Best approach for possible gizzard impaction

[Lillith37]

Were you the one who ordered the implant to prevent ovulation? If so, did the vet find anything else that could be suspicious in her oviduct? Anything that might be a tumor?

Yes I was. She stopped laying suddenly but was still demonstrating nesting behaviour, so we did it as a preventative. That was about a month ago.

She has a bulge below her vent that is bigger when she is actively laying but shrinks to almost nothing when she’s not. At its biggest it has been the size of a cricket ball, at its smallest (now) less than the size of a golf ball. It’s always been squishy. It’s not like a regular squishy abdomen, it’s a definitive lump. My theories are hernia or fatty tissue, but who knows.

I know repro disease or cancer is a possibility but I really do think she has an issue in her gizzard. She has had repeated crop impactions where I have been able to treat down and then feel whatever strange thing she has eaten. The objects are always weirdly shaped and sized. This current episode is off the back of a crop impaction where it felt like a small piece of zip-tie. Unfortunately the chickens dig up rubbish and debris in the yard from time to time. Whatever the impaction was, it’s gone from her crop now and it’s only undigested food and lots of grit.

 

[azygous]

Is she behaving worse than yesterday or day before yesterday? Is she lethargic like she would be if not feeling well?

Is there any yellow mucous in her poop that you can see? Is there any acrid odor?

Cancer is a real possibility. Depending on its location it may cause obstruction of the lower digestive tract. Also, if it is advanced, it will cause overall organ failure where bodily functions all slow down gradually ending in death after several months. I've seen this process often enough in my flock.

 

[Lillith37]

Is she behaving worse than yesterday or day before yesterday? Is she lethargic like she would be if not feeling well?

Is there any yellow mucous in her poop that you can see? Is there any acrid odor?

Cancer is a real possibility. Depending on its location it may cause obstruction of the lower digestive tract. Also, if it is advanced, it will cause overall organ failure where bodily functions all slow down gradually ending in death after several months. I've seen this process often enough in my flock.

She’s a little more fluffed and hunched today but that’s the only change. Preferring to stand hunched rather than settle down and nap like yesterday. No yellow mucous, it’s mostly liquid with the odd bit of grass and stringy urate bits. She does brown liquid poops periodically which smell worse which I think must have some caecal matter in them.

Her organ function is fine, we did some blood tests. She has a heart problem that she is on medication for — she may have problems with blood pressure but it’s hard for the vet to tell about that in chickens.

I’ve just now given her the liquid slurry with the intensive care nutrition, electrolytes and synbiotic. I’ve put her back outside. She’s doing her regular thing and she’s clearly much happier and brighter outside.

The thing with the implant is that it makes them sleepy, kills their appetite and then induces moult. So it’s hard to tell what’s resulting from that and what’s from her not feeling well because of whatever is causing the digestive issue.

 

[azygous]

You need to understand that I'm not a vet, nor ever trained with one. I am solely going by my own eighteen years of experience with my own chickens. Because of this experience over nearly two decades, being immersed in this charming hobby, I've had a lot of data input into my brain. I also have a pretty well developed intuitive sense regarding chickens. In some ways, a strong intuitive sense developed as a result of years of experience can help make up for lack of formal training.

So, I'm sticking my neck out and am going to say that her less than positive response to the flush, plus her poop appearance, plus her general behavior all point to a hen in decline. Of course, it's impossible to diagnose the cause of this, but from my experience, she is following a pattern I've seen associated with cancer.

If she follows this pattern, and I had a hen as recently as four months ago follow it, she will continue in a pattern of slow decline, having good days where she appears nearly normal, enjoying the outdoors, and other days where she will be lethargic. Overall, her appetite will decrease, and eventually she will become weak. She will appear to be having a relatively good quality of life for another month or two, but by your mid summer, she will likely die.

