UPDATE:
I brought Miss Poppy back to the vet today thinking she would have a crop flush (or surgery) and upon re-exam and further discussion (I will leave out all the colorful poo descriptions) we both felt an x-ray was in order. The result was not good. Poppy's obstruction is not in her crop or gizzard. Its her intestines. She has a blockage which has caused a backup of food that goes quite a ways after the gizzard. There were other findings that signal a serious issue and yet her crop and gizzard are normal. The most likely cause? Lymphoid leukosis or possibly ovarian cancer. She highly suspects a cancer but since Poppy still looks so good, is vibrant and passing a small amount of solid droppings we decided to give her another chance. Fortunetly she can absorb all the nutrients in the hard cooked eggs I feed her which she eats heartily.
So I am going to start an anaerobic antibiotic and a strong laxative in the off chance its some weird anomaly and we can get it all moving again. This is typically seen in young birds 9 to 24 months. We are so sad as Poppy is so delightful even if she hasn't laid any eggs.
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ORIGINAL POST:
INFO on Poppy
Speckled Sussex Chicken (pullet) DOB: April 17, 2010
Diet: Cascade Organic Soy and Corn Free Mash = 85% of her diet
Organic baby greens = 10 % of her diet
5% of diet is a variation of BOSS, mealworms (usually air dried), other worms and slugs, rolled oats, and rarely organic corn. When fresh fruit and veggies are available theyll usually get zucchini, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and raspberries.
Always have clean water, grit and oyster shell
Bedding; Hen house: Pine shavings Main Run: sand Side run: pea gravel They get to range and play in the grass in nice weather (rainy most of the winter)
We had some orchard hay in the nest boxes mixed with shavings but took all the hay out a few weeks ago.
Housing: 4x5 hen house with lots of ventilation and approximately 100 sq. feet of run for 5 chickens (slightly more than half is covered).
...............................................................................................................................
Early February I noticed Poppy not eating the morning moist mash as much but otherwise meandering, pecking and scratching and eating enough. Several days later I noticed her mumbling more than usual but she looked great and was active and eating plenty of the baby greens in front of me.
Around February 6 or 7th I noticed she still wasnt partaking of the wet mash much (we have dry mash at all times in their hen house--the wet mash is placed in the run). I checked everyones crop--all felt the same--not soft not too hard with no smell from their beaks.
She roosted fine and seemed active but just not quite herself--I was thinking she might be going broody? Neither my husband or I however, have seen her ever lay an egg. The other 4 girls are laying 5-6 eggs per week apiece.
I also noticed under their roost that someone was having brighter loose green droppings that really looked like ground up plant material and it had quite a bit of sand and grit in it. They get greens so I didnt panic.
On Saturday morning, February 12, I noticed after I put her back in the coop (after checking her crop) she breathed with an open mouth. It took a couple of minutes to improve which I attributed to stress of me catching her (she tried hard to get away--flapping wings, etc.). Of course our other girls are easy to pick up as they do the rooster squat.
Sunday, February 13, I noticed her sitting in a spot she dug out in the pea gravel. I went over to her and she didnt try hard to get away so I scooped her up and put her in a large dog crate I set up in the bathroom. Her comb was nice and red (it had paled slightly a week prior but got the color back the next day) and she was alert. I felt her crop and it really felt like she had some hay in it!
It was not overly full so I massaged her crop after I gave her 1cc of olive oil and some ACV. I offered her a tablespoon of plain yogurt and she ate it heartily. The next day she was alert and her crop practically empty. I massaged her again and she started to breath open mouthed for what seemed like a couple of minutes. She then was fine and still had a nice red comb. More yogurt and some rolled oats (easy to digest).
Monday she was fine until I took her out of the crate (she always struggles a bit) and she again breathed open mouthed and sneezed with some head shaking. I now was worried about a respiratory problem. She still ate rolled oats and yogurt really well. She ignored her mash.
The entire time she had smelly green (like plant material) droppings.
They got a little more substance when she ate the oats.
I took her to the Avian Medical Center who treat chickens as well as other birds. I had her droppings (normal one and cecal) tested at the Avian Medical Center and they were both negative. They did an exam on her. The vet said that her problem was that she was too fat! She said they get out of breathe when stressed like an obese person walking up stairs does. She also said she may have a mid pneumonia now and that's why she gave me a week's worth of clavamox 62.5 mg. (antibiotic) twice daily to give her. She said the smelly droppings are from too much protein and not to give her anything but her dry mash. I was so pleased that I didn't have to euthanize her
that I took the pills and went home feeling better. Today though, it seems to me that these symptoms (plant material poo, lots of grit and sand in it, lack of eating her favorite wet mash, etc.) is indicative of something else too.
