EMERGENCY Impacted crop, starving, can’t go to vet

[MysteryChicken]

We do have coconut oil. How much should I give her (mL)? I can continue massaging as well. That’s good to know.

As much as you want. It won't hurt, as long as the blockage gets cleared.

 

[HollyBerrie]

Ok, thank you, this is encouraging me to keep up with the massages. I will give her some coconut oil too, to see if that helps at all. For how long did you massage at a time?

Trying to remember, maybe 10 minuets. I remember that each time I would work with the crop until it was softer, and then work it after that for a few minuets. At first when you start to massage (squeeze is what I really did) it won't seem like you're getting anywhere, but I kept it up.

 

[Ascholten]

There are some youtube videos on crop issues, how to clear a crop, ie get them to vomit the mess up. It might help in your case, to get that all out of there, so you can at least get some nutrient fluids down and the unsouring to begin.

if you do other searches on the internet, there are other articles, video's all over that may help you with the issue as well.

Aaron

 

[Chicken❤️er]

As much as you want. It won't hurt, as long as the blockage gets cleared.

So it turns out we don’t have coconut oil, but have canola and mineral oil. Is there one of these that works best?

 

[Chicken❤️er]

Also, I’ve been syringing water to give her fluids. Does that work, will it go through the crop? And how much should I give how often? I don’t want to overwhelm her

 

[MysteryChicken]

Also, I’ve been syringing water to give her fluids. Does that work, will it go through the crop? And how much should I give how often? I don’t want to overwhelm her

Water will slip through.

 

[Eggcessive]

Mineral oil is good, but mix with a little egg or be very careful to give it slowly and a drop at a time, up to 5 ml. You don’t want to make her vomit, since that can cause her to choke to death. Give her fluids and if your mom can bring home a red rubber catheter or a feeding tube 14or 16 French, and a couple of large syringes to fit, those are great for tube feeding. Give water with electrolytes or SaveAchick electrolytes and vitamins. Egg, plain yogurt, and very watery chicken feed will go through a feeding tube. Here is a good thread and a video of tube feeding:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/go-team-tube-feeding-updated-12-29-2019.805728/

 

[MysteryChicken]

So it turns out we don’t have coconut oil, but have canola and mineral oil. Is there one of these that works best?

I'm not sure.

 

[NatJ]

If you're looking for liquid food (so some nutrients can make it past the crop blockage), maybe try raw egg yolk. It's liquid and nutrient-dense, and we know it's got everything a baby chick needs for the first few days of life. (So if it's perfect for a chick, it should be fairly good for a chicken of any age.)

 

[Chicken❤️er]

Ok, so in the last 30 min I gave her 10 mL of mineral oil, 10 mL of water, and then 10 mL of egg yolk, with a bit of water to flush it down. I also gave her a very thorough crop massage with both massaging and squeezing, a bit upward and also downward. The crop still has that squishy-doughy-grainy consistency, but I don’t really feel any fibrous or hard pieces in there. It’s difficult to tell. Thank you though for the brilliant egg yolk idea!