Bantam lethargic, pale comb, but eating.

[azygous]

The crop contents should eventually dissolve and leave the crop. It's not a problem if some of it is a bony scull. It will likely take a couple weeks, but her body's acid will make liquid out of it. Next time you have a spare chicken bone after a KFC meal, drop it into a jar of vinegar and check it in a month. The bone will be pretty much dissolved. You'll never worry about your chickens swallowing bones again.

Onto the patient with the reproductive issue. Those infections are notoriously difficult to treat. I do not know why. I'm treating a young hen currently for this, and after two weeks on one antibiotic, I'm going to switch her to another tomorrow. So, give the Baytril a bit longer, and you certainly may try another one if she has shown no improvement.

It's very important to be sure your patient is not starving. An antibiotic has a job to do, and the chicken's immune system must be strong to do its job, too. She can't if she's starving. So, yes, give sugar water to revive her and her appetite should perk up, but go ahead and tube feed her if she flat out refuses to eat. Are your prepared to do that?

 

[PuddleEndChicken]

The crop contents should eventually dissolve and leave the crop. It's not a problem if some of it is a bony scull. It will likely take a couple weeks, but her body's acid will make liquid out of it. Next time you have a spare chicken bone after a KFC meal, drop it into a jar of vinegar and check it in a month. The bone will be pretty much dissolved. You'll never worry about your chickens swallowing bones again.

Onto the patient with the reproductive issue. Those infections are notoriously difficult to treat. I do not know why. I'm treating a young hen currently for this, and after two weeks on one antibiotic, I'm going to switch her to another tomorrow. So, give the Baytril a bit longer, and you certainly may try another one if she has shown no improvement.

It's very important to be sure your patient is not starving. An antibiotic has a job to do, and the chicken's immune system must be strong to do its job, too. She can't if she's starving. So, yes, give sugar water to revive her and her appetite should perk up, but go ahead and tube feed her if she flat out refuses to eat. Are your prepared to do that?

Thanks that's very helpful about the crop issue, I might try the stool softener to see if it breaks up the large squishy lump. I can definitely feel a lot more grain in there today rather than hard mass so she must have passed some of it through and has more room for actual grain now. But her crop really does droop down and she seems to be resting it all the time - I've read other threads about "pendulous crop" and having allergies/yeast infections. I don't know what to think but this has been going on since at least November, but she's generally well in herself.

With the other one, I'm carrying on with the baytril and I fed her twice with Kaytee Exact (quite watery so she's getting fluid and a bit of sugar too) by syringe today - I can feel her crop has begun to fill up. She looked more comfortable but then she went into almost a deep sleep and was spread nearly flat on the floor with one of her legs pointing out behind her, not alert at all. I don't think this is a good sign. She's got her head under her wing and she's breathing slowly and a bit colder too. i don't think I'd be able to get any other antibiotics from the vet - hens are treated as farm animals rather than pets so he doesn't advocate survival at any cost, he suggests when you draw the line. I feel I've done a lot for Daisy now and her quality of life isn't good, so unless there's some miracle overnight and she picks up with the food and baytril then I think we're going to have to let her go.

 

[azygous]

It does sound like Daisy is dying. If Baytril doesn't cause improvement, there's likely something more than infection going on.

Try the crop bra with the first chicken. It may help.

 

[PuddleEndChicken]

It does sound like Daisy is dying. If Baytril doesn't cause improvement, there's likely something more than infection going on.

Try the crop bra with the first chicken. It may help.

So I'm sad to say that I found Daisy dead this morning and the other one was sitting next to her looking confused and pecking her to try to wake her up I think. Must have had a different infection going on that didn't respond to Baytril or maybe she was old as well (I had her 2 years and she was mature when I got her). Sad as she was pretty lavender Pekin Bantam - never really did lay many eggs and avoided the rooster too - quite an independent lady !! I'll miss her.

The other one's crop was much better today so I put her back in the barn with the others and checked her this evening - the flock has let her back in with no bullying. I was worried that she's gone suddenly from a warm kitchen to a 35F barn but she seems OK. I'll keep an eye on her crop and keep you updated.

Many thanks for all your support on this journey - I've learnt a lot and I'll certainly be quicker off the mark in suspecting peritonitis and getting antibiotics next time too.

 

[azygous]

Some things such as tumors won't respond to an antibiotic. It's quite common.

You could open Daisy up and take a look inside her abdominal cavity. Often, when there are tumors, they are easily detected. You'd have an answer.

No need to decide right away. Refrigerate her body until you decide what you want to do. If you have a state lab near, you can get a real necropsy.

