Drooling hen/Please advice

[JoEllen E]

Just went to lock up flock for night and noticed one hen with a large amount of clear fluid coming from beak. Here are the details:
1) affected hen is a 10 month old white leghorn
2) recovering from minor frostbite on comb (have been massaging and applying bacitracin to comb twice daily). noticed a limp after the cold weather without any sign of injury, which appears to be improving. Tonight, she was found on her roost with a large amount of clear fluid coming from her beak. She just started drooling now from what I can see and was acting normal earlier tonight. The limp and frost bite have been improving since the weekend. Sudden increase in temperature here, was -25 with windchill this past weekend and 50 degrees today.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? No
5) no injury noted
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. -no
7) She seemed to be drinking more than normal before roosting for the night
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. -unsure
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? -nothing
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? -
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use. -grass hay, coop clean shavings. large area and only 6 hens.

Thank you for your help.

 

[micstrachan]

Could be an impacted and/or sour crop. Check if it’s empty in the morning. Doubt it will be. Tagging @azygous, who I think is an authority on crop issues. I know some of the treatments, but not sure if it’s better to check crop in the morning first before treating.
A few more people who can offer better advice:
@casportpony @Eggcessive @rebrascora @Wyorp Rock

 

[micstrachan]

Also, I just realized this was your first post. Welcome to BYC! Hold tight. I am confident you will receive help here.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @JoEllen E Welcome To BYC

How is your pullet doing?
Since she was going to bed (roost) last night, it could be that she just ate/drank too much and the water was just overflowing. Check her crop this a.m. to see if it's still full.

If the crop has not emptied overnight, then you will need to investigate crop issues.

I have a White Leghorn and she eats a lot - always goes to bed with a very full crop - I watch her carefully and check her several times a week to see that the crop has emptied overnight. Little bird, but big appetite.

Keep us posted.

 

[JoEllen E]

Thank you so much for everyone’s responses. She appeared to be 100% fine today. I checked her crop which seemed fine. She’s eating, drinking, laying and pooping normally. There was a little more diarrhea I found in the coop this morning which seemed like it was from more than one hen. I wonder if something I gave them yesterday upset them a little bit and that maybe she drank too much and was full since she is small. I got nervous once I started googling the symptoms. I will keep a close eye on her though and keep everyone posted. Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you so much for everyone’s responses. She appeared to be 100% fine today. I checked her crop which seemed fine. She’s eating, drinking, laying and pooping normally. There was a little more diarrhea I found in the coop this morning which seemed like it was from more than one hen. I wonder if something I gave them yesterday upset them a little bit and that maybe she drank too much and was full since she is small. I got nervous once I started googling the symptoms. I will keep a close eye on her though and keep everyone posted. Thank you!

Glad to hear she is doing fine today!
I would check her for a couple of more days - feel the crop at night, it should be full, then first thing in the morning before she eats/drinks - it should be empty.

Please do let us know how she does or if you see anything else that concerns you.

We can all get nervous if we google too much

 

[JoEllen E]

I’ve been checking on Stella frequently. Her crop does appear to still be full and hard in the morning. Smaller than a golf ball size. I compared her to the other leghorn, who’s crop was soft and small/empty. She’s still pooping normally but not coming for treats. She’s also staying behind the flock and keeping to herself a bit more. I opened her beak and did not smell anything sour. I don’t have a great place to isolate her since my basement is quite warm compared to what she has acclimated to this winter. I appreciate your suggestions.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Her crop does appear to still be full and hard in the morning.

She will do best if she remains with the flock unless she becomes lethargic or really sick.
With cold weather it's tricky to move them out of the flock anyway - I agree, re-acclimating would be difficult. If you feel she needs separated out a little and your coop has room, a small dog kennel works well. Each bird is an individual, large docile girls most of the time tolerate a cage, but unless she's calm (what leghorn is), caging may be very stressful for her. You may find that if you need to treat her, bedtime (roosting time) may be the easiest if she is not used to being handled much.

I would see that she is drinking plenty of water you may want to just give her soft foods (wet mash, hard boiled egg, baby food) for a few days, massage the crop to see if you can get that ball to loosen. Dulcolax is sometimes useful in helping breaking down material in the crop as well - here's one of the best articles I know of about crops.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

 

[JoEllen E]

This article is very helpful. I’ll try some soft foods and massage first. If it doesn’t help, I’ll try the dulcolax next. Thanks!

 

[JoEllen E]

Ok so I am not definitely dealing with soup crop. Tried massage for a couple of days and dulcolax yesterday. She wouldn’t eat baby food. Vet? I can get my hands on nyststin if needed. She’s more lethargic today. Ugh. Thanks again