Getting worse…treatment for impacted crop, lethargy

[77horses]

Hi all,
I’ve searched the forums and for the life of me cannot find a solid treatment for impacted crop that doesn’t involve surgery. Maybe that’s because there’s not one, who knows. But there has to be an alternative. One of my hens have impacted crop. I brought her to the vet yesterday, had X-rays done…I kept her inside overnight and checked her crop in the morning, it’s not emptying overnight.
So if anyone has any known treatments for impacted crop other than surgery, please share! She has lost so much weight already from nutrients not effectively being passed through, but I really can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars on surgery at the vet (nor do I want to attempt it myself).
Thank you.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hi all,
I’ve searched the forums and for the life of me cannot find a solid treatment for impacted crop that doesn’t involve surgery. Maybe that’s because there’s not one, who knows. But there has to be an alternative. One of my hens have impacted crop. I brought her to the vet yesterday, had X-rays done…I kept her inside overnight and checked her crop in the morning, it’s not emptying overnight.
So if anyone has any known treatments for impacted crop other than surgery, please share! She has lost so much weight already from nutrients not effectively being passed through, but I really can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars on surgery at the vet (nor do I want to attempt it myself).
Thank you.
View attachment 2873420

If it's just grains, & grit you can use the crop massage method, & work the feed out of the crop through the food tube that leads to the stomach.

You take solid coconut oil, feed alot of it to the bird, massage in a circular motion at a slight downward angle. You should feel the food moving, & the crop shrink abit.(Do not Make the bird regurgitate)

During the treatment, no food. You can offer water, this will help soften the impaction too.

 

[77horses]

Update: She’s gone. I brought her to the vet and had her euthanized. I feel terrible…she was such a sweet, spunky hen with so much personality. She was only just over a couple years old too. I’m just relieved she’s not suffering anymore.
Thank you for all your help.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would push fluids.
Give her some coconut oil and if the crop is impacted, then I would try 1 stool softener along with the coconut oil.
You can also try a flush to see if that helps. @azygous has a great article that I'll link below. Flush consists of 1 teaspoon Molasses mixed with 1/4 cup of water. Have her drink it all.
Molasses acts as a laxative. Not sure what she's got in there sort of hard going back and forth between this new thread and the old one https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...reating-for-lice.1497838/page-4#post-25024762

If you are going to treat with Corid, then you wouldn't want to give her any extra vitamins that contain B1 (Thiamine).



https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Ryguy3684]

I found it. Here's the drench dose thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Nutridrench contains thiamine mononitrate(b1) in the ingredients list, so I wouldn't use that while treating for coccidiosis. I would use the molasses flush that @Wyorp Rock recommended. Have you started the corid treatment yet? You may want to drench dose her, instead of mixing it in with the water, like you do with the rest of the flock. That way, you know she's getting enough. I use the corid powder, so I don't know liquid drench dose off the top of my head. I'll see if I can find it in my bookmarks. I just lost my rooster and one hen from a coccidiosis outbreak, so I had a few pages saved for quick reference.

Corid drench instructions linked below. You still want the water to be mixed Corid too.
The drench is just to get a "jumpstart" but all fluids the bird consumes should be the mixed Corid for the full 5-7 days.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/corid-amprolium-oral-drench-instructions.74391/

 

[77horses]

I found it. Here's the drench dose thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/corid-oral-drench-instructions.1211991/

Thank you.
I don’t think there’s anything else I can do at this point other than comfort measures. I’m worried she’s suffering. She keeps doing this head twisting thing and her body is tensing up, as if she’s having a seizure. Ive heard this referred to as “death throes.” But she’s still breathing. It’s 5am here, I don’t know what to do other than hold her. I don’t want her to suffer.

 

[77horses]

Update: nothing has changed. She is still doing the death throes…our vet is opening soon so I’m trying to get ahold of them to euthanize her. I can’t watch her suffer like this.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Oh no, why not any extra vitamins when treating with Corid? Will it hurt her? I wasn’t sure so I’ve still been offering her the nutridrench water because I was worried she would go downhill quicker without nutrients. Did I make it worse?

I'm so sorry she's not doing well
It's very sad when one has reproductive issues and all these other symptoms compound the problem.



Corid is essentially a synthetic Thiamine blocker which helps starve out/reduce the number of Coccidia. Adding/giving extra Thiamine other than what's found in their food, could possibly contradict Corid.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Looks a rock lodged in the tube, but that should be easy to dislodge with the method I posted above.