Impacted crop

[casportpony]

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

You're welcome. Tubing is part art, part science, and done carefully, it is *very* safe. Will it cure all sick birds? No, of course it won't, but no bird will die from dehydration if tubed. There are some simple rules, like one should not tube more fluids if the crop isn't clearing fluids, and a bird that's unresponsive or can't hold it's head up should not be tubed, but all of that is covered in one or more of the videos i posted or provided a link to. On my long list of things to do is to write a step-by-step tubing guide, one that cavers how to properly hydrate first and explains when to tube, when not to, volume of water or food and frequency. When it's all done, I'm going to have it blessed by veterinarian (hopefully).

-Kathy

 

[Michelle2639]

In case anyone is interested, my husband put her down yesterday and removed the contents of the crop afterwards. It was a huge mass of long either weed type grasses or straw. I can't imagine why she'd eat straw though. It was at least 2 cups worth. I could barely pull it apart outside of her, it's no wonder I couldn't get it to break up inside of her. I lost a bird but it's not a loss, I gained some more knowledge through all of this. Thanks

 

[casportpony]

One must figure out why the crop is impacted, which can be tricky. I treat mine by tubing fluids, and as long as there are no internal obstruction this will usually clear the crop in a day. Water is key!

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

read these:
http://www.lafebervet.com/avian-medicine-2/avian-nutrition/tube-feeding/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding

-Kathy

 

[Michelle2639]

Thanks for sharing the info.

 

[Michelle2639]

Thanks. I hadn't heard of using the dulcolax before.

 

[casportpony]

Here's another link to read:
http://birdhealth.com.au/flockbirds/poultry/diseases/crop_gizzard.html

-Kathy

 

[Michelle2639]

So, where should I start first in determining the underlying issue? I'm relatively new to chickens, about a year and a half. I only have 5 and like I said before, no one has ever had this issue. Any advice is sincerely appreciated.

 

[casportpony]

Has she been drinking a normal amount of water?

-Kathy