Crop motility ideas?

[cate1124]

Greetings, all. I am working with an excellent poultry vet, but we are stumped on what is troubling my 6-year-old speckled Sussex, Ev. Her crop is sluggish, though neither sour nor impacted. If you just feel it, it seems like the normal crop of a hen who is eating, but she is not, or only very little. She approaches food, smacks her beak and declines, which to me indicates nausea. Vet did a complete exam yesterday and found nothing to indicate cancer, reproductive issues (she has been out of production for more than two years), heart or kidney problems. Liver is a little harder to say, though she has no ascites.

Ev has a history of labored breathing/mild rales and reduced activity since she turned 4, the same time she entirely quit laying. Her comb has since been small and bluish, indicating poor oxygenation. We hypothesize these are residual symptoms from mycoplasma infection as a chick; they may flare in spring with hormones. Last year I tried Clavamox and doxycycline with no significant improvement to her breathing. Now we have the additional concerns of sluggish crop, increased lethargy and inappetence. Yesterday my vet gave her a shot of tetracycline and also a 1/2 tab meloxicam. Ev ate just slightly better this morning and is drinking more (water has Nutridrench or ACV), but continues to be lethargic and off-feed. So I don't think we're getting at the root problem.

Last year, on advice given here, I started giving her crop massages and probiotics. Her comb reddened and plumped, and her breathing and activity improved; it was remarkable how much better she was! I'm sure this holds a diagnostic clue, but I can't interpret it, and those measures are not helping this year. Being off feed, she is not tempted by scrambled egg and coconut oil.

Any ideas of what might be behind her malaise? And thoughts about helpful measures, especially around crop motility? My vet returns tomorrow.

 

[azygous]

Did the vet do some imaging to detect any cancer tumors? How did they rule out cancer?

My instinct on this hen's issues hint at an avian virus, lymphoid leucosis to be precise. I have it in my flock so I have had a lot of experience with it.

It causes tiny tumors on organs until the tumors become so pervasive that organs begin to shut down. Tumors on the heart will affect breathing and you will hear rales. The comb and wattles will be dusky purple. Liver will be enlarged with many tiny tumors, but may not cause ascites. Appetite fails and the crop slows. Antibiotics do not have any effect.

Your vet may be able to take a blood sample and send it off for a Serologic antigen test for lymphoid leucosis. Otherwise, you may need to wait until the hen dies and then have a necropsy done.

Testing will not lead to a cure, unfortunately, but you would have confirmation if leucosis is in your flock.

 

[cate1124]

Did the vet do some imaging to detect any cancer tumors? How did they rule out cancer?

My instinct on this hen's issues hint at an avian virus, lymphoid leucosis to be precise. I have it in my flock so I have had a lot of experience with it.

It causes tiny tumors on organs until the tumors become so pervasive that organs begin to shut down. Tumors on the heart will affect breathing and you will hear rales. The comb and wattles will be dusky purple. Liver will be enlarged with many tiny tumors, but may not cause ascites. Appetite fails and the crop slows. Antibiotics do not have any effect.

Your vet may be able to take a blood sample and send it off for a Serologic antigen test for lymphoid leucosis. Otherwise, you may need to wait until the hen dies and then have a necropsy done.

Testing will not lead to a cure, unfortunately, but you would have confirmation if leucosis is in your flock.

Worth exploring, though these were chicks from Cackle Hatchery, which should be ALV-free. Plus, 4, 5, 6 seems a little old to be manifesting symptoms.

She is a mobile vet, so no imaging was done; it was an internal exam/palpation; she has told me tumors have to be pretty large to be palpated. I will talk with her about your theory tomorrow. I am down to four hens, including one who is 11 and pretty hobbled, and these are my last girls. The two other surviving 6-year-olds seem fine, but bloodwork may be worth it to spare Ev needless stressful treatments. I don't understand why she improved last year with crop massages and probiotics; maybe it is just disease progression. For now, her weight and body condition remain good, despite inappetence.

I did lose a sweet 5-year-old last year though -- she was a chick with Ev --when an egg in transit ruptured inside her. My vet did a necropsy, and while she considered the egg rupture the proximate cause of death, she said Toi's liver was very small and mushy, that she was surprised it was functioning enough to sustain her. She didn't have ascites either; perhaps this would support your hypothesis. Thank you so much.