I would love to be wrong in this prediction. And you should not give up all hope. There is a chance that she has developed an infection as a side effect from the implant, and that is what's causing her symptoms. I considered my own hen had an infection, and I tried her out on a couple of different antibiotics to see if she would improve. It's something I suggest you also think about trying. I'd try amoxicillin and see what it does for her.

 

[Lillith37]

You need to understand that I'm not a vet, nor ever trained with one. I am solely going by my own eighteen years of experience with my own chickens. Because of this experience over nearly two decades, being immersed in this charming hobby, I've had a lot of data input into my brain. I also have a pretty well developed intuitive sense regarding chickens. In some ways, a strong intuitive sense developed as a result of years of experience can help make up for lack of formal training.

So, I'm sticking my neck out and am going to say that her less than positive response to the flush, plus her poop appearance, plus her general behavior all point to a hen in decline. Of course, it's impossible to diagnose the cause of this, but from my experience, she is following a pattern I've seen associated with cancer.

If she follows this pattern, and I had a hen as recently as four months ago follow it, she will continue in a pattern of slow decline, having good days where she appears nearly normal, enjoying the outdoors, and other days where she will be lethargic. Overall, her appetite will decrease, and eventually she will become weak. She will appear to be having a relatively good quality of life for another month or two, but by your mid summer, she will likely die.

I would love to be wrong in this prediction. And you should not give up all hope. There is a chance that she has developed an infection as a side effect from the implant, and that is what's causing her symptoms. I considered my own hen had an infection, and I tried her out on a couple of different antibiotics to see if she would improve. It's something I suggest you also think about trying. I'd try amoxicillin and see what it does for her.

I appreciate your experience and knowledge always and I think the intuition you’ve developed over that timeframe is of great value and a blessing to me and everyone else on these forums. Thank you for sharing and for taking the time to respond and help me here.

I’ve been checking Lorraine’s temperature and she doesn’t have a fever which is a good sign. We’d have to go back to the vet for antibiotics. I’d like to finish the flushes and give her some time on the digestive support before trying that.

As long as she has interest in her daily activities and hangs out with the rest of the flock I will support her as best I can. She’s not the most human oriented bird but she’s got a lot of character and I love her to bits.

 

[Lillith37]

I took Lorraine’s temperature and it was 42.6 C / 108.68 F so she has a fever.

I will be calling the vet tomorrow to see if I can take her in and get their opinion on whether it’s worth trying antibiotics or whether it’s time to say goodbye. I don’t want her to suffer.

She is staying with the others still, drinking water, eating grit and grazing grass but not eating any actual food. Her crop is big and hard and her poop is now yellow with dark pellets. When I hold her I feel periodic tremors passing through her body and she twitches her head and puffs up her feathers.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen.They can be very stoic when they have a chronic disease.

 

[azygous]

Yes, they hide the signs of illness for an amazingly long time before we notice, and by then it's often late in the game. But, if her recent decline is due to infection and not necessarily cancer, it's worth it to try an antibiotic before thinking of ending it for her. If you have any old prescription on hand, you might give it to her, buying her time before a vet would be able to see her. It would also tell us if this is infection or not. They respond fairly quickly after the antibiotic is started.

 

[Lillith37]

Today I said goodbye to Lorraine. She had a peaceful and painless death.

Her temperature went down overnight (I’d given her some meloxicam). However the fact she lost 1/3 of her body weight over the course of the month, had complete crop stasis and all testing came back normal pointed to something severely wrong inside her that would not have been curable nor would treatment have resulted in a good quality of life. I was not inclined to pursue diagnostic scans to this end. The vets supported my decision for euthanasia.

I still think it may have had something to do with her gizzard. One of the vets suggested a cancer tumour causing the obstruction. They will perform a necropsy and let me know the results in several days. I will update here with what I learn.

Rest in peace Lorraine, my sweet Lady in Pajamas. You will be greatly missed.

 

[azygous]

I know how hard that decision was to make. It was brave and compassionate.