BO Hen with Crop Stasis?

[Blue_Myst]

Well, when one problem goes away another crops up. I've brought my hen inside because she's been doing poorly (droppings are no more than a thick white mucus with a vibrant green middle). She'd lost her appetite so I've been force-feeding her small meals and water. Yesterday I felt her crop and realized that the same food I'd fed her that morning was still there. Today, the same food is still in the crop (I can feel it against the skin because it was cracked corn). The crop is not hard, but is a little full. She doesn't have any symptoms of sour crop. I want another diagnosis so badly, but could it be crop stasis? I have seen no crop contractions.

I'd better give a little background info, too. The patient is a 3 year-old Buff Orpington hen that free ranges often. I dewormed her a little over a week ago (fenbendazole) for gapeworm, and when she started wheezing, I put her on duramycin-10 for four days (on the fourth day she just stopped eating and clearly wasn't feeling very good, so I stopped the antibiotics because I was scared of aggravating her more). Both the gaping and wheezing are gone, thank goodness, but now she's depressed and won't eat much on her own. I know she'll waste away if I don't do something soon.

I would appreciate any and all advice you can give! Things aren't looking good for her--I have to wonder if the fenbendazole was too strong and caused worms to block her intestines, and that's why she has all these other symptoms

 

[tammye]

I do question these wormers being used on an already weak hen, esp. when you are not sure they have worms. Yes, I believe an insecticide could upset her stomach and intestines if you used the wrong dose, to strong of stuff ect.. Try massaging her crop, feeding her very little for a day, water with electrolyte solution for strenght, and olive oil to help soften the food in her crop. I have read here to massage it several times a day. I have a dog on antibiotics for confirmed lyme disease and she has been feeling terrible due to the antibiotics, these drugs are strong and can cause some side affects. was she loosing her appetite before you began these treatments? hope someone else can help you

 

[Blue_Myst]

Thank you for the advice, tammye!

She's feeling a bit better today. I tried massaging her crop as you said, pushing upwards like normal crop contractions would, and I think the food did move out of her crop a bit. I'll keep doing it today, and hopefully go from there.

I don't have electrolytes, but I do have a poultry nutrient supplement (Nutri-drench, I think?), and that has perked her up. I gave her 4 cc's yesterday.

I understand your position on wormers. I have never wormed my flock before, and I thought the fenbendazole (0.5%) was about as mild as I could get, and it was approved for poultry. She wasn't weak when I gave her the wormer, and it did make her better. It was the antibiotics that really weakened her, but I knew I had to give them to her because she was wheezing and clearly had some sort of respiratory infection. The weather probably hasn't helped her much, either.

 

[Country4ever]

My experience with most crop problems is scratch.........especially the corn. I've quit giving it and won't ever give it again. Seems like many chickens just can't handle it. I give black oil sunflower seed, which they seem to handle fine.

Sometimes the problem is farther down stream from their crop........like maybe a tumor or string caught or something like that.

You definitely need to give her some yogurt with active cultures in it, plus even dumping part of a probiotic capsule contents in it.
Back off food altogether, but make sure she gets vitamins and electrolytes in her water. Masage the heck out of the crop at least 3-4 times a day.
Is she eating any of the bedding? Sometimes they do that.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I was just reading another topic and someone said that copper sulfate was good for sour crop 1/4 teas. to a gallon of water.