Chicken acting funny...crop problems?

[robinef]

Hi there! We have a chicken who has been acting off the last few days. She's been wabbling a little bit, and today when she tried to walk up the ladder to the coop, she fell and just laid down. We put food and water in front of her and she was interested in eating. We eventually put her up in the coop and she walked to her spot. I'm including a picture of her here to see if her crop looks funny. We love in Florida and it has been unusually cold the last few days, so we've been closing the door to their coop at night. Any thoughts? We don't know much about chickens, this is our first experience with them.

 

[junebuggena]

She's sick. That hunched up body posture is usually an indication of illness, it just makes the crop seem more pronounced than it would if she where holding herself normally. How long have you had her?

 

[robinef]

We've had her for 3 months I think. She was probably 4 or 5 months old at the time. Her sister seems fine. Nothing in her eyes, no congestion. Do you have any suggestions for how we can make her better? I'm going to start adding apple cider vinegar to their water. Anything I can put in her food?

 

[junebuggena]

She may have coccidiosis. Get her started on Corid ASAP.

 

[robinef]

I read DE might help? Any thoughts there? We will probably have to order the corid online so not sure how long that will take but we have DE and apple cider vinegar

 

[junebuggena]

DE has not been proven to be an effective treatment for anything. It can help prevent mites and lice when added to a dust bath, and that's about it. With birds that are new to an environment, the first thing to treat for is coccidiosis. That means using a thiamine blocker like amprolium, the active ingredient in Corid. By the time birds are acting visibly ill, time is of the essence. If you don't have a coccidia treatment on hand, medicated starter may help buy some time.

 

[robinef]

In your experience, what kind of timeline are we looking at? It'll take a couple of days for us to get the corid, and unfortunately both of us are working late this week so may not be able to stop at the feed store. We read about someone who swears by epsom salt bath and olive oil, so we might try that in the mean time. We only have two chickens, so I'm afraid if we lose this one, how the other will manage alone

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

You have to realise that Epsom salt baths and olive oil can be beneficial for some chicken illnesses, they are not a cure all. Usually an Epsom salt bath will be helpful for a hen that is egg bound and olive oil can help an impacted crop. If this is coccidiosis then it can kill quite quickly or it may just make her so weak that she dies of the cold. Chickens are very good at hiding illness until they are too weak to fake any longer. It may be that she has been poorly for several days to a week. Often they will appear to be eating but are just picking up and dropping the food again without eating it. Unfortunately having only two chickens makes things difficult. If it is coccidiosis, then she will be lacking nourishment and therefore probably unable to keep herself warm. I would suggest bringing her into the house and placing her in a warm draught free spot in a cardboard box and starting off by getting warm fluids into her and possibly some electrolytes and hoping to keep her alive until the corid arrives. Unfortunately that leaves your other chicken on her own with only having two. Alternatively perhaps a heat pad in the box with her and putting it out in the coop, but I would say that getting warm electrolytes into her to keep her hydrated is probably the most important.

Another possibility at that age is Marek's disease, but there is no recognised treatment for that other than supporting the immune system with good nutrition, supportive care and keeping your fingers crossed/praying.

Good luck with her

Regards

Barbara

 

[junebuggena]

Coccidiosis can kill within 24 to 48 hours left untreated. By the time they are showing signs of illness, you've got maybe 24 hours to start treatment.

 

[robinef]

Hi all, well she's still alive and doing somewhat ok. Yesterday she seemed pretty normal but did need help getting upstairs to the coop. This morning, she seems very hungry, eating quite a bit. I looked at her drippings, nothing looks out of the ordinary. She is definitely hunched this morning when she's eating, with her eyes pretty much closed, tail feathers down. We bought the chicken starter and some electrolytes, to hopefully buy us some time. The corid will come today, so hopefully that will help? We also have some antibiotics that we could give her, but I assume we should hold on that until we see if the corid does anything? If the corid will work, how long until we will know? We really don't want to take her to a vet or anything..we care for her, but we really don't have the money. Plus we live in an urban area..no clue which vets even see chickens!!! Thanks for everyone's input!