to the crop so i put her in a dog crate with water so i could monitor her poop. do you think thats necessary? I am just waiting on Plinky to oblige so i can take a sample to the vet be tested.

I have read that a full crop in the morning can go sour or yeasty if its not moving... Should i try to help her empty it?

I guess im not sure if this is something i should just leave alone till the corrid gets here or i should do something about because it can go bad fast for a chicken.

Again, thanks for any suggestions.

Just wondering if your hen is needing some nutrition from the soil, their instincts are so better than us trying to figure what is wrong, nature takes care of itself. Could perhaps she's wanting some charcoal? I have read that is good to help the sour crop? It's all a guessing game. Good luck.

 

[Lynnski]

Just wondering if your hen is needing some nutrition from the soil, their instincts are so better than us trying to figure what is wrong, nature takes care of itself. Could perhaps she's wanting some charcoal? I have read that is good to help the sour crop? It's all a guessing game. Good luck.

Hi Tillicans! Thanks for taking the time to weigh in, and its funny you mention this...

She laid an egg so i took her out of the box to stretch and poop, (same watery green and clear goo) and get some water in her. Every time, she runs right over to the compost bin or the raised garden boxes and pecks around the dirt. Shes not eating anything, bites on the rocks and spits them out, just seems really picky about what she is searching for. I got some water in her and i think the mass is smaller, she pecked a bit more in the dirt and went right back to the nesting box.

I have been checking out the yard and see that there is some shredded up landscape cloth around the composter that has been dug up.... i am now wondering if this is what she ingested.

Charcoal huh? Do you think there is enough naturally occuring in soil? Ill have to do some research, thanks for the tip!

Ill need a second set of hands tonight to get the colace in her and cross my fingers till the morning.

 

[Tillicans]

Reading your posts I guess it's not worms huh? I lost one of my hens that had a similar type of poop, but, I'm very new to chickens so didn't know what to do. Since then I've been reading about chicken health, what to look for etc, perhaps she did ingest some bad bacteria, good luck, you are a good mamma hen.

 

[Eggcessive]

Did the vet get back to you about the fecal float? I'm a little concerned about worms as Tillicans is. You might find charcoal at a pharmacy. The colace could be punctured and put on some egg. Maybe she is looking for some sort of mineral in the soil. Poultry NutriDrench has minerals in it as well as vitamins. If you need a wormer, SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer or Panacur horse paste are good, and Valbazen is also, but harder to find. Let me know if you need dosages.

 

[Lynnski]

Good morning.... thanks so much for checking back with me @Eggcessive , im sorry to have neglected an update on the fecal test. We got a call yesterday that the test came back with partial results and wouldnt have the full panel till wednesday! The good news is, the part that came back were the parasites, and she is clean. They assure me she doesnt have cocci.

Yesterday, I added the colace to the baking soda and nutridrench cocktail. Boy she didnt like that! She liked it even less when i got it in her eye!

As you and @Tillicans suggested, we let her wander and pick what she wanted out of the dirt (no food cept for bits of the chopped egg with digestive enzymes and small grit). Im so sorry to hear Tillicans, that you lost a chicken this way, i can see how though, seems like things go bad very fast. Your words really helped. You reminded me that nature is not just scary, but pretty awesome too and if i relax my grip on this, she may be telling me something.

I really was worried last night after giving her the water before roosting because im pretty sure i aspirated her with some. I felt so bad. I didnt have great expectations this morning.

Before the sun came up, i got her from the coop where i found her snuggled with the others for the first time in 2 nites. Her crop had the hard golf ball in it so i knew we had to do more of the same, but thought she must be starving. She got a good dose of colace again, quick massage and back in the coop.

I was so happy to see her join the others in the ramp march when the door opened..... She did the perimeter check with the girls and i never thought i would be happy to see the biggest poop ever come out of a chicken! Twice! Sorry no pictures this time!

Her crop is still mushy but smaller, i am going to let her do what she feels like she wants for food today as she seems cautious, with some monitoring, and no treats. I really feel like we have rounded the corner, and am happy she doesnt have parasites.

Thanks so much all the help, both with the ideas and sharing the ride... She was so sick....i know the outcome would have been different without your guys.

 

[Eggcessive]

Thanks for the update. I would give her some more egg plus plain yogurt, plus whatever she is eating on her own.