full crop, watery poo, lethargy in silkie pullet.

[fizzgigsmom]

I have a 4.5 month old pullet (definitely not laying) who woke up with a full crop yesterday. She had not pooped a single time the night before, so i assumed constipation or impacted crop. I gave her a molasses mixture and later oil with a crop massage and the buldge seemed to diminish a bit.

She had about 4 very watery poos yesterday in total. One last night and one this afternoon. She has some energy (she preens, pecks & is attentive). She was much more lethargic yesterday but i doubt she's getting better if nothing is getting through.

I have been giving a few drops of oil down crop and in food and massaging crop downward. It seems to diminish a little but never entirely. Comes back whens she eats.

Symptoms:
Watery pale yellow poo with white streaks)
Lethargy, slow walking, poor balance, VERY CLINGY (won't leave my side)
Pecks but wont eat except the 'candy' (corn mixture).
Only one sneeze, which seemed normal. No rattling.
Clean bottom
No smell in the beak.

She had very dry greenish poos the night before this started, so i imagine she wasn't getting nutrients through very well then either.

I haven't vomited her because I am worried the obstruction is lower down, if there is one, but I am willing to try. Will take her to the vet tomorrow morning if she doesn't improve tonight but i want to try everything I can first.

Also, she is isolated. She lives inside (while her coop is being built) & plays with an angora rabbit. He's extremely well groomed and does not shed but it is possible she pecked some of his wool. He also has the typical wet bunny nose and may have given her something.

Thank you for any advice.

 

[ronott1]

I have a 4.5 month old pullet (definitely not laying) who woke up with a full crop yesterday. She had not pooped a single time the night before, so i assumed constipation or impacted crop. I gave her a molasses mixture and later oil with a crop massage and the buldge seemed to diminish a bit.

She had about 4 very watery poos yesterday in total. One last night and one this afternoon. She has some energy (she preens, pecks & is attentive). She was much more lethargic yesterday but i doubt she's getting better if nothing is getting through.

I have been giving a few drops of oil down crop and in food and massaging crop downward. It seems to diminish a little but never entirely. Comes back whens she eats.

Symptoms:
Watery pale yellow poo with white streaks)
Lethargy, slow walking, poor balance, VERY CLINGY (won't leave my side)
Pecks but wont eat except the 'candy' (corn mixture).
Only one sneeze, which seemed normal. No rattling.
Clean bottom
No smell in the beak.

She had very dry greenish poos the night before this started, so i imagine she wasn't getting nutrients through very well then either.

I haven't vomited her because I am worried the obstruction is lower down, if there is one, but I am willing to try. Will take her to the vet tomorrow morning if she doesn't improve tonight but i want to try everything I can first.

Also, she is isolated. She lives inside (while her coop is being built) & plays with an angora rabbit. He's extremely well groomed and does not shed but it is possible she pecked some of his wool. He also has the typical wet bunny nose and may have given her something.

Thank you for any advice.

She could have Mareks, which you can't do anything about. I would worm her with ivermectin, actually worm the whole flock with the injectable type. 4 ccs per gallon for two days and repeat 10 days later.

I hope she get better soon!

 

[fizzgigsmom]

Update: found the culprit. She had a massive poo and upon inspection it had a small scrap of fabric in it. She has been inside and I was sewing recently and somehow i must have dropped some shreds that she found. Didn't solve the problem. There is more in her.I can still feel lumps in the crop and I'm wondering if there is fabric in there. She perked up after that poo but then slowly went back to lethargy & watery droppings. I tried to 'vomit' her gently with no success (the lump is too stuck together to come up safely). I gave her corn mash with feed and yoghurt. She has a vet appt tomorrow morning. *Fingers crossed*

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I has done a successful crop surgery before if you decide you want to avoid the vet bill and do it at home. Just PM me if you want info. I would stop feeding her anything solid.

Good luck.

 

[fizzgigsmom]

Update: success! I have a healthy happy chicken!

I was fortunately able to move the obstruction through without surgery by keeping the crop partially full of a wet mash and mineral or olive oil. I just monitored her and regularly massaged the crop, checked for droppings, and kept her warm. Since she was lethargic I tried to alternate between long periods of sleep and short periods of activity to get her moving around and eating. I think this helped her digest. I also gave her water with a dropper.

To be detailed (in case this happens to anyone else), she had swallowed a few shreds of fabric which tangled with grass and feed. It took her about 3-4 days to get all of it out of her crop, and each time a piece of the obstruction went through her, she got sickly and lethargic until she passed it.

The mash I made was intended to kind of be a 'cure all' & keep her hydrated and give calories. It was pureed canned corn, chick feed, a molasses solution (as a laxative), plain greek yogurt (to keep her digestive system strong) & oil (I alternated between mineral oil and olive oil). I continued the mash until today, even after she seemed well, until she was eating dry feed optionally and drinking on her own.

I gave her water with molasses (1:40 ratio), oil or cider vinegar (a drop per ml) when i needed her hydrated, and massaged her crop everytime. Honestly I think it was the regular massaging and the consistent care that got her through. I even had her sleeping in a kennel next to me to check on her at night and in the morning.

The only reason she didn't get to the vet was because she had already drastically improved by the time he was able to see her.

Thank you so much to anyone who gave me advice. I love this sweet chicken and I couldn't be happier!

 

[ronott1]

Update: success! I have a healthy happy chicken!

I was fortunately able to move the obstruction through without surgery by keeping the crop partially full of a wet mash and mineral or olive oil. I just monitored her and regularly massaged the crop, checked for droppings, and kept her warm. Since she was lethargic I tried to alternate between long periods of sleep and short periods of activity to get her moving around and eating. I think this helped her digest. I also gave her water with a dropper.

To be detailed (in case this happens to anyone else), she had swallowed a few shreds of fabric which tangled with grass and feed. It took her about 3-4 days to get all of it out of her crop, and each time a piece of the obstruction went through her, she got sickly and lethargic until she passed it.

The mash I made was intended to kind of be a 'cure all' & keep her hydrated and give calories. It was pureed canned corn, chick feed, a molasses solution (as a laxative), plain greek yogurt (to keep her digestive system strong) & oil (I alternated between mineral oil and olive oil). I continued the mash until today, even after she seemed well, until she was eating dry feed optionally and drinking on her own.

I gave her water with molasses (1:40 ratio), oil or cider vinegar (a drop per ml) when i needed her hydrated, and massaged her crop everytime. Honestly I think it was the regular massaging and the consistent care that got her through. I even had her sleeping in a kennel next to me to check on her at night and in the morning.

The only reason she didn't get to the vet was because she had already drastically improved by the time he was able to see her.

Thank you so much to anyone who gave me advice. I love this sweet chicken and I couldn't be happier!

That is great news!