Emergency! My hen is dying! (Possible sour crop??)

[chickenlady08]

Quote:
how long has she been on the ACV/water? She needs to not have food and as Minniechickmomma wrote it may be better to withhold food for longer than the 1 day. She needs to be able to empty her crop so that the food that is still in there wont sour and ferment.

Really I know it seem horrible to not feed her but it could very well save her. So don't give her food for now.

Lisa

 

[Miss Lydia]

You also have to be very careful when putting water or food into their mouths as to not get it into the lungs. Very dangerous for a chicken.

 

[MikasGirl]

Quote:
how long has she been on the ACV/water? She needs to not have food and as Minniechickmomma wrote it may be better to withhold food for longer than the 1 day. She needs to be able to empty her crop so that the food that is still in there wont sour and ferment.

Really I know it seem horrible to not feed her but it could very well save her. So don't give her food for now.

Lisa

My mom freaks out when I tell her I shouldn't be feeding her food yet, she's worried Chixsie will starve. I don't know what to do.. She just started on the ACV yesterday. Today when I was doing chicken dishes, she hopped out of her cage and went looking around for food trying to eat anything she could find.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Cassidy,
Keep her locked up and make sure you get her cleared out before she eats anything.
Tell your mom not to worry, it would take a chicken a while to starve, a couple of days is NOT going to hurt her. Don't force ANYTHING with a syringe, just put it in for her and let her drink or eat on her own. She knows when she is thirsty, and she will be hungry enough that she will try to lick the dish clean for her yogurt, they LOVE it.
Tell your mom to come on here if she is worried and we can set her worries to rest.
Go back and read what I and the others said and BE PATIENT! I know it is hard, but you will be helping her more if you are. I know, they get agitated in their cage when you aren't feeding them, but she will be okay.

 

[ZooMummzy]

All good advice. I killed one of my chickens by forcing liquid into them. She aspirated in my arms. It was a total accident, I thought I knew what I was doing and was going slow enough but I wasn't. It was heartbreaking. Now, I only dribble on the side of the beak when needed (meds, etc) and allow them to decide the rest. I agree with the eating too. I've had sick hens go for a couple weeks without eating and come back perfectly fine. I have one now. She went blind when I as out of town for a week and she wouldn't eat for almost 10 days. She is a little OEGB, only weighing a pound naturally, so I was scared to death. Now, she is a fat little thing again and doing great. It's very hard to just watch but they will be ok.

 

[chickenlady08]

Quote:
how long has she been on the ACV/water? She needs to not have food and as Minniechickmomma wrote it may be better to withhold food for longer than the 1 day. She needs to be able to empty her crop so that the food that is still in there wont sour and ferment.

Really I know it seem horrible to not feed her but it could very well save her. So don't give her food for now.

Lisa

My mom freaks out when I tell her I shouldn't be feeding her food yet, she's worried Chixsie will starve. I don't know what to do.. She just started on the ACV yesterday. Today when I was doing chicken dishes, she hopped out of her cage and went looking around for food trying to eat anything she could find.

I know it is hard not to feed them but if you keep feeding her then she is only going to get worse and my not make it. I will be honest that this summer when my little CO chicks got sour crop I started the ACV/water on day 1. day 2 ACV/water and yogurt, day 3 ACV/water and scrambled egg, and yogurt. And they were doing so well I cheated and gave them some chick food. Big mistake cause I then had to start all over cause they bloated right back up. So now I know not to give food to early.

Believe me I am a Mom as well not just to my son and daughter but to my chickens and geese and ducks. And it worried me alot not to give them food but it is only for a short time and if all goes right she will be better and eating all she wants.

So tell Mom to stay strong and you do the same and keep on taking it slow with Chixse and give her crop time to balance out.

Lisa

 

[MikasGirl]

Quote:
Great.. Well, all of the sudden her crop feels kind of hard. How do I flush with oil? Should I? And what kind should I use if I do?

 

[MikasGirl]

Her crop seems fine, but she won't eat. I don't know what to do..

 

[chickpuffs]

I'm praying for you and your hen. There's lots of good advice from sympathetic people coming your way. I'm new to chix, so have no wisdom to give on this problem, but know what it's like to be caring for a beloved, sick bird. I took mine to a bird vet when she needed surgery for a prolapsed vent. Quite different than your issue, but the trip to the vet- though scorned by some, was entirely worthwhile. please be sure to keep us posted on her progress.

 

[linda_zeagler31002]

Do you have access to a dose of Tylan, you need to give her a shot of Tylan