Constipated? Chicken with possible impaction in gizzard

[ChickenMamaLissa]

@azygous there’s very little change this morning. I gave her a calcium again this morning and checked her crop. It was empty.
She’s eating and drinking happily.
What are the risks of treating her with antibiotics for potential bacterial infections like those mentioned by @Razzlefrazzle?

 

[azygous]

It would serve this thread best to redefine the problem as you perceive it to be at this moment.

First, what is her behavior? You say she's eating well. Is she active and vocal? Or is she hunched and fluffed up with her tail down?

What is her poop like over night? Can you post a photo of her most recent poop?

Since her crop was empty this morning, we can rule out a crop issue. This also indicates things are moving well through her digestive tract, including the gizzard. So, it's doubtful she has a constipation issue.

So, as you see and observe her this morning, what would you describe her problems as being?

 

[aart]

If her crop emptied overnight.....

What is her poop like over night?

 

[ChickenMamaLissa]

She is still quite lethargic. She’s very fluffed and keeps her head tucked and eyes closed unless she’s eating or drinking. She’s still standing like a penguin with her tail down, and her wings drooped though sometimes she squats back onto her hocks. She’s not very vocal, but right now she can hear her flock mates singing so she’s making little chirps.

Her poop is very heavy on the white urate but has solidified considerably since Monday and yesterday when it was largely liquid. See picture:

The inside is quite dry and crumbly.

I honestly don’t know how to redefine the problem. I’m at a total loss. I’m about to give her another 600mg calcium pill and that will make 1800mg in a span of 18 hours. I’ve kept part of her cage dark all day in the hopes that she would lay any bound egg.

Her belly is not an abnormal temperature; as in, it’s not hot to the touch. She’s breathing heavily because I can see her saddle feathers move as she breathes. Her vent looks swollen and distended but not red. See pic:

She good use a good wipe but this is how it looks with the discharge.

She bends way down to eat. She keeps her tail down the whole time.

 

[ChickenMamaLissa]

If her crop emptied overnight.....

See pictures above. This is roughly how I found her poop to look this morning

 

[azygous]

it still sounds to me like egg binding. How much fluid is she drinking? She's very likely dehydrated at this point and could use tubing of liquids. Are you set up to do that? She needs a good half cup of water with sugar in it to elevate her glucose. She's losing strength, and probably isn't drinking enough water. This in turn makes it that much more difficult to get an obstruction cleared with her tissues drying out.

 

[ChickenMamaLissa]

it still sounds to me like egg binding. How much fluid is she drinking? She's very likely dehydrated at this point and could use tubing of liquids. Are you set up to do that? She needs a good half cup of water with sugar in it to elevate her glucose. She's losing strength, and probably isn't drinking enough water. This in turn makes it that much more difficult to get an obstruction cleared with her tissues drying out.

How much sugar?

 

[azygous]

Half a teaspoon to half a cup water.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

All the urates in her poop are from the extra calcium which her kidneys must get rid of... I'd take it easy on the calcium supplements and make sure she gets plenty of water.

 

[ChickenMamaLissa]

She’s always been a head shaker, I think from anxiety but she’s doing it a lot lot more. As in every few seconds, head shake. Is it discomfort?