10 year old hen with possible sour crop, what can I do?

[serama24]

Hello,
I have a Marans hen who turned 10 in March this year. Yesterday my mum noticed she hadn't come out of the coop, she said she picked her up and green fluid came out of her mouth. I assumed she pressed on her crop slightly. I brought her inside and gave her a hot water bottle, I read that garlic water can help so I gave her a bowl with a little chopped-up garlic in it and a drop of ACV.
This morning I think she drank some but it's hard to tell because she knocked her water bowl over in the night, her crop seems bigger though. She's quite thin and very weak on her legs. Her faeces are very watery. I don't want to take her to the vets because I think the stress will kill her. I took her sibling to the vets the last year and she ended up dying on the vets' table, she was really weak and we didn't know why at the time. My other two hens are Polish chickens and they seem very bright and a healthy weight, they are a couple of years younger.
What is the best thing to do for her? I've read about feeding them greek yoghurt, is this recommended here? I will take her to the vets if people here believe it is best but I think she will find it stressful. I work at a wildlife rescue and I'm experienced in tube feeding birds. Any advice would be really appreciated, thank you.

 

[LaFleche]

Hello,
I have a Marans hen who turned 10 in March this year. Yesterday my mum noticed she hadn't come out of the coop, she said she picked her up and green fluid came out of her mouth. I assumed she pressed on her crop slightly. I brought her inside and gave her a hot water bottle, I read that garlic water can help so I gave her a bowl with a little chopped-up garlic in it and a drop of ACV.
This morning I think she drank some but it's hard to tell because she knocked her water bowl over in the night, her crop seems bigger though. She's quite thin and very weak on her legs. Her faeces are very watery. I don't want to take her to the vets because I think the stress will kill her. I took her sibling to the vets the last year and she ended up dying on the vets' table, she was really weak and we didn't know why at the time. My other two hens are Polish chickens and they seem very bright and a healthy weight, they are a couple of years younger.
What is the best thing to do for her? I've read about feeding them greek yoghurt, is this recommended here? I will take her to the vets if people here believe it is best but I think she will find it stressful. I work at a wildlife rescue and I'm experienced in tube feeding birds. Any advice would be really appreciated, thank you.

When did you last deworm her?
Does her crop empty overnight?
When did she last lay an egg?

Maybe her time has come and her system is shutting down, as 10 years is quite old for a Marans hen.

I often have very old hens as well, up to 10 years old. But when I see them decline or even start to suffer despite all the good care, I end their misery.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

Is her breathe stinky? I belive that is an indication of sour crop. Also is her crop hard? It might be impacted as well. For my bird, i took away all food and gave her only water with acv for about 24 hrs to try and kill the yeast. Then gave her coconut oil to help unclog anything.

 

[serama24]

When did you last deworm her?
Does her crop empty overnight?

Maybe her time has come and her system is shutting down, as 10 years is quite old for a Marans hen.

I often have very old hens as well up to 10 years old. But when I see them decline or even start to suffer despite all the good care, I end their misery.

Thank you for your response.

Admittedly I've never wormed my chickens, it's not something I've read you need to do. Also, I can not tell you reliably whether her crop empties every night, I believe it has been except for recently as she was eating well and producing normal looking faeces. I guess it's a good way of checking their health so I will check it in the future with my other two.
I think you're right, I don't feel that she is going to recover from this.

 

[serama24]

Is her breathe stinky? I belive that is an indication of sour crop. Also is her crop hard? It might be impacted as well. For my bird, i took away all food and gave her only water with acv for about 24 hrs to try and kill the yeast. Then gave her coconut oil to help unclog anything.

I haven't noticed it smelling, I will check this. She's making gurgling sounds like she has an upset stomach. He crop isn't hard, it just seems as though she isn't digesting anything.
Did you just offer her the water or tube feed her? Mine is quite elderly, I'm worried I'll just be making her suffer more.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

I haven't noticed it smelling, I will check this. She's making gurgling sounds like she has an upset stomach. He crop isn't hard, it just seems as though she isn't digesting anything.
Did you just offer her the water or tube feed her? Mine is quite elderly, I'm worried I'll just be making her suffer more.

Mine was only about 5 months, and i just offered her the water. If she isnt drinking you could try to place 1 drop at a time at the tip of her beak and she will suck it in and swallow. Its a slow process, but you can get some fluids in her. After about 24 hours, she was so hungry, she just ate the coconut oil chunk floating in the water.
I have never tried tube feeding, that might be more traumatic than anything and if you get it wrong, fluid could end up in her lungs and kill her.
Since she is so old, comfort might be all you can provide too. I like VetRx, its got a pleasant scent to it, when rubbed on their heads, chest, amd under the wing... Seems to really calm them and assist with any breathing issues. I have even given a few drops for them to drink when they are very sick, and it seems to help with a bunch of various aliments.

 

[LaFleche]

How is she doing today? @serama24

 

[serama24]

How is she doing today? @serama24

Hi, thanks for asking... She is much brighter today and is definitely drinking her water, she is no longer acting unwell, she just seems weak. Her crop hadn't emptied but it was smaller. I did give her some greek yoghurt which she ate enthusiastically. I know it may have been better to leave her longer without food but she's so thin. She's always been quite small but I hadn't realised just how skinny she had gotten.
I'm hoping by tomorrow her crop will have emptied. Her faeces are very runny so I'm worried about her getting dehydrated.

edit- Another thing is her comb and wattles were turning black at the ends but they're now back to a nice bright red. At the time, I thought the blackening could be a sign her body was shutting down...(?)