A crop problem. Next steps?

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Hello all!

One of my two year old EE hens has not been doing very well the past few months. She had a pale comb on and off, a drooping tail, and generally seemed less active and excited then my other 30 hens, roosters and ducks. I physically examined her a while ago, but couldn’t find anything immediately concerning, other then feeling quite thin.

About a week ago, I picked her up in the morning to check her over again, and noticed her crop was very full and hard, though they had no food over the night.

My immediate thought was impacted crop, so I isolated her, added some ACV to her water, and took away her food for about 12 hours to see if it would clear.

The next morning her crop was just as enlarged, but much softer and felt like a whole lot of grass. I also noticed a sour smell, so I have been treating for sour crop with Miconazole. Tomorrow will be day 6 of her treatment.

Along with the Miconazole, I have also been massaging her crop morning and night gently. The size has considerably lessened, but will not empty, and the sour smell is still getting worse.

Tonight, her crop felt much, much softer. Like it was practically just thick liquid. But still won’t empty.

She also is not eating. Energy wise she seems ok, still spunky and sassy and will run around, but she will hardly eat. The only thing I have gotten her to eat a bit of is an egg yolk, but she only takes a couple bites. She is practically just skin and bones now. I have been syringe feeding her nutridrench to at least give a little energy and it surely seems to help.

What else can I do? Should I syringe feed her food so she stops losing weight? What might be the problem?

Thanks so much!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She had a pale comb on and off, a drooping tail, and generally seemed less active

noticed her crop was very full and hard, though they had no food over the night.

My immediate thought was impacted crop, so I isolated her, added some ACV to her water, and took away her food for about 12 hours to see if it would clear.

The next morning her crop was just as enlarged, but much softer and felt like a whole lot of grass. I also noticed a sour smell, so I have been treating for sour crop with Miconazole. Tomorrow will be day 6 of her treatment.

She also is not eating. Energy wise she seems ok, still spunky and sassy and will run around, but she will hardly eat. The only thing I have gotten her to eat a bit of is an egg yolk,

You've given the Miconazole twice a day for 6 days?

She's been drinking well?
Will she eat her normal feed?

Not eating and energy wise seems o.k., spunky and sassy do not seem to go together.

What's her poop like? Photos?

You're checking the crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink?

IF the crop issue has not resolved in the next day or two, then it may be time to administer a flush. Do you have a friend or family member that can help you with her?


https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

You've given the Miconazole twice a day for 6 days?

She's been drinking well?
Will she eat her normal feed?

Not eating and energy wise seems o.k., spunky and sassy do not seem to go together.

What's her poop like? Photos?

You're checking the crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink?

IF the crop issue has not resolved in the next day or two, then it may be time to administer a flush. Do you have a friend or family member that can help you with her?


https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

thank you so much for your reply and help!

You've given the Miconazole twice a day for 6 days?

Correct. A half inch of cream every morning and night.

She's been drinking well?
Will she eat her normal feed?

She does drink some, but definitely not as much as I would like. No, she won’t eat her normal feed either. Only a couple bites of egg told every now and then. I know, I don’t understand why she still has energy but is not eating. I have been syringe feeding her some electrolytes and Nutridrench every day, so maybe that helps. Her energy is definitely slowly fading though.

What's her poop like? Photos?

Yes, I will get photos today! She isn’t pooping very much at all tho because she is hardly eating. It seems watery but otherwise fine.

You're checking the crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink?

Yes, correct.

IF the crop issue has not resolved in the next day or two, then it may be time to administer a flush. Do you have a friend or family member that can help you with her?

Ok. Thank you! How would I do that? Yes, I do have some family members that could help.

Thank you so much!

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Last night I did a Molasses flush (1/4 cup warm water, 1 tsp molasses) and syringe fed her all of it. This morning there was a LOT of very foul smelling poop. Some watery, some solid, otherwise normal. I will get pics later.

Right now her crop feels full of water, even though she hasn’t had anything else to drink since last night. Why is it full of water?

Energy wise she is definitely going downhill. Much more listless and exhausting. She will still peck and walk around, but not for very long.

What are next steps? Should I tube feed her? She still won’t eat.

Thanks so much!

@azygous @Wyorp Rock

 

[azygous]

Did you see any grass in the poop after the molasses flush? Did the hen perk up after she pooped ?

She may have an impacted gizzard. A three day Epsom salt flush would be something I would definitely try. It will flush out the entire digestive system including any yeast. Are you able to tube feed? It requires a tube and feeding syringe as the volume of solution is too much for just an oral syringe.

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Did you see any grass in the poop after the molasses flush? Did the hen perk up after she pooped ?

She may have an impacted gizzard. A three day Epsom salt flush would be something I would definitely try. It will flush out the entire digestive system including any yeast. Are you able to tube feed? It requires a tube and feeding syringe as the volume of solution is too much for just an oral syringe.

Thank you so much! I didn’t see any grass in her poop. And she didn’t perk up too much, about the same.

I will definitely do that, thank you! How much do I give her?

 

[azygous]

The Epsom salts solution is one teaspoon salts to one-half cup warm water. This is tubed, all of it, into the chicken's crop two times a day for three consecutive days.

Do it on an empty, or near empty crop, but she can eat her normal feed in between. Allow her all the water she wants.

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

The Epsom salts solution is one teaspoon salts to one-half cup warm water. This is tubed, all of it, into the chicken's crop two times a day for three consecutive days.

Do it on an empty, or near empty crop, but she can eat her normal feed in between. Allow her all the water she wants.

Perfect, thank you so much. I will start that now.

Because she isn’t eating and so is rapidly losing weight and starting to get listless, should I tube feed her some egg yolk, or food?

 

[azygous]

Yes, of course. Feed her whatever she will eat to get her strength up.

The flush will hose out her entire digestive system. If she has blockages, including dead worms, this will open her up so hopefully, her crop will start draining again.