HELP ASAP CHICKEN IS VERY ILL

[Hishigata]

I did a search and found the following article.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

Just skimming a few of the other people's pages on crop issues, its seems like in some cases sour or impacted crops can last for days. If she ate during the day today, normally she would be sleeping now so you needn't worry about food, especially since if it is a sour or impacted crop food might make it worse. Keep offering her liquids so she is not dehydrated. If you know of a vet who cares for birds in the area give them a call in the morning. Usually they will consult over the phone for free.

 

[Hishigata]

Here is another thread with an unconventional cure that was a success.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/630307/sour-crop-cured-with-monistat

I recommend just typing "crop issues" or "sour crop" into the search bar at the top of the page and reading up on other threads with similar problems and the resolution. Sometimes things do not end well. Don't be discouraged! Raising chickens is challenging and when they get sick the amount of help we can give is limited. You are clearly taking excellent care of your hen; sometimes a little love and luck is the best cure.

 

[TayLuvChicken]

These were both very very helpful! This now gives me an idea and strategy on what to do. Thank you so so much! I think it hasn't completely soured yet so it doesn't look like we'll need a vet visit (hallelujah!)...yet. I'm hoping she begins to feel better after tomorrow. Thanks again!

 

[Hishigata]

I hope your hen is feeling better this morning. Best of luck with the treatment. If she is young it should be easier for her to bounce back to full health.

 

[TayLuvChicken]

Got up early today and fed her some probiotic water and seems better than yesterday. She is quite unhappy that she can't be with the rest of her chicken friends and is crowing and wanting to be with them. She hasn't acted this good in days so I'm hoping she's made it through the hard part. I have the others drinking the water too and I'm gonna wait a little while longer (to let her crop sit with the water in it and let her digest that) before I give some yogurt-feed-mash. She seems hungry and eager to be out of the sick bird treatment box. I talked to an avian specialist at my local feeds store yesterday and she gave me the right stuff I needed (and maybe more... kinda bought some treats and toys for the others). Luckily enough I did catch it early on so it wasn't quite too soured yet, and I can't imagine what she would be like if it did completely sour. I also read what info I could in a health book and it seems she'll do just fine. It is contagious though... I'll have a realllyyyyyy fun day deep cleaning the coop so the others don't get it. Thanks for the help guys!

 

[Hishigata]

That's great! I'm happy to hear she is doing better. Early detection is key in most avian illnesses.

It sounds like you learned a lot in just the past day about treating crop issues. You might consider writing a post on what you learned and how you treated sour crop in your hen. It will probably be a useful link for a future BYC member who encounters the same thing in their flock.

 

[Zinnia-Hen]

Glad she's feeling a bit better!

 

[TayLuvChicken]

I. Tried. Everything. I gave her medicine and liquid foods and all sorts of yogurts with live bacteria and I hand fed it to her. She looked pretty bad this morning then she started to seizure. I quickly ran her out to the yard and helped get all the fluid out. She then kinda looked at me one last time and then she went limp. She no longer had a heart beat and wasn't breathing. I tried resuscitating her but nothing worked. Literally crying my eyes out wishing I could've done more. She was definitely my favorite. Here's two pictures of her: one of her sunbathing about 2 weeks ago and picture of her carrying grass around when she was a tiny little thing. I already miss her soooo much :'(.

 

[Donna R Raybon]

Yeah, it is hard to loose one. She had a good life with you and much better than most birds ever have. You did all you knew to d to help her.
So sorry you lost you sweet I pie, what a cutie in the pictures.

 

[Zinnia-Hen]

You did what you could. I lost one of my hens a couple of days ago, too, and it's very, very hard. Sounds like she was a very sweet little bird.

I'm very sorry.