Green Vomit and Diarrhea?

[alawyer01]

This just happened, and I immediately rushed on here to try to find some answers, as I couldn't find a definitive answer online. Help would be greatly appreciated!

A buff Orpington hen of mine has had diarrhea for about two weeks now. Her back feathers show it. I hadn't worried because sometimes diarrhea just comes and goes in chickens, but I was keeping a close eye on it since it had been going on for so long. Now I'm upset I didn't investigate sooner.

During this time, she's gotten increasingly lethargic. She'll mostly stand in the corner of the chicken run, only moving to get a drink or maybe something to peck at. She stands with a tired look in her eye, not at all alert like the others.

It's probably relevant to state that she's an older gal, maybe 6-7 years. She's a bit on the skinnier side too, but so are the other chickens in the coop, as they're all seniors.

Today I went into the coop, and picked her up, which resulted in her making high-pitched "cheeps" I've never heard before. She then proceeded to vomit green liquid twice before I put her down. We feed them kale whenever we go out there, which they love. So maybe that's why it was green?

Does anybody have any idea what this could be? I'm very anxious, as when I picked her up it sounded like she was in a lot of pain. If there's something I can do to help her, I want to do it ASAP!

 

[slordaz]

my thoughts are worm overload or cocci, but will tag the ones more knowledgeable that me. they will need pictures if you can get them
@casportpony
@Eggcessive
@aart
@azygous

By the way welcome to BYC, sorry outta coffee here but eggcited to have you here with us

 

[Ebony Rose]

Can't really say she vomited as she didn't lose the contents of her crop until you picked her up. If your hand was ill positioned, you could have accidentally forced her to expel the contents of her crop. Kale will definitely make their crop contents green. Does she still lay, and if so, when did she lay last? Since you mentioned that she's had dirty butt feathers for a couple weeks or more, a bath may be called for; don't want to add fly strike to her list of woes. Old folks (and chickens) do suffer with pain for a myriad of reasons... I wake up sore just from sleeping! Chickens can have aspirin for pain, here's a link of contradictions and dosing information specifically as it relates to chickens and ducks http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/aspirin
I'll keep her in my prayers.

 

[Eggcessive]

If she is 6-7 years old, she could be suffering from a number of things, such as a reproductive disorder which may have caused a crop problem. When a chicken is picked up and the crop is acidentally squeezed, they may vomit crop contents. Crop disorders can also happen on their own, but many crop disorders are the result of apother problems.

It can be common for an older hen to suffer a reproductive disorder. Salpingitis, internal laying, egg yolk peritonitis, cancer, or ascites are some of those.

Has she lost weight when you hold her or feel of her breast area? Does she have any enlargement of her lower abdomen? How does her crop feel especially early in the morning before she eats—empty and flat, full, hard, soft, doughy, or puffy?

Can you see if she will take some water with vitamins and electrolytes. Offer some chicken feed made wet with water, and some cooked chopped scrambled egg?

 

[alawyer01]

She still lays (she's a tough old girl, and does so every three days or so, which amazes me!), and from what I can tell, she hasn't laid for the past week or so. So far we've added some vinegar to the coop water supply, just in case of yeast infection, as I've heard that's supposed to help. I'll see about getting her to take a bit of aspirin (maybe in a little ball of whole grain bread) and we'll try to take a warm, wet towel to that behind. And thank you for the kind words! It's very thoughtful of you.

 

[alawyer01]

I think it must be crop overflow or something of that sort, because we picked her up again and gave her a little tilt, and green liquid dribbled out. She has been losing weight for the past 1-1.5 years (along with her coopmates) and we've been giving them some higher-calorie treats to offset it. So her breast is pretty bony, especially now that she's been having these troubles. As for her abdomen, nothing feels out of the ordinary. No compacted egg lumps from what I can tell.

I do feel my girls' crops from time to time, and hers, like the others, is usually firm with easily felt bits of grit on the inside. They've never spewed on me before when I'm feeling and massaging there, so that's why I'm thinking it's definitely overflowing. All the liquid she's been taking in must just be passing down into her stomach, while all the food gets compacted.

I've got electrolyte packets for baby chicks/ducklings/quail at the moment, would those work for her or would something else be suitable?

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes the electrolyte with vitamin packets are fine to use in the water. There are a few articles about crop disorders below:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

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

 

[azygous]

Is there a rank odor coming from her crop? What color is her diarrhea?

Check her crop first thing tomorrow morning to see if it's emptied overnight.

 

[alawyer01]

Yes the electrolyte with vitamin packets are fine to use in the water. There are a few articles about crop disorders below:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

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

alright, thank you for all of the wonderful informatio! I'll make sure to put it to good use