Also--pilling her is nearly impossible!!
If hidden in a treat she eats the treat and literally spits it back out! She doesn't allow anything but narrow foods in her beak --except mealworms (yeah--tried that too). I finally got it in her when she got a bit stressed and opened her own mouth to breathe (I did wait until it was almost normal again).
ANY ideas??? Any slick pilling methods?? Any prayers to help me?? We really love our Poppy and want her better!!!
I brought Miss Poppy back to the vet today thinking she would have a crop flush (or surgery) and upon re-exam and further discussion (I will leave out all the colorful poo descriptions) we both felt an x-ray was in order. The result was not good. Poppy's obstruction is not in her crop or gizzard. Its her intestines. She has a blockage which has caused a backup of food that goes quite a ways after the gizzard. There were other findings that signal a serious issue and yet her crop and gizzard are normal. The most likely cause? Lymphoid leukosis or possibly ovarian cancer. She highly suspects a cancer but since Poppy still looks so good, is vibrant and passing a small amount of solid droppings we decided to give her another chance. Fortunetly she can absorb all the nutrients in the hard cooked eggs I feed her which she eats heartily.
So I am going to start an anaerobic antibiotic and a strong laxative in the off chance its some weird anomaly and we can get it all moving again. This is typically seen in young birds 9 to 24 months. We are so sad as Poppy is so delightful even if she hasn't laid any eggs.
********************************************************************************************************
ORIGINAL POST:
INFO on Poppy
Speckled Sussex Chicken (pullet) DOB: April 17, 2010
Diet: Cascade Organic Soy and Corn Free Mash = 85% of her diet
Organic baby greens = 10 % of her diet
5% of diet is a variation of BOSS, mealworms (usually air dried), other worms and slugs, rolled oats, and rarely organic corn. When fresh fruit and veggies are available theyll usually get zucchini, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and raspberries.
Always have clean water, grit and oyster shell
Bedding; Hen house: Pine shavings Main Run: sand Side run: pea gravel They get to range and play in the grass in nice weather (rainy most of the winter)
We had some orchard hay in the nest boxes mixed with shavings but took all the hay out a few weeks ago.
Housing: 4x5 hen house with lots of ventilation and approximately 100 sq. feet of run for 5 chickens (slightly more than half is covered).
...............................................................................................................................
Early February I noticed Poppy not eating the morning moist mash as much but otherwise meandering, pecking and scratching and eating enough. Several days later I noticed her mumbling more than usual but she looked great and was active and eating plenty of the baby greens in front of me.
Around February 6 or 7th I noticed she still wasnt partaking of the wet mash much (we have dry mash at all times in their hen house--the wet mash is placed in the run). I checked everyones crop--all felt the same--not soft not too hard with no smell from their beaks.
She roosted fine and seemed active but just not quite herself--I was thinking she might be going broody? Neither my husband or I however, have seen her ever lay an egg. The other 4 girls are laying 5-6 eggs per week apiece.
I also noticed under their roost that someone was having brighter loose green droppings that really looked like ground up plant material and it had quite a bit of sand and grit in it. They get greens so I didnt panic.
On Saturday morning, February 12, I noticed after I put her back in the coop (after checking her crop) she breathed with an open mouth. It took a couple of minutes to improve which I attributed to stress of me catching her (she tried hard to get away--flapping wings, etc.). Of course our other girls are easy to pick up as they do the rooster squat.
Sunday, February 13, I noticed her sitting in a spot she dug out in the pea gravel. I went over to her and she didnt try hard to get away so I scooped her up and put her in a large dog crate I set up in the bathroom. Her comb was nice and red (it had paled slightly a week prior but got the color back the next day) and she was alert. I felt her crop and it really felt like she had some hay in it!
Monday she was fine until I took her out of the crate (she always struggles a bit) and she again breathed open mouthed and sneezed with some head shaking. I now was worried about a respiratory problem. She still ate rolled oats and yogurt really well. She ignored her mash.
The entire time she had smelly green (like plant material) droppings.
I took her to the Avian Medical Center who treat chickens as well as other birds. I had her droppings (normal one and cecal) tested at the Avian Medical Center and they were both negative. They did an exam on her. The vet said that her problem was that she was too fat! She said they get out of breathe when stressed like an obese person walking up stairs does. She also said she may have a mid pneumonia now and that's why she gave me a week's worth of clavamox 62.5 mg. (antibiotic) twice daily to give her. She said the smelly droppings are from too much protein and not to give her anything but her dry mash. I was so pleased that I didn't have to euthanize her
Also--pilling her is nearly impossible!!
ANY ideas??? Any slick pilling methods?? Any prayers to help me?? We really love our Poppy and want her better!!!
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