Diarrhea: Mucousy, Green, White, Yellow and Lethargy in 2 yo Hen

[MrsAuberry00]

***UPDATE IN COMMENTS***
I'm about to throw in the towel. Bear with me...in Spring 2017, I acquired three pullets. Of the three, one developed chronic diarrhea beginning approximately May 2018 and I tried everything but she died November 2018. A second started having diarrhea in maybe Feb/March and again, I tried everything but she died May 2019. I scrubbed the coop inside and out from top to bottom and sanitized everything. Now the last of the three has diarrhea that has mucus in it and is primarily yellowish green in color. It is literally running from her vent and dangling from her backside.

The past three days or so, she has been much less active and primarily stands in one place for long periods before our rooster convinces her to move elsewhere where she'll continue just standing. I have seen her eating, her comb and wattles are still bright red and her eyes are clear. This morning, she wouldn't even jump off the roost and I had to pick her up and place her on the ground. She didn't even try to shy away like she normally does. Also, other than a tiny fart egg at the end of last month, she has not laid since approximately March or April.

We just integrated four new pullets into the flock, (after the diarrhea had already begun...it stopped for a few days before resuming,) and I now have the challenges of newbies flocking up in addition to "Diarrhea Diana," (she's actually called Edith but I'm trying to find a tiny bit of humor in an otherwise humorless situation.)

I am exhausted and defeated. I've told my husband to cull her as I can't see allowing her to continue as she is. He seems to want to try a little longer, so here I am. I've given her electrolytes this morning, but I am now at work until 6:30 this evening so I need suggestions on what else to try that I haven't tried with the others, (I've done electrolytes, yogurt, antibiotics, prayer, deals with the devil, tearing my hair out, crying hysterically...none of those prevented the death of the first two.)

Help.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your losses. Have you ever gotten a necropsy on the body of one of your dead chickens? Have you taken in any droppings to get a diagnosis of worms, coccidiosis, or enteritis by a vet? It would be hard to say what was wrong with those 3 pullets without some type of lab or diagnostic procedure or necropsy. Anything from Mareks, intestinal infection, or reproductive disorders might be possible. I think that I would refrigerate the body of this one, and contact Purdue or your state vet ro get a necropsy done. Mentinon that you are a backyard owner which may give a better price, ask for a shipping label, and the body must be delivered or shipped overnight via Fedex or UPS on M-F. If you can wait until next Monday morning to put her down, that would be best. Here is a link to contacting your state vet:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[Eggcessive]

After reading a few of your other threads, it looks like you might have lost a couple to predators, so you may not have had the chance to get necropsies. I really would try with this hen. It can be expensive in some states and very cheap in others, so relay as much info as you can and ask for financial help when calling. I had always heard Ohio had charged $100 for a necropsy, only to find out it is $23 for a backyard chicken, when the body is brought to them.

 

[MrsAuberry00]

Thank you for the information. My husband called and told me he washed her bum thoroughly and she's been given more electrolytes. I'm not sure anything is going to help at this point, but at any rate, she's not being culled yet. I hate to keep trying in vain, especially if she's suffering and we all know chickens won't show their illness or injuries are bothering them. I can't even think of what else to say right now.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can try offering her some cottage cheese or a little cooked rice (never uncooked) with a little buttermilk. Those can give probiotics and also firm up droppings. Cooked egg is also a good food to offer her.

 

[MrsAuberry00]

I isolated her in our infirmary crate and kept her in the garage (with ventilation) last night. I observed her for hours and even after I left the garage, I stayed up researching until after 2:00. This morning she was unchanged when I moved the crate outside. I determined she had SOUR CROP and I researched how to treat it. As I was massaging her crop, I could hear the contents begin to gurgle and it started to empty. The smell was terrible and all was going well until what appeared to be a bean, but was maybe a peanut chunk from their scratch treats, (given sparingly,) popped out. I lifted her back up to give her a break. More contents started to come out of her mouth so I quickly angled her head down again at which point she began flailing wildly. Things went downhill very quickly after that. I believe she more than likely aspirated or something in her crop lodged and she was unable to get it out or breathe. Either way, she passed and now I feel HORRIBLE. My first case of sour crop in the entire 2+ years I've been keeping chickens, and I kill her accidentally. HORRIBLE

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. You are not the first person to lose a chicken to aspiration of crop contents. Making a chicken vomit is dangerous, and choking is always a risk. Whenever a crop is sour, puffy and full of liquid, massaging or making them vomit should be avoided. Sometimes we can even just pick up a chicken and accidentally squeeze the crop, cauing choking. I have done this myself, but the chicken survived. Don’t beat yourself up—you were trying to help. But you should try to do a necropsy yourself or refrigerate, don’t freeze the body, and take it to your state vet for a necropsy. If you do it yourself, open the abdomen and take pictures of the major organs to post here for any opinions. It is the best way to locate a cause. A sour crop may be secondary to another major illness, such as reproductive infection, ascites or yellow fluid inside the belly, and cancer.

 

[MrsAuberry00]

A sour crop may be secondary to another major illness, such as reproductive infection, ascites or yellow fluid inside the belly, and cancer.

I'm fairly certain there was an underlying illness. Her last few days of stools contained a lot of purely yellow liquid and she hadn't laid any eggs in 4 or 5 months, (except for a tiny fart egg.) NOWHERE in all the articles I read or videos I watched did it say to avoid trying to drain the crop, only how to do it. I've learned my lesson the very hard way and feel like such an incompetent dummy. All I can do now is study up on how to prevent it from happening to the rest of my flock. I still can't believe how incredibly stupid and guilty I feel.

 

[MrsAuberry00]

Okay, NOW I find all these articles on here saying don't try to make your chicken vomit. Definitely a life..and death..lesson.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is another good crop thread from a BYC member:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/