Gurgling chicken possibly aspirated some liquid, help!

[emmaodowd]

Hi there,
I'm hoping someone can give me some advice for my favourite 3 year old Marans chicken.
After a heavy moult which left her with a spectacular plummage, I noticed her crest was a little pale but put it down to the energy spend on the moult.
However, a few days ago I noticed she had yellow diarrhoea and also a slightly doughy crop. I kept her apart for a day without food but just water and yoghurt but she got so bad so soon, crouched and eyes closed I thought she would be dead by the next day. After searching here I gave her a recommended mix of water, lemon juice and spices with the tube of a syringe and massage and surprisingly she seems to have perked up and the crop is a little better. However..... despite knowing where to tube, (done it many times correctly) I fear a little of the liquid I gave her has gone her osophagus and she is now gurgling . I feel so bad and wonder what to do next. I have an antibiotic for chickens, so maybe should go for that? She now hasn't eaten for some days, although i am also giving her probiotics with water and pommegranite juice.
Any help would be very appreciated!

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC, and sorry to hear about your hen. Sometimes when handling a chicken we can accidentally squeeze the crop, and if it is puffy, they can vomit and choke. I don’t know if that is what happened or not, but it sounds as though she has a crop impaction if it is doughy.

Some crop problems can be due to rotting contents, such as grasses or because the crop is not functioning due to a problem somewhere else in the body. Sometimes that can be a reproductive disorder such as internal laying or salpingitis that is pressing on the digestive tract.

It would be good to describe what the crop feels like now—empty, full, hard, doughy, or puffy like a balloon. There are different treatments for impacted or doughy crop versus sour crop. For a doughy crop I might try a tsp of coconut oil frozen and fed as small pieces, or 1-2 stool softener capsules called docusate sodium or Colase. Then massage the crop several times a day, and do not feed anything except mushy food, such as egg, yogurt, buttermilk, etc.

Here are some good articles to read on crop problems:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...d-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments.67194/

 

[emmaodowd]

Thank you for your helpful reply. She sadly died yesterday, so I didn't have time to try anything else. I was more worried that the gurgling was a result of my mistake because the crop was much better after massage and liquids, and it wasn't advanced, but since she died so fast, I am sure it was due to the other complications which gave her the yellow diarrhoea and then the doughy crop. Her crest had been pale for some time, which I put down to the moult, and age, but she ate well and varied, free roamed and was fine.
Strangely, I don't understand how she moulted so spectacularly, (she looked amazing) if she was sick, given how much energy it takes but maybe this was a digestive problem she had.
Chickens are so complicated!!! But this website is great, you don't feel so alone in adverse situations!
Thanks very much again!

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. In my experience, I have never had a crop problem in a healthy hen. Reproductive problems were usually the problem with my hens. But almost any illness can cause a crop slow down possibly from pressure put on the intestines or gizzard from an infection or swelling inside the abdomen that frequently occurs during internal laying, salpingitis, and ascites. I try to do a brief necropsy if I lose a chicken, just to open the abdomen, have a look at organs for anything obvious. A professional necropsy by a vet or poultry lab may also give us an answer.