Easter egger weak with hard crop

[Tookie]

One people size tablet?

Yes.

Do you think I should put vinegar and water in her vent in case of infection? (From the rough-edged eggshell I had to help pull out?)

She should be fine without anything.

 

[Newchickgrandma]

here she is tonight. She is very sleepy and was eating and drinking better earlier today but not as well now. I'm just hoping she'll be better in the morning

 

[Tookie]

View attachment 3678145 here she is tonight. She is very sleepy and was eating and drinking better earlier today but not as well now. I'm just hoping she'll be better in the morning

Aw, poor girl.
I'll tag some knowledgeable people. @azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

 

[azygous]

Have you given her an antibiotic after the egg ruptured inside her? I fear she's in the process of checking out. Probably is suffering from a chronic reproductive infection. That, in turn, slows the crop function. It would explain her crop issues.

At this point, I would give her less than a 50% chance of pulling through this. But I always try everything possible on the chance it could turn the patient around. She is young, so she may surprise and beat this.

What do you have on hand in the way of antibiotics? If you don't have anything, call around to pet supplies and aquarium shops and ask for Aquamox. It's amoxicillin for fish but we use it for our chickens as no prescription is required. The dose is 250mg each day for seven to ten days.

To give her a boost, give her sugared water at one teaspoon to one cup water. Continue to offer any food she'll eat. Sometimes I find that a sick chicken will eat boiled rice with yogurt stirred in when nothing else appeals. Sometimes I stir in a raw egg into the rice. Poultry Nutri-drench can offer important nutrients that a sick chicken can really use. Get some if you can. Feed stores carry it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a little chicken less than 2 years old not doing well today. She barely moves, she's skinny, sometimes her comb looks purple. Her crop is a bit hard. She hasn't been laying eggs for a while now

She has has soft shelled eggs with the shell hanging halfway out of her vent, coccidiosis, heat stroke, and sometimes she just seems to starve herself. Plus recently she had an impacted crop. Her skin and feathers look clean, no observable bloating, eats mostly layer pellets.

Right now she seems to get weak once per week and takes a day or two to nurse back to health. She had a big soft shelled egg rupture inside her lately.

One people size tablet? Do you think I should put vinegar and water in her vent in case of infection? (From the rough-edged eggshell I had to help pull out?)

Your first post was in October, it's now almost a month later, did she improve at all within the last month? If so, what treatment(s) were given that you saw improvement.


She's getting weak once a week and it's taking 1-2days to get back to feeling better, does she expel a soft shelled egg or membrane, then starts feeling better?

I would not put vinegar and water in her vent, you risk pushing bacteria into the reproductive system.

I'd start giving extra calcium as suggested. If she's had a membrane rupture and you needed to help her expel it, then giving an antibiotic may be helpful to head off infection.

Weak a day, then taking a few to recover sounds like a reproductive problem. Unfortunately, these can be common in laying hens. Offering supportive care as you are doing is sometimes all you can do. Antibiotics as suggested are part of supportive care, calcium and vitamins may be helpful as well. Work on hydration and tempting her to eat.

 

[Newchickgrandma]

Thank you all. I'm so grateful for the help. These chickens are our pets and we care about each one. She had a shell-less intact egg last night and is doing much better today. I'm making some rice to mix with yogurt and 1 crushed citracal pill.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you all. I'm so grateful for the help. These chickens are our pets and we care about each one. She had a shell-less intact egg last night and is doing much better today. I'm making some rice to mix with yogurt and 1 crushed citracal pill.

OK, so she "improves/gets better" once she expels an egg, correct?

I'd definitely get Calcium into her and the antibiotic too. See if the shell quality improves and she's able to start expelling eggs more normally. The antibiotic can help with inflammation and infection.

The crop problem is very likely a symptom of whatever reproductive issue she's got going on, these things seem to go hand in hand.

Work on hydration, encourage her to eat her normal feed. Bits of egg, fish (tuna, sardines, mackerel) can be give to entice and add protein to her diet.

The Calcium pill can be given to her directly, that way you know she's getting all of it. Just pill down on her wattles and pop the pill right in, let her swallow it.

 

[Newchickgrandma]

OK, so she "improves/gets better" once she expels an egg, correct?

I'd definitely get Calcium into her and the antibiotic too. See if the shell quality improves and she's able to start expelling eggs more normally. The antibiotic can help with inflammation and infection.

The crop problem is very likely a symptom of whatever reproductive issue she's got going on, these things seem to go hand in hand.

Work on hydration, encourage her to eat her normal feed. Bits of egg, fish (tuna, sardines, mackerel) can be give to entice and add protein to her diet.

The Calcium pill can be given to her directly, that way you know she's getting all of it. Just pill down on her wattles and pop the pill right in, let her swallow it.

Correct