 

[PuddleEndChicken]

Some things such as tumors won't respond to an antibiotic. It's quite common.

You could open Daisy up and take a look inside her abdominal cavity. Often, when there are tumors, they are easily detected. You'd have an answer.

No need to decide right away. Refrigerate her body until you decide what you want to do. If you have a state lab near, you can get a real necropsy.

To be honest my husband did the "funeral" pretty quickly after I wrote the post and before I read your answer. She was smelling pretty bad by the end, would that be the EYP although her poop was normal until the end but that's a different tract right ? I was feeling that a post-mortem was a step too far (and possible infection risk for me ?). So I'll never know.

Are there other infections it could have been that would NOT be cleared by Baytril ? Your suggestion of a tumour of the reproductive system blocking the tube and then the eggs backing up and the secondary egg yolk peritonitis does sound the most likely answer.

 

[azygous]

Baytril is probably the strongest antibiotic we have for sick animals. If there's bacteria, it's going to go after it. When it fails, then it's not unreasonable to assume the problem is likely something other than bacteria that an antibiotic is useless against such as a virus or cancer.

It requires a sturdy and determined mindset to get the courage to open up a chicken that you're worked so hard to save from dying. But if you can get past that, it takes no more than five minutes tops to cut open a chicken and expose the organs. Cancer is usually easy to spot. Some viruses cause dramatic enlargement of organs. Internal laying is also easy to see as the eggs are full size and "hard boiled" and floating in the abdominal cavity where eggs do not belong. Usually, it's one of those things that kill a hen and you have the answer in just less than five minutes. It can be very educational and a help to diagnosing sick chickens from then on.

 

[PuddleEndChicken]

Baytril is probably the strongest antibiotic we have for sick animals. If there's bacteria, it's going to go after it. When it fails, then it's not unreasonable to assume the problem is likely something other than bacteria that an antibiotic is useless against such as a virus or cancer.

It requires a sturdy and determined mindset to get the courage to open up a chicken that you're worked so hard to save from dying. But if you can get past that, it takes no more than five minutes tops to cut open a chicken and expose the organs. Cancer is usually easy to spot. Some viruses cause dramatic enlargement of organs. Internal laying is also easy to see as the eggs are full size and "hard boiled" and floating in the abdominal cavity where eggs do not belong. Usually, it's one of those things that kill a hen and you have the answer in just less than five minutes. It can be very educational and a help to diagnosing sick chickens from then on.

That's really helpful. Yes I'm used to plucking and gutting pheasants etc so I could have opened her up, I just felt I couldn't do it to a "friend" and wanted to leave her in tact somehow. But I agree with you that if I could get past that it would be very educational to relate her symptoms to what I can see inside. I'll definitely grit my teeth and do it next time around....

 

[PuddleEndChicken]

That's really helpful. Yes I'm used to plucking and gutting pheasants etc so I could have opened her up, I just felt I couldn't do it to a "friend" and wanted to leave her in tact somehow. But I agree with you that if I could get past that it would be very educational to relate her symptoms to what I can see inside. I'll definitely grit my teeth and do it next time around....

Also meant to ask, are Pekin Bantams susceptible to any particular illnesses more than full size hybrid chickens ? I've had 10 full size (hybrids, RIR, maran, araucana/leghorn Easter Egger crosses) for the last 2 years and only lost 1 to wry neck.

But with my Pekin Bantams I've bought 7 and from them bred another 7 so 14 in total that have lasted more than 2 years but in the last 8 months I've lost 4 of them including Daisy. The other 3 Pekins:

1st one black Pekin Bantam (maybe aged 2 1/2 or more) went very suddenly, ie fine in the morning and then found her lying flat and dead with feet behind her a few hours later with no visible signs of anything wrong at all, very glossy hen.

2nd one black Pekin Bantam was one I hatched and she was about 14 months old. Fine in the morning and found her dead in the nest box with a few fresh peck marks to the top of her head but no other signs - could she have been bullied to death very suddenly ? Could it have given her a heart attack or something and she was pecked when dead ?

3rd one was the Pekin Bantam rooster and he was at least 3, maybe a lot older, seemed very mature when we got him. He seemed fine in the morning and by the evening had a dark purple comb and stood outside in the dark rather than bringing the ladies in to roost, he didn't have the strength to roost either and was quite hunched and cold. I brought him inside and gave him some sugar water and he was dead by the morning. I had treated the whole flock for lice/mites the week before and I notice he'd had quite a lot of lice come to the surface after the treatment, I wonder whether they'd weakened him ?