Can anyone recommend a feed for a hen with crop / digestive issues?

[TropicalChickies]

Can you feed her chick starter crumbles?


And ACV in water with some gavage water until it clears up?

Hi there. No, I think there is some ingredient in the chick feed (wheat or soy perhaps) that is aggravating her yeast. I've been feeding her a high protein low carb diet for three weeks since this thread started and she is much improved. She can eat tuna, sardines, egg, quinoa, and sweet potato with probiotic added

Her yeast infection was too severe to be helped by apple cider vinegar and she needed a careful systemic treatment with acidified copper sulfate.

ACV periodically may be good to keep the chickens pH balanced overall. I do not put it in my hens water indiscriminately because it can also cause weak eggshells and weak bones, especially in older hens and I have a mixed flock.

But in my opinion, ACV can be a bit overrated as a "cure" for many conditions. Sometimes chickens get very sick and need a bit more help to get well if they can.

 

[TropicalChickies]

I had two chickens with vent gleet. Both happened when I stop giving them fermented feed. I used clotrimazole vaginal cream for women to treat their vent while giving plain yogurt as treats. Worked very well for me. I really think fermented feed is the best for their digestion system. Now I even gave them a small amount of fermented feed at -10°F.

Hi. Thanks, I actually do ferment their feed. My best guess with Butchie is that she got sick with some other infection -- possibly IB because I had other hens who were carriers -- that really threw off her pH and digestive system. I tried Clotrimazol (and Nystatin) on her, but it was not effective, she only responded to careful and systematic use of acidified copper sulfate. She's on a high protein diet of eggs, fish, quinoa and sweet potato at the moment. I'll see if she can eventually return to chicken feed (which would be easier for me!) but I want to make sure she's as healed as possible first!

 

[TropicalChickies]

She looks SO much better than she did when you first started this thread! Her eyes look brighter, her comb is a perfect red color, her feathers shine.... she just looks fabulous!

I'm so happy for her. She's finishing up the "back end" of her molt and has lovely new feathers all over.

And I'm sure she's happy not to be smelly like old socks or cheese anymore too!

 

[TropicalChickies]

Hi folks following here,

(Warning: chicken butt pics)

So there is a side effect of Butchie's long battle with yeast (we are winning!) that concerns me. After months of loose poop and me cleaning her butt daily, her feathers follicles under her vent are not in great shape. Her poop is getting more solid little by little, but some of it still sticks to her butt. I clean it with warm water and a mild diluted soap, towel dry her, and put her out in the sun. I don't have a hair dryer and I don't have the electricity to run one (our farm is off grid in the tropics with a small solar generator). I plucked a lot of her feathers under her vent to help keep the area clean -- when it got caked up, it was basically like an advertisement for all of the flies and fleas and bugs in a tropical climate to have a party on her butt.

Now I've noticed that when she tries to grow feathers back under her vent, they are getting ingrown I have to squeeze out what I can, then I'm flushing the gaps with antiseptic solution so she doesn't get an infection.

I'm concerned about fly strike. I don't think she'll get it because I clean her so often, but is there anything I can do to help her stay clean and dry without a blow dryer? I was thinking to use a powder for athlete's foot...?

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I see what you mean, some are growing in nicely while a few are ingrown and need to be tweezed out or plucked.

A lot of folks here use NuStock cream on the bare skin, it's an ointment that consists of sulfur, pine oil and mineral oil - it's a strong smelling stuff that's for sure. I don't think bugs would like it.
But you are looking to keep her dry, so how about something like a barrier cream that is used for diaper rash or bed sores?
Perhaps some good old fashioned corn starch may work just as good as a drying agent.

 

[TropicalChickies]

I see what you mean, some are growing in nicely while a few are ingrown and need to be tweezed out or plucked.

A lot of folks here use NuStock cream on the bare skin, it's an ointment that consists of sulfur, pine oil and mineral oil - it's a strong smelling stuff that's for sure. I don't think bugs would like it.
But you are looking to keep her dry, so how about something like a barrier cream that is used for diaper rash or bed sores?
Perhaps some good old fashioned corn starch may work just as good as a drying agent.

