- Thread starter
- #21
- May 15, 2009
- 1,997
- 42
- 181
Last Thursday I went out to the coop to check everyone. To I checked my sick chicken out really well I picked her up. Out of her mouth came a gush of clear liquid. I put her down to examine her and she had a very swollen crop and she looked lethargic and dazed.
I made sure she was comfortable and went inside to find a vet who would take a look at her. I found an avain vet about 40 minutes away and they said I could bring her right down. So off we go a chicken in a box with a blanket at the bottom and be in my gardening clothes. I looked beauuuutiful.
When we got there the vet examined her (no struggle from Miss chicken) and said her crop was filled with liquid. He wanted to drain it by putting a small tube into her crop. I said O.K. After drawing off a lot of fluid and showing it to me (it looked like dirty water) he said he could feel small pebbles or something in her crop. He massaged it and said it might be all she needed. I asked him what else he could do and he said he could flush her crop. I gave him permission to flush her crop and he showed me what he found. Corn, small pebbles, A LOT of sand and a BOT FLY LARVA! I thought I was going to die. She had all of that stuff blocking her crop and nothing could get through.
I brought her home and she seemed better. She ate and drank and even pooped but it was very watery. Her comb and face started to get back some color. I kept a close eye on her all day and at night she was on the coop with the rest of the girls and looked fine. However when I went out to check on her in the morning she was dead. I'm not sure what happened, the vet may have hurt her without realizing it or something more serious was wrong with her crop.
I just wanted to share my story. All of this started out with two puffy cheeks that progressed to a water filled crop. The vet by his own admission had never seen both cheeks puffed up. I just attributed it to the blocked crop. He said her heart and lungs were fine and her weight was good.
One more story to share so everyone can learn but I miss her and I feel there must have been more that I could have done.
Thank you to everyone who responded to my original post.
I made sure she was comfortable and went inside to find a vet who would take a look at her. I found an avain vet about 40 minutes away and they said I could bring her right down. So off we go a chicken in a box with a blanket at the bottom and be in my gardening clothes. I looked beauuuutiful.
When we got there the vet examined her (no struggle from Miss chicken) and said her crop was filled with liquid. He wanted to drain it by putting a small tube into her crop. I said O.K. After drawing off a lot of fluid and showing it to me (it looked like dirty water) he said he could feel small pebbles or something in her crop. He massaged it and said it might be all she needed. I asked him what else he could do and he said he could flush her crop. I gave him permission to flush her crop and he showed me what he found. Corn, small pebbles, A LOT of sand and a BOT FLY LARVA! I thought I was going to die. She had all of that stuff blocking her crop and nothing could get through.
I brought her home and she seemed better. She ate and drank and even pooped but it was very watery. Her comb and face started to get back some color. I kept a close eye on her all day and at night she was on the coop with the rest of the girls and looked fine. However when I went out to check on her in the morning she was dead. I'm not sure what happened, the vet may have hurt her without realizing it or something more serious was wrong with her crop.
I just wanted to share my story. All of this started out with two puffy cheeks that progressed to a water filled crop. The vet by his own admission had never seen both cheeks puffed up. I just attributed it to the blocked crop. He said her heart and lungs were fine and her weight was good.
One more story to share so everyone can learn but I miss her and I feel there must have been more that I could have done.
Thank you to everyone who responded to my original post.
