Chicken sick! Need help ASAP!

Allie,

Yes, she could possibly die. Throwing up is a very dangerous and stressful process for a hen. But, if she is doing it, you will have to help her.

Here is what I wrote to another member, recently.

The contents in her crop are fermenting, this is why she is trying to regurgitate, or throw up.

Extreme care must be exercised when a hen regurgitates the contents of her crop. Also, if you decide to tip her, to empty the contents. If any fluid gets into her air way she will aspirate/choke. You have to be prepared. At that time a hen can pass out or can just die from shock and suffocation. She will open her beak gasping, close her eyes, and the comb and wattles will start to darken. So, at this point, you must do CPR on the chicken, if, this happens.

Emergency CPR: While holding the chicken with one arm, give gentle but firm, pats to the chest/crop area, with your other hand, with same hand hold open the beak, blow soft puffs of air into her mouth, alternate pats to chest and puffs of air, to revive her.
(If she has more to throw up, let her do it. As, she may regurgitate automatically. She may cough or sneeze to clear her throat and nostrils of any fluid.)

It will be touch and go, and you will have to stay with it, and not panic. Use your best judgement. It's not always possible to revive them when this happens, but if you do nothing, she'll die.

  1. Once she opens her eyes, you can stop.
  2. Keep her upright while holding her.
  3. Keep talking to her, and patting or gently rubbing the crop, till she recovers. At this point you can put her into a crate or box, and let her rest, and stabilize.
Now, back to her crop issue. The contents only has two ways to go, down through the digestive system, which is preferable. Or, out through the mouth.

She may also have a pendulous crop, which will make her more prone to this condition, again. Many keepers use a crop bra on the chicken, to support her crop, and keep it emptying properly. Each morning you must, check the crop to be sure it has emptied during the night. Once she is pooping normally, you'll know she is digesting properly.

This is a deadly condition, if left untreated.

I hope I covered everything. By the way, I performed CPR on one of my hens last Summer, for this same situation, it saved her life.


Do your best, and monitor her through the night.

I pray all goes well. God Bless.
 
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Yay! Her crop emptied last night!

:hugs


Hello Allie,

Glad to hear your girl is better, this morning.

She may still be sleepy, off and on.

Don't be alarmed to see blood tinged poop, with water and white mucousy looking fluid..

Put some electrolytes in the water today. Feed her some scrambled eggs, cooked fresh or frozen vegies, and one diced grape or tiny bit of fruit to get her blood sugar up.

Avoid grains for the day to let her digestive system rest. Then, tomorrow you can start her on wet feed. It will take about three days to be sure she is recovered. But, you are the keeper...so use your own judgement as to how she is progressing, and what she can eat.

Also, check into a crop bra, if she has a pendulous crop.

You got this!
Congratulations, you have just completed the first course in crop drama 101! :yesss:

God Bless and peace to you.:)
 
Greetings Allie and PouleChick,

The best thing I ever did, besides prepping a chicken medical kit, was to start keeping a "Chicken Medical Diary".

Record illnesses and conditions, along with treatments. Organize it in alphabetical order, so that when you are frantic, you can find your notes easily.

You can't always depend on technology. We have many power outages here, so my books and notes, are precious to me.

God Bless and peace to you. :)
 

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