That sounds good. The soap I'm using has sulfur in it. It's also been great for the flaky skin on her face.

I was thinking a diaper rash cream would be good for the irritation. I like the corn starch idea. Nice and simple and easy to get here. Thanks!

 

[TropicalChickies]

Hi folks,

It's been 22 days since Butchie finished her copper sulfate treatment. Her crop is still empty every morning and I still have her on on the same diet of mostly eggs or fish for protein with some well-cooked quinoa or sweet potato to keep her blood sugar stable. I add a few drops of olive or coconut oil to make sure she gets some healthy fat too. She forages in the undergrowth and eats some small grasses and grass seed.

I've been also giving her a small amount (4-5 ml) of the yeast buster formula every day.

For the past three days, I've noticed that some of the gassy feeling has returned to her lower belly, on the right side where the liver and gizzard are. She's still eating well, interacting with the flock, and bossing the pullets around, but I can tell she doesn't feel quite as good as she did three weeks ago at the conclusion of her treatment.

It looks and feels to me like the yeast is coming back little by little somewhere in her lower digestive system. Is there anything you would advise to keep it from escalating? Can I run the copper through her system for a few days to knock it back? @TwoCrows @Wyorp Rock

Thank you again!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would give her the Acidified Copper Sulfate for a few days and see that helps.

 

[TropicalChickies]

I would give her the Acidified Copper Sulfate for a few days and see that helps.

Ok, yes, I will give it to her for 5 days.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Ok, yes, I will give it to her for 5 days.

Butchie update. Trying something new. So I had to go into town several days ago and my husband threw some leftovers to the chickens -- nothing too heavy, just some roasted beets and carrots. The other chickens were fine (just some purplish poo from the beets), but Butchie had a short crop episode. Her crop was big and full the next morning. It hadn't even gone sour yet. There was no smell -- it was just backed up. She was on day 3 of acidified copper sulfate for the bloating I was noticing in her abdomen, so maybe that helped the crop from not going sour.

I did the usual treatment that's worked on her before: no food for about 20 hours, just water and a tsp of oil, lots of massage. The crop cleared after one day. I gave her an Epsom flush, then after a couple hours fed her egg and sweet potato and the crop cleared fine by the next morning. She was tired and wanted to sleep most of the day yesterday, but today she is much better, and very hungry.

From this crop episode and the last one about five weeks ago, I'm really thinking there's nothing wrong with her crop. She has some cyst or inflammation making her abdomen swell and constricting her lower digestive system. Whatever is wrong with her, it's not her crop, that's just the final symptom.

When I noticed her abdomen beginning to swell and harden again, I also noticed that her vent had gone from a little circle to a coin slot shape. She sits for about an hour each day "nesting" and her butt pumps, just as if she were going to put an egg. So she's "in lay" even though she does not produce eggs. Lucio the rooster also noticed and stalks her. He caught her and mounted her the day her crop was full and poor Butchie almost suffocated. I keep her away from him now. But it seems like the combination of her oviduct trying to work is inflaming and putting more pressure on her other organs.

So I stopped the copper sulfate, waited three days for her system to clear, and started her on a course of Bactrim (sulfametoxazol) as @Two Crows suggested a few weeks ago. And I'm giving her a tea steeped with oregano, turmeric, and ginger to drink (she seems to like it) for the inflammation. Giving her the antibiotic seemed illogical to me given the sour crop that surfaced a few times, but given what I've observed recently, it seems worth a shot. She could very well have some chronic cystic condition with E coli or other bacteria that is worse when she's "in lay."

She's on day two of Bactrim -- I'm using an oral suspension for children, 50mg once per day. It's making her poop like crazy, very watery, but I'm keeping her as hydrated as possible. The hardness and bloating in her abdomen has already subsided a lot. She's acting normal again. Cleo keeps her company. So that's where we are today.