HELP WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY HEN WILL SHE BE OKAY :(

[chickychickss]

Hi, so one of my hens has been acting differently
I’m not sure what’s wrong but I’ll explain the details.
She hasn’t been eating much she does eat certain things but not to much of it currently where I live there is a heat wave so I think maybe it’s because of that I have been giving her watermelon she takes a few pecks. But she hasn’t been eating her feed or drinking water enough of it… that concerns me because it’s so hot and she needs a lot of water. But it’s weird because the 2 days before she was drinking tons of water. So what I’ve been doing is giving her water with electrolytes
and probiotics for hens in a syringe it’s been 2 days today would be day 3 I wouldn’t say I see a change yet. She is being active but I’m concerned. She also seems lighter now and feels skinnier I’m not sure if that’s due to her not eating well or something else. I have checked if she has any worms etc… she doesn’t but I’ll keep checking her and her poo. And her crop does feel kinda squishy it’s not hard but I thought maybe she has sour crop or impacted crop?? Which she has gotten before and I’ve helped her. Her face also turns to a very light pink color almost pale but then it goes back to normal so I thought it was dehydration?? Due to why I’ve been giving her electrolytes and probiotics. I’m not sure if she has worms or sour crop or dehydration or all 3?!?! I have no idea but please can anyone help me for I can know what to do straight away I really want to help my girl.

 

[Lillith37]

You can’t see all types of worms in poop. That’s why it’s useful to do the fecal float test, because that way they can determine if there are worms or an overload of coccidia.

 

[Lillith37]

Not sure what time it is for you but I second checking her crop first thing in the morning.

If it’s really hot you could bring her inside/somewhere cool and see if that revives her. Red foods like watermelon, strawberries, tomatoes etc can help with heat exhaustion.

The electrolytes are a good idea too.

Can you take a picture of her poop?

Feel her abdomen between her vent and her breastbone. Is there any swelling? Does it feel firm or squishy? Does she usually lay eggs?

 

[chickychickss]

I give coconut oil (easy to give if frozen in little blobs) and massage.
I also give cellulase supplements to help break down whatever is in there.
Also, just be aware that often a chicken with crop issues has other health issues as well.
Good luck - hope you can help her out with this.

yes I’ll give coconut oil to her it’s easier how much would I give her? and where/what brand for the cellulase supplement and how much would be given? And thank you so much

 

[chickychickss]

I personally would not give apple cider vinegar in this situation.
I doubt you will find cellulase in a store - but you might - somewhere that does a lot of health supplements for humans. It is the enzyme that breaks down cellulose which is what the tough fiber that blocks up a chicken's crop is made of. It won't interfere with anything else.
I think good strong massage is probably the most effective intervention.

Okay thank you for telling me and I’ll look where the health supplements are to see if I find any. Yeah I agree the coconut oil and massage is what I’m gonna keep doing.

 

[chickychickss]

I personally would not give apple cider vinegar in this situation.
I doubt you will find cellulase in a store - but you might - somewhere that does a lot of health supplements for humans. It is the enzyme that breaks down cellulose which is what the tough fiber that blocks up a chicken's crop is made of. It won't interfere with anything else.
I think good strong massage is probably the most effective intervention.

So, I’ve been giving her coconut oil and massaging her and she’s still being given the electrolytes and probiotics I was giving her before. I believe she’s doing better now in the morning she has an appetite to eat some feed she’s drinking water. Today she didn’t really drink so much water. But I’m starting to get worried because she isn’t eating well. She tends to eat watermelon still and she likes having mealworms too. I realized today I’m not sure if it was a burp but they smell kinda funny. In the morning she wakes up with full crop still but once it’s the end of the day it’s less full feeling and more watery/squishy like. I’m worried due to her not eating well I am aware it’s due to the crop issues at the moment. I haven’t had a chance to go to the store yet to look if there might be some cellulase but Im planning too. Is there anything else I should or not be doing?

 

[chickychickss]

Did you read the article I linked?
If her breath starts to smell you may be dealing with sour crop. That means a yeast infection has taken over the contents of her crop while it wasn’t emptying.
You continue efforts to get her crop to empty but need to add something for the yeast infection.
Go to the women’s health aisle and get a cream used for vaginal yeast infections. I am not sure how precise the dosing can be but I recall giving about an inch of cream.
I can see if I made notes on dosing later.
Getting that crop to empty is really important!

yes I did read it I’ll reread it and her breath doesn’t smell anymore it was just that one day for some reason. Her crop is empty now she’s been eating feed and drinking water but just in the morning I’ll look more into the cream. She also has more of an appetite now.

 

[chickychickss]

Sounds like maybe she is turning the corner. That is good news!

I think so too!! But I’ll still keep a close watch on her just to be sure, thank you for all your help I appreciate it

 

[chickychickss]

Sounds like maybe she is turning the corner. That is good news!

Hello, good afternoon hope all is well!! I’m back and not with the best news. My hen seems worse at least today. Because it seemed like she was getting better. But today she doesn’t seem active at all and seems slow. I have no idea if she still has impacted crop? I think it came back again this morning I did feel a lump it wasn’t huge but it was there. I gave her coconut oil and massaged her. Right now she’s indoors and sleeping she’s with her head down I’m worried. She’s also underweight that I haven’t been able to fix since she hasn’t been eating normally.

 

[chickychickss]

So sorry to hear that. Is taking her to a vet an option for you?

It’s okay and no it’s not.
I’m gonna try to help her with what I was doing before. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to stop until I knew she was 100% back to normal.