constipated hen

[chickenmanChad]

hey please help. I have a koekoek hen and I suspect that she has eaten too many stones and is constipated. She wont eat or drink?????

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

Do you have any more info? Is there a hard lump on the left side of her chest (crop)? Is she lethargic? How long as she not been eating/drinking? Is this happening to anyone else in your flock? I can't really help if all the info you have is that she won't eat or drink.

~~Ms.B

 

[chickenmanChad]

Well she has a small amount of food in her crop that has stayed the same size for about a week now. She hasn't been eating for a week now

 

[daoustaj]

Try sewrching making a chickenvthrow up. I think if they got a blocken crop, you can hold them upside down and gently massage the crop toward the mouth.

 

[sumi]

Have a look at this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/449143/impacted-crop

There is some more links in there and some tips and cures and advice. I hope you can help her. A week is a long time and that hen is going to die if she doesn't get better soon. Good luck!

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

Try sewrching making a chickenvthrow up. I think if they got a blocken crop, you can hold them upside down and gently massage the crop toward the mouth.

Be careful with this. You could very easily get fluid in the lungs and just make it worse, and it's usually not necessary unless they have sour crop.

It sounds like an impacted crop, which they can get when they try to eat pieces of grass that are too big. The grass blocks up the crop, so nothing can get through. Eventually the contents of the crop with start to ferment inside her. Hopefully it's not quite to this point yet, and it should be pretty easy to take care of.

Try to hold open her beak (you might need another person to help you) and smell her breath. Does it smell sour or fermented?

If she refuses to eat I would try to force feed her some olive oil, then massage her crop. Just make gentle, circling motions moving downward to try to move the impaction out. If you can get her to eat, a little bread thoroughly soaked in olive oil works better, and with less risk of getting olive oil in her airways. I would do some research on how to force feed liquids correctly, and I'll see if I can find any links for you.

Try the olive oil massage a couple times a day, for a couple days and see if it makes a difference. If it's working you will feel the blockage moving, and the crop will become soft and pliable instead of hard. Once you get the blockage out, she may or may not want to eat or drink. Withhold solid foods from her, and give her healthy, probiotic and nutrient rich foods. Crumble broth (I do about 3 parts warm water, one part crumbles, but you can alter that. Like, if she's more willing to drink add more water.), yogurt (homemade is best, or something organic and not very processed, because you want all the good bacteria. Only give her PLAIN yogurt, she really doesn't need all the sugar from flavored yogurt), water with a crushed probiotic tablet, ACV, etc. If she doesn't want to eat or drink, you may have to force feed her a little, just to make sure she won't die of starvation. Try to find something she shows enthusiasm for. Some chickens refuse scrambled eggs, others love it. Some love oatmeal, others hate it. Try to find something she WANTS to eat, and make it as easy for her to eat as possible.

Also, now's a good time to check her for other problems, mites and lice especially.

Here's another link that might help: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...w-impacted-crop-how-to-get-olive-oil-down-her

Good luck!

 

[chickenmanChad]

thanks for all your help. it happend to another hen aswel and they both died about two weeks ago. they died before I could read your replies due to internet service being down. But thanx for your help anyway.im soo greatful for all of your help.