EE hen lethargic, crop not emptying out UPDATE: Dead :(

[shopchicks]

I think my EE has an impacted crop, but it's not as large/hard as some I read about when studying up last night. Yesterday, I noticed that she was on the roost still when all the other girls had come out to the run for the morning. I assumed she was getting ready to lay an egg, so I went to work and didn't think about it. Last night, she was just standing in the corner of the coop, and seemed to be slightly panting - beak open a little big, and she was generally acting listless. I gave her a little bit of bread and another hen came and stole it, but then she ran over and stole it back, so she wasn't so sick that she had no interest in food. I picked her up and checked her over, and her crop was about the size of a golf ball - it feels sort of like a hackey sack filled with wet sand - like there is a lot of grit in there. I brought her inside and she quit the panting pretty quickly - it was about 90 outside and high 70's in the house. I gave her 4 ml of olive oil and massaged her crop about 3x last night and left her inside with water only. If she pooped last night, it was not much. Put her back in the coop when I closed it up for the night, and brought her back inside at 7:00 this morning and gave her 4 ml of red wine and massaged her crop and left her in a box with only water, then around 11:00 gave her about a tablespoon of plain yogurt. She didn't show immediate interest in that, and I haven't been back downstairs to see if she ate it or not.

Her eyes are clear, no nasal discharge, sneezing or anything - she seems alert, but very lethargic, and hasn't protested the doctoring, even though my hens aren't all that tame. Also, I've noticed that she is not laying down - she just stands in one place. She was literally standing up on the roost in the exact same place and position where I put her to bed last night. The crop is not hard - I can manipulate the contents, but it felt just as full this morning as it did last night. She hasn't layed an egg since last Saturday, but I can't remember any odd behavior before yesterday. She is a 6 month old EE, and normal weight. My other 5 girls are all healthy and acting sassy. I feet them Flock Raiser with free-choice oyster shell and granite grit, as well as scratch with lentils and sunflower seeds in it, and various kitchen scraps (greens, fruits, & bread mostly).

Is there anything else I need to check for or do for her? I'm planning to give more oil later today, and keep up with the crop massages, and no food at night to see if the crop empties. However, I have to be out of town Monday night through Thursday morning, so I'm a little worried about getting this resolved before then. DH would be less than thrilled if I asked him to give my chicken wine and massages while I'm out of town.

Darn it, I checked her at 7:00 and she seemed about the same. Just went out there and she was dead.

The rest of the flock seems perfectly healthy. I just can't figure out what might have happened to her.

 

[shopchicks]

Bump - she drank a bunch of water this afternoon, and that doesn't seem to be emptying out of her crop, either. I gave her a tablespoon of yogurt this afternoon, and she hasn't eaten any of it. I'm hesitant to give her any more oil or wine when her crop is so full of liquid, and I don't feel anything solid in there, just a few grains of grit. Would some molasses be appropriate? She passed some liquid and urate this morning, and this afternoon, some more liquid with a very small amount of blackish solids, but nothing since. I'm getting worried that she's not even processing the water she drank (she emptied a ramekin full and was looking for more...).

 

[DaniLovesChickens]

You need to make sure that she is getting protein, otherwise she could start to molt. I had a pullet just recently with an impacted crop. I made wet mash out of her feed and put oil in it. I was told to use mineral oil. It is thicker than cooking oil. Also, from what I understand, they don't absorb the mineral oil like they would olive oil or other cooking oils. Make sure to massage her crop well after giving her the oil.

It took almost about 4 -5 days of me putting 3cc oil down her throat 3 times a day plus small amounts of wet mash with oil. I have never heard to give a chicken wine. I would think that that would be dangerous. You can put apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon per gallon) in her water. That is supposed to provide the proper environment for the bacteria that you want to be in their crop.

In my situation, I am pretty sure that she just swallowed a stone that was too large to make it through. If that is the situation, then with some patience, this should work. Mine had liquidy droppings and very dark, smelly, hard droppings while going through all this.

Good luck. Hope I helped!!!

 

[shopchicks]

Thanks, a couple of the threads on here about impacted crop discussed giving wine as an alternative to ACV, and a few people were doing it with no ill effects. I had wondered about mineral oil, but didn't see any recommendations for that. I have some left from when my dog decided to eat garden twine. I don't know if I can get protein into her without force feeding her - she barely touched the yogurt I offered earlier.

 

[DaniLovesChickens]

I heard about the mineral oil from the head of the poultry section of our local 4H.

Mine wouldn't eat any yogurt either! I had hoped she would because it was soft, has protein and beneficial bacteria. Have you tried a little scrambled egg?

Mine wouldn't eat anything for a couple of days. Just keep trying.

Best of luck!!

 

[shopchicks]

Thanks, I gave her mineral oil once last night, and 2x so far today and massaged her crop, but she is still the same. I can only do two treatments before I leave town tomorrow, so I will just have to hope for the best! Of course she is my green egg layer, so I have a selfish reason for hoping she pulls through. She didn't eat any egg last night, but I will whirl some up with some yogurt and water and see if she's interested in a little "protein shake".

 

[DaniLovesChickens]

So sorry!! I don't know what could have been wrong with her.

The rest of your hens are still ok, right? Sometimes that's all we can do is comfort ourselves with whatever postive things that there are in a given situation.

Again, so sorry.

 

[shopchicks]

Yes, the others are just as healthy and sassy as ever, so at least it doesn't appear to be anything contagious. I think she might have had a blockage lower down or was eggbound, in which case there was really nothing that could be done. I couldn't quite bring myself to do an autopsy, so there's no way to know.

 

[Sylvia Moon]

I am so sorry- I lost 2 young very healthy hens in the past 24 hours- no visible cause- they were on my neighbors lawn, though, and perhaps found something toxic there, she has a lot of yard crew. Why do the chickens cross the road???? It isn't a good idea.

Miss them. I know how you feel, sorry!!!