My daughter has a 6 yr old silkie hen as a companion animal.
Hen sleeps in the bedroom cage but spends the day (when not in my daughter's arms) with other bantams in a chicken tractor. My hypothesis is she got an impacted crop from eating long grass (but other illness could be possible.) Hen is slightly thin but she just finished raising a brood of chicks. Her abdomen feels normal.
Couple days ago:
Night: When big hard crop was noticed, we took away feed at night. Hen was not happy about this.
Day 1: Crop did not empty by morning. Daughter gave hen some oil soaked bread.
Later that day I massaged lump & could feel scratch grains- maybe. Lump softened only a little.
Hen layed an egg mid day. She vocal and cries for food and attention
That night I gave hen about 1 tsp of coconut oil. She was hungry and gobbled it up straight. I massaged for about 10 min and felt it soften.
Day 2: Yesterday morning crop may have reduced slightly. I gave more coconut oil (this time had to chill and put it in her beak). Another massage which loosened things but no decrease in size. Repeated massage at noon, afternoon, and night. Her pooping decreased as day went on and changed to squirting oily liquid by this morning. I was worried about no food intake. Last night I offered a hard boiled quail egg. Barely ate any. I soaked chick feed to make mush - she gobbled. I took food away after a min. because she was eating so fast.
Day 3: Today: The crop feels doughy. I can still feel hard bits like grain or sand sitting at bottom. I mixed the contents of 1 stool softener gel cap with 1 tsp of mushy wet feed. Hen won't touch it. There is no sour odor but the feel is different. It's not only large and soft --- it's like kneading soft dough. This hen not eating the mushy feed makes me nervous. I worry that impacted crop is changing to sour crop. This is a very spoiled and special silkie.
Any advice on next steps?
Do I keep trying the oil and massages? (Perhaps I'm not doing it frequently enough) Any tricks to getting the oil into the hen?
Do I force the stool softener?
Do I allow hen to eat? If so what?
Should I give miconazole nitrate cream?.... or do I wait until things are moving?
Should I give dewormer or Corid in case it's something else?
Hen sleeps in the bedroom cage but spends the day (when not in my daughter's arms) with other bantams in a chicken tractor. My hypothesis is she got an impacted crop from eating long grass (but other illness could be possible.) Hen is slightly thin but she just finished raising a brood of chicks. Her abdomen feels normal.
Couple days ago:
Night: When big hard crop was noticed, we took away feed at night. Hen was not happy about this.
Day 1: Crop did not empty by morning. Daughter gave hen some oil soaked bread.
Later that day I massaged lump & could feel scratch grains- maybe. Lump softened only a little.
Hen layed an egg mid day. She vocal and cries for food and attention
That night I gave hen about 1 tsp of coconut oil. She was hungry and gobbled it up straight. I massaged for about 10 min and felt it soften.
Day 2: Yesterday morning crop may have reduced slightly. I gave more coconut oil (this time had to chill and put it in her beak). Another massage which loosened things but no decrease in size. Repeated massage at noon, afternoon, and night. Her pooping decreased as day went on and changed to squirting oily liquid by this morning. I was worried about no food intake. Last night I offered a hard boiled quail egg. Barely ate any. I soaked chick feed to make mush - she gobbled. I took food away after a min. because she was eating so fast.
Day 3: Today: The crop feels doughy. I can still feel hard bits like grain or sand sitting at bottom. I mixed the contents of 1 stool softener gel cap with 1 tsp of mushy wet feed. Hen won't touch it. There is no sour odor but the feel is different. It's not only large and soft --- it's like kneading soft dough. This hen not eating the mushy feed makes me nervous. I worry that impacted crop is changing to sour crop. This is a very spoiled and special silkie.
Any advice on next steps?
Do I keep trying the oil and massages? (Perhaps I'm not doing it frequently enough) Any tricks to getting the oil into the hen?
Do I force the stool softener?
Do I allow hen to eat? If so what?
Should I give miconazole nitrate cream?.... or do I wait until things are moving?
Should I give dewormer or Corid in case it's something else?
