Clogged Up?

[micstrachan]

Hi, everyone. So my less than two-year-old buckeye has been feeling unwell on and off for a couple weeks. Some days she’s droopy and some days she’s perfectly fine. Some days she’s had really watery, milky urates and little solid poop. Other days she’s had some solid poop. At the same time, the pullets’ combs have been quite pale, so I wormed the whole flock and treated them for coccidiosis, considering multiple flock members seemed to be suffering. Mostly everyone seems to be doing better.

However, today, Minnie is really feeling unwell. I thought her crop was empty, so I treated her to raw, shelled sunflower seeds to entice her to eat and baby bird formula with a drizzle of nutridrench. She ate a good serving of formula on her own, but stood around not doing much. When she saw me filling the watering cans to water the tomato plants, she came over to drink from the hose. She drank and drank and drank. Filled her crop right up. After a little bit, she started perking up, and when she went to forage on greens, I saw her drool once, and when she would peck on the greens she suddenly lift her beak and make the swallowing motion. Pretty sure her crop was overflowing. Now I wish I hadn’t given her the sunflower seeds, but not much I can do on that front at this point.

I thought her crop was pretty empty when I got home, so I’m not freaking out just yet. Of course, I’ll check it first thing in the morning. But if she is clogged up and it’s not her crop, I’m thinking in the morning I’ll give her some baby bird formula loaded with coconut oil for starters.

At what point would I try stool softener?

 

[Smileybans]

I’m not sure about stool softener but you could try this. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/constipation-curing-thread.1459656/

 

[micstrachan]

Minnie was still in trouble this morning. Her crop had fluid in it, but I did not feel anything solid. It’s possible she drank in the morning, as they have access to the “sun room,” where I keep a 3-gallon waterer outside the building, but inside the secure area, in case something weird ever happens and they aren’t let out until the run. (You never know, since we are in the mountains and our roads have been closed due to mudslides, freeway accidents and fires.)

I offered baby bird formula loaded with coconut oil, but she didn’t eat it readily. Forced a couple mL with syringe, but don’t want to tube for fear of aspiration.

Pretty sure I felt a shelled egg in the works, so I gave her a calcium with D3 and brought her in for warmth. I left water, the baby bird formula and her regular layer feed, along with some granite grit. I saw her drinking.

I’ll run up the hill midday and see if there is an egg and/or any poop. Fingers crossed.

They are due for their second dose of wormer tomorrow.

 

[micstrachan]

I forgot to mention that when I felt Minnie's egg, I thought it was tiny. However, I had never felt an egg through the vent before, and thought it might just be the tip.

When I got home at lunchtime, I let Minnie out with the flock. She went straight for the nest box. Sure enough, when I just got home, I found a fairy egg. It has a significant meat spot in it and the shell is brittle.

Her crop is fluidy, but I'll check again in the morning and now assume this is secondary. She just approached me somewhat expectantly. I'm thinking of making her a baby bird formula treat with molasses and yogurt in it in case she is backed up in her digestive tract.

Thoughts? Minnie is walking around the yard better than last night, but I'm not sure she's consuming much. Her poop was watery and scant in her carrier at lunchtime.

Sadly, it's looking like the beginnings of a laying issue. However, if she had parasites, hopefully she'll get better. They get their second dose of valbazen tomorrow (except the two who just finished two weeks of enrofloxacin... not sure when to give them their first dose... their poor livers!)

Can some of my long-time mentors and BYC friends weigh in?

@azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

 

[micstrachan]

Minnie refused the baby bird formula with molasses and yogurt, but I was able to water it down and tube a little. She has fluid in her crop, so I was VERY conservative. She did one sneeze, so I stopped. She's actually walking around more perky just a couple short minutes afterward, but I'm sure that's just a coincidence. Unless the sugar in the molasses perked her up?

I really, really hope to find an empty crop in the morning.

I'm not sure what's going on with her laying. I fear a reproductive infection could be going around my flock. Is that possible? I read somewhere that can be the case with MG, but I would have to search again for the article.

It's also possible something like IB snuck in and damaged some shell glands, but I did have Bagheera tested for it and it was negative, along with Avian Flu.

 

[micstrachan]

This morning Minnie was still having trouble. It was the day for everyone’s seconds wormer dose, so I added hers to a concoction of baby bird formula with molasses and yogurt and tubed it.

When I got home after work, her body language was better, she was acting hungry and eating feed and she did a real poop. Fingers crossed and I’ll check her crop in the morning.

Urates are a bit yellow, but they aren’t liquidy and slimy like they’ve been!

 

[micstrachan]

Nobody ever commented, but I’m updating in case it helps someone else.

Minnie had another day where I saw one yucky, slimy poop, but overall is pooping and behaving normally again. I don’t know if the stuff I tubed helped, or if it’s a coincidence, but it did not seem to hurt. I don’t think she has laid since the fairy egg.

This morning’s poop (after someone stepped on it.) Poop itself looks good, but I don’t like the color of the urates. Not sure how well it shows in the photo, but they were almost pinkish.