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

[CoopCrazy]

Quote:
Right now you really dont have to worry about feeding her .. Force feeding can kill a bird the can aspirate or drown.. I would be keeping her a in a dark, warm, quiet box for now with access to food and water.. If yu can get some veg or olivee oil mixed into her food then if she is impacted that can help to break it up .. But truly keeping her warm and quiet is key.. The few birds i have fussed over have all died i think it stresses them more by having some one messing with them constantly compared to letting them try to work thru whatever is ailing them .,.

 

[MikasGirl]

My mom said she was trying to drink water, so I moved the waterer nearer to her "level". I know she isn't eating.. Agh.. I'm not handling this well.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am so sorry your going through this, theres alot of good advise on here for you. I hope it helps.

 

[silkieroo]

I would do a search on here for sour crop or blocked crop... Thats what immediatly came in to my mind when you mentioned her symptoms! My girl (who has since died) had a sour crop and you just described her symptoms!

 

[Judy]

She needs water a lot worse than food. Just as people die of thirst in a few days without water but can go a month or so without food.

Sounds like sour crop to me if she smells like vomit. Under Index (top of page) on the FAQ page there are several threads about sour crop, which is what this sounds like to me. At least it would tell you what foods are best to offer her right now. I know there are ways to deal with this with giving certain foods or liquids but I don't know what they are. If she is drinking and standing that should be a good sign.

Some people do things like massage or even make them vomit; I'm not saying you need to go that far. Up to you what you do or don't do anyway. But it would be good to know what to offer her. Should be things you could offer in liquid form.

 

[MikasGirl]

I think you all may be right.. it sounds like sour crop.. How should I fix this? Sometimes, when I pick her up, she vomits, and sometimes when she leans forward, with her head pointing down, she vomits. Should I be having her vomit?

 

[MikasGirl]

I think I'm going to massage her crop and make her vomit a little bit..


Edited to add:

I made her vomit. It was the saddest, smelliest, grossest thing I've ever dealt with. At first it was really liquidy stuff that came out, then it was like a sludge. I took a picture, yes, it's gross, but I'm hoping that I was supposed to do this. She threw up quite a bit, so I decided, now that her crop feels almost empty, to let her rest for a little bit before attempting to get the last of it out. Oh, I was noticing that she kept trying to swallow down the vomit. And she sometimes tilts her head at a weird angle (see picture). I really appreciate everyone's help, it means so much to me and my mom.

Thank you so much

The darker stuff in the middle is the sludge/thicker stuff

 

[Minniechickmama]

Mikasgirl
Take your girl by the legs and turn her upside down where the vomit won't make a mess or the mess won't matter. Turn her with her back toward your legs and her abdomen away from you. Gently massage her crop while you do this. You may have to do it a few times (massaging the crop clean, that is). Make sure she is head down the whole time. Don't bring her up until all the gunk stop running out. You may need to do this a 2 or 3 times a day for a couple of days. In between get either some Olive oil, or mineral oil or dissolved epsom salts in her, like someone else mentioned. If there is a small blockage, then it shouldn't take much. She doesn't look like she has an impacted crop, so maybe it is something small enough to pass through.
I had 2 Welsummers that got sour crop, and one ended up getting impacted and I did surgery.
You need to get as much of the gunk out as you can because anything left in there that is sour is going to ferment and just keep bloating up her crop and reproducing more gunk for you and her to deal with.
I would stay away from ANY grains/feeds. If you can treat her like I said above, don't give her anything for a couple of days except water with a little bit of Apple Cider Vinegar in it. After about 3 days of that, then give her some plain, live culture yogurt for a couple of days, then you can introduce scrambled eggs and easy to digest things. When you do start feeding her chicken ration, try crumbles. They are easier to digest than scratch or mash. Let her ease back into eating her normal diet.
I know it is scary to have one of your girls get like this.
She is going to be hungry, but don't move too fast with her or she may have a set back.
Good luck.

 

[MikasGirl]

Last night she vomited up quite a bit. Today, her crop is significantly smaller than before. I gave her some water with a syringe, yes I know, big no-no, but she isn't drinking on her own. I hope this wasn't a huge mistake. Anyways, she seems more (knock on wood) awake. Her eyes are open more and she actually talked a little bit.

 

[chickenlady08]

I have had some BO chicks this past summer. I got alot of information and help on BYC. I was told to take all food away and get Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, it is made by Braggs and on the bottle it has 'has the mother in it'. This is unfiltered vinegar and I tried it and it worked. I mixed 1 tablespoon in a gallon waterer. Give this for one day with no food. The next day try plain yogurt along with the water and ACV. Then on the 3rd day introduce scrambled eggs plus the yogurt and the ACV and water. Within a week they were great, but you have to be patient and don't feed her to soon like I did and that is why it took longer. I never had to induce vomiting in mine so I can't help you there, but sounds like other posts seem to have this covered.

I hope your Chixsie is doing ok and gets better quickly.