help! another hen having problems.

[ldutch123]

Another white Leghorn has a messy vent crop is full of water and she is still drinking. She seems off balance also. Having trouble walking on the roost. Her poop is clear and slimy looking. I felt to see if she was swollen in the abdomen but I don't feel anything. Could an egg have broke inside her? I'm searching the internet for some kind of solution. Yesterday her qsister was culled due to large mass internal laying. I need help

 

[ldutch123]

Anyone? Please help if u have an idea at all. I seperated her and she is just laying with her head down in the cage. A little green was in the poop but it was mostly all water. She seemed to be sensitive in the abdomen but no mass was felt. I just lost one yesterday with a mass and I don't want to do this again I need a break before anyone else goes down ill. Ugh I need some advice and no one I know raises chickens

 

[WI FarmChick]

I have not had to deal with this yet so I have no idea what to tell you. the only thing I would say is do a search here on byc site. some one else might have had the same issues and there might be some kind of an answer. I will search too.

 

[WI FarmChick]

I found this. is this a second hen with the same problems as the first?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-on-vent-please-look-and-any-advice-is-needed

 

[seminolewind]

If she will eat, give her a slice of bread or a hard boiled egg. Gotta get some calories into her. Bright green poop is not good-means they're starving.

I usually make my sick chickens French Toast: soak a few slices of bread in eggs, milk, a spoon of sugar, and I put a drop of vanilla in. Then cook in a pan. It doesn't matter how it looks, it will taste good.

Oh and I would be giving her some electrolytes or Pedialyte since she's drinking so much water.

 

[ldutch123]

I found this. is this a second hen with the same problems as the first?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-on-vent-please-look-and-any-advice-is-needed

No the hen we culled yesterday had a huge mass this hen seemed fine and I felt for masses and i don't feel any at all. It's so weird that it happens the day after her sister was killed. Ugh I tell ya....I don't want this to be the murder week at my house. Im willing to try what I can. I don't want to be too hasty she has been a pretty darn healthy layer and she's pretty friendly too. But this girl I went to collect eggs after work and found her vent all a mess with clear sticky stuff and noticed she wouldn't leave the waterer. Just kept drinkin and drinkin and then she went into a box and just looked like she was in a trance. She also wasn't balancing well on the roost which is so weird.

 

[ldutch123]

If she will eat, give her a slice of bread or a hard boiled egg. Gotta get some calories into her. Bright green poop is not good-means they're starving.

I usually make my sick chickens French Toast: soak a few slices of bread in eggs, milk, a spoon of sugar, and I put a drop of vanilla in. Then cook in a pan. It doesn't matter how it looks, it will taste good.

Oh and I would be giving her some electrolytes or Pedialyte since she's drinking so much water.

Thanks I will try this out. It's really weird because last night she was eating treats and I even picked her up to check for fleas And to make sure she didn't have the same kind of mass as her sister. She is asleep now in segregation (just because I was freaked she would have some weird illness and make the rest of the hens ill) I will try and give her some of these things in the morning see if she wants anything to do with eating. Also I'm hearing that these high production breeds tend to get reproductive problems at about this age and I'm worried this could be the case. I'm not happy about it

 

[ldutch123]

After sleeping on it I think she had sour crop?? She was drinkin a ton and her crop felt very balloony. I kept her seperated and this morning she still had some stuff in her crop but the smell was gone. I will get some acv today and put it in their main water supply. Also feed her some yogurt. She ate good this morning. I gave her some scrambled eggs and a bit of bread and some sunflower seeds and she loved all that. We will just have to see how this plays out. She still seems a bit droopy

 

[WI FarmChick]

Also I'm hearing that these high production breeds tend to get reproductive problems at about this age and I'm worried this could be the case. I'm not happy about it

I know what you mean. As the years go by I will be replacing mine with a better breeds.
Right now they are 7 weeks old. the only reason I have these is the hatchery is 50 miles away. And hubby said these are what we are getting.

I have one that was caught on a fence wire yesterday. sat there stuck. That was totally my fault.
We have been working on there new larger coop and had to move some of the runs welded wire.

I cleaned out the hole that goes her from right to left across the top of her back just under the skin. I put some antibiotic on it and kept her energy up.
I also kept her separated for the night. i put her back in with them this morning in the coop when I let them out. The only problem she has now is she is favoring 1 leg won't walk on it.

So separating/culling to keep the rest of your flock healthy I think is a good thing for you to do until you what the problem is.

 

[WI FarmChick]

I found this from someone else having a chicken with a sour crop. If you think it is sour crop maybe this will help.

Sounds like the beginnings of sour crop. The crop is probably slowing down and it may or may not turn into sour crop. At this moment, I am dealing with an australorp pullet of 27 weeks with a sour crop. It started last week Monday with her not coming for her favorite treat. When I picked her up, she regurgitated some of the contents of her crop. The crop area felt soft and squishy. I vomited her a few times thru out the day and none of it smelled at that time.

But I started her on bread drenched in yogurt as this is all she would eat. She ate this for a few days as her crop got larger and squishier. I even tried the olive oil treatment, however that is more for an impacted crop. She started to refuse water so I was syringing water down her throat.

Well, by Friday she was so ill I took her to the vet where she had her crop flushed and we were sent home with Nystatin, which treats sour crop. Basically a sour crop is a yeast/fungal infection. My pullet has been cold and I have had her under a heat lamp at night. All she will eat is hard boiled egg soaked in yogurt. She will eat some of this 3 times a day. Today was the last day of her medicine and her crop is still huge. I have been massaging her crop to help her burp to get the uncomfortable gas out. (she too does that neck/crop jerk. They want to clear the contents of the crop out).

Anyway, keep up with the yogurt and even put probiotics in the water if you have any. Good bacteria feed on yeast and fungal cells. But the yeast can bloom very quickly and you will know the crop is souring when her breath smells really bad. Don't stop with these things until the crop goes back down to normal. Don't offer her anything with sugar in it as yeast loves to grow with sweets. So make sure the yogurt is plain. Keep an eye on her over night as if she is getting cold, (mine did) you will want to separate her and get heat on her at night. If she gets cold, this can slow the crop down even more and allow the yeast to over take her crop. My girl sleeps in the greenhouse in a rabbit hutch with an infra red heat lamp on her all night. The vet said to not let it drop below 75 degrees and when they are sick they can tolerate 80 or 85 and be comfortable.

Good luck with your baby. I am so sorry your orp baby is sick.

I am right with you in treating our orps and keep me informed on how she is doing!...Leyla

After sleeping on it I think she had sour crop?? She was drinkin a ton and her crop felt very balloony. I kept her seperated and this morning she still had some stuff in her crop but the smell was gone. I will get some acv today and put it in their main water supply. Also feed her some yogurt. She ate good this morning. I gave her some scrambled eggs and a bit of bread and some sunflower seeds and she loved all that. We will just have to see how this plays out. She still seems a bit droopy