Chicken acting funny...crop problems?

[robinef]

Hi everyone! Turns out she had an abdominal mass. We took her to the vet, and he said she was skin and bones. No muscle. So the crop was fine, probably a tumor or foreign object. I'm guessing tumor since she lost so much weight. We decided to put her down. The doc said we weren't doing her any favors by keeping her alive without any intent to treat. He said even if we did the X-rays, exploratory surgery, etc, she was so deconditioned she probably wouldn't fare well anyway. Thanks for everyone's help! We are far more educated now, with some corid on hand in case we ever need it again! Now our one chicken is all by herself, but she doesn't seem to mind much. Still going about her business. Eventually, we will probably get a couple of chicks and try to introduce them slowly at some point. But for now, this one seems good. Thanks again!

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

So sorry to hear you had to have her put down but it was obviously the best thing to do for her at that stage.

I have one in a similar situation, but I'm pretty certain that hers is a crop problem as it is not emptying and yesterday when I was vomiting her she actually managed to regurgitate a 4inch feather, so I have my suspicions there are more in there causing a blockage. I've brought another one back from the edge like this before so I'm not ready to give up just yet but like your's she is very emaciated. If the worst comes to the worst, I will be doing a post mortem examination to confirm the problem, in case there are any steps I can take to prevent it happening to another chicken. This one is just a young bantam pullet so really don't want to lose her. Fingers crossed she has enough strength to fight it.

Regards

Barbara

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[satingold2014]

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.

 

[satingold2014]

Hi there i just went out to my coop to put my chickens to bed and one of my chickens was just laying there we put her up and she does not do anything she is alive but we dont no what is wrong with set her down she just falls over ? Any idea ??

 

[rebrascora]

@satingold2014

Hi

If you are in a cold climate, bring her into the house in a cardboard box. If she is poorly, being warm will make a huge difference. Check her over thoroughly. Does she feel really skinny....feathers hide a lot so examining her with your hands can reveal what the problem is. I have one with an impacted/sour crop at the moment and she looks fine until you pick her up and realise that her crop is huge but the remainder of her body is totally emaciated and she is literally skin and bone.

If your hen's crop (the sac at the front of the chest on the right which holds their food until it can be digested) is full at night and has not emptied by the next morning then that indicates a crop problem. If you can't feel her crop, then it is empty and she hasn't eaten for some time and you need to get moist food into her.... mine will only eat bread soaked in warm water at the moment...it's not ideal but any calories are better than nothing. If she will eat then give her small sloppy feeds several times a day and put a couple of drops of a vitamin supplement onto it. Here in the UK there is product called Nutri Drops for poultry. Not sure what your local brand will be. If you can't find that, dissolve a human multi Vitamin(without iron) tablet in water a add a bit of that to her mushy feed. Keeping her warm, hydrated and fed will hopefully help to stabilise her until you can figure out what the problem is. Sometimes it is just bullying from the food and they become so weak from lack of food, they get wobbly and weak. Other problems could be vitamin deficiency, Coccidiosis, Marek's Disease etc.
Poop is the next thing to check...which is another benefit of isolating her in a box in the house. Runny or bloody poop could indicate Coccidiosis or possibly worms. Normal poop is always encouraging. Green poop particularly if they don't have access to grass or greens, usually means the digestive system is shutting down and there is either a blockage or they are starving.

Let us know what you find from examination of the bird and poop and I will try to advise from there.

Good luck

Barbara