TundraGhost
Chirping
- Jul 2, 2021
- 37
- 41
- 89
Hello everyone, I have a weird case with my hen Shirley, she has been acting very strange and causing me worry. I suspect sour crop but honestly I'm not sure. I also question if she's just cold. I tried to be as precise as I could, and thank anyone in advance for reading.
1) What type of bird, age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
She is a polish/red sex link.
She will be 3 years old in 2 months.
She is very noticeably lighter weight. I can feel her keel bone clearly. I do not know the exact weight but I can try to estimate with our sub-par scale.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
My worry began when I noticed her acting like this...
Since taking her inside I have noticed these symptoms...
Since middle-to-late January.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No they are not.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Nothing I can think of.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
I have seen it be watery and firm/round/normal the most. I did restrict her to just water for a few hours which would explain the watery poops at the time, and the warm bath also probably softened it up. Other than that it's regular-looking poops to me.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
I have taken her inside and gave an Epsom salt bath, she was very relaxed in my opinion. I used Vaseline to put my pinky in her vent to check for an egg. I did not feel an egg on the inside, and can't feel one from the outside. So I'm doubting her being egg bound. I looked at the base of her feathers for mites or eggs, did not see any. But there is feather dandruff (is that the name?) from the newly grown feathers.
I kept her inside overnight, and her crop did not deplete as much as I expected. Monitoring her, I noticed she would spit up brown liquid when bending down for a drink, pecking at the floor, and when I picked her up and gently pressed on her crop. This made me consider sour crop. She only spit up this liquid for a day that I've seen. It smelled a little sour but not nearly as bad as what I've heard sour crop is. So I took food away from her, only giving her access to water with ACV. Her crop shrank throughout the day.
She would take a few steps in the house, stand still for 5 minutes, repeat. She did this until the evening when she had a big diarrhea poop. Then she acted more perky, curious, and looked for food. So she went without food for 8-ish hours before I gave her some applesauce and mixed her chicken feed with water to keep it soft.
At this point I was hopeful, she was acting better. She was inside for 3 days with regular and more frequent poops. So I put her back out with her flock, and she began acting the same over time. But I have not noticed her spitting up liquid since. When I take her inside she's more energetic.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird till you can get to a vet?
I am not opposed to getting vet treatment for her when and if they call me back.
I have called the local vet, hoping to at least get probiotics to treat the yeast that comes with sour crop. But I honestly don't even know if that's what she had/has. They are slow getting back to me, as I called them on March 13th and it's now March 23rd. Her crop still fills and empties right now. I check it each night and morning. I also wonder if she could have worms, but then wouldn't all of them likely have worms? And would I see worms in the poop obviously? Because there is nothing.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
I do have a picture of her just standing around, not very helpful. But this is what she does often, mostly outside. Inside she perks up and acts normal.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Pine shavings in the coop, the coop is a 5 ft by 8 ft shed. Inside she's in a storage tub with a hole cut, with a puppy pad.
1) What type of bird, age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
She is a polish/red sex link.
She will be 3 years old in 2 months.
She is very noticeably lighter weight. I can feel her keel bone clearly. I do not know the exact weight but I can try to estimate with our sub-par scale.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
My worry began when I noticed her acting like this...
- Stand-offish.
- Standing in one place.
- Puffed up.
- Stayed in corners alone.
- Looks sleepy.
- Less interested in sprinkled foods/treats.
- Standing on the roost and rarely sitting.
- Standing near the waterer, dozing off.
Since taking her inside I have noticed these symptoms...
- Spitting up brown liquid when leaning to drink/peck. (Only did this for one day, have not noticed it since.)
- She has lost weight, feels very light.
- She jolts her head forward as if adjusting her crop too often. Almost looks like gagging to me.
- Comb is pale.
Since middle-to-late January.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No they are not.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Nothing I can think of.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
- She willingly eats, but when outside she's slower to run for food.
- Her chicken feed, either normal or mixed with some water to soften it up.
- Applesauce
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Water with apple cider vinegar
- A few black soldier fly larvae
I have seen it be watery and firm/round/normal the most. I did restrict her to just water for a few hours which would explain the watery poops at the time, and the warm bath also probably softened it up. Other than that it's regular-looking poops to me.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
I have taken her inside and gave an Epsom salt bath, she was very relaxed in my opinion. I used Vaseline to put my pinky in her vent to check for an egg. I did not feel an egg on the inside, and can't feel one from the outside. So I'm doubting her being egg bound. I looked at the base of her feathers for mites or eggs, did not see any. But there is feather dandruff (is that the name?) from the newly grown feathers.
I kept her inside overnight, and her crop did not deplete as much as I expected. Monitoring her, I noticed she would spit up brown liquid when bending down for a drink, pecking at the floor, and when I picked her up and gently pressed on her crop. This made me consider sour crop. She only spit up this liquid for a day that I've seen. It smelled a little sour but not nearly as bad as what I've heard sour crop is. So I took food away from her, only giving her access to water with ACV. Her crop shrank throughout the day.
She would take a few steps in the house, stand still for 5 minutes, repeat. She did this until the evening when she had a big diarrhea poop. Then she acted more perky, curious, and looked for food. So she went without food for 8-ish hours before I gave her some applesauce and mixed her chicken feed with water to keep it soft.
At this point I was hopeful, she was acting better. She was inside for 3 days with regular and more frequent poops. So I put her back out with her flock, and she began acting the same over time. But I have not noticed her spitting up liquid since. When I take her inside she's more energetic.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird till you can get to a vet?
I am not opposed to getting vet treatment for her when and if they call me back.
I have called the local vet, hoping to at least get probiotics to treat the yeast that comes with sour crop. But I honestly don't even know if that's what she had/has. They are slow getting back to me, as I called them on March 13th and it's now March 23rd. Her crop still fills and empties right now. I check it each night and morning. I also wonder if she could have worms, but then wouldn't all of them likely have worms? And would I see worms in the poop obviously? Because there is nothing.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
I do have a picture of her just standing around, not very helpful. But this is what she does often, mostly outside. Inside she perks up and acts normal.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Pine shavings in the coop, the coop is a 5 ft by 8 ft shed. Inside she's in a storage tub with a hole cut, with a puppy pad.
