Help asap! Sick hen with possible aspiration

[BigMoma3]

I think you're right about the aspirated trachea thing.
Is the vet a good avian vet with poultry experience or just a good vet?
I agree about the problem with only a single dose of Baytril.
I'm sorry I've never dealt with sour crop in my life.
When there is an unknown, unexplained condition I always go back to basics.
Isolate her somewhere with warmth and excellent ventilation. For the rest of the day, I'd just stick with plain water. First thing in the morning I'd give her a few drops of Nutri-Drench. Then provide water with the same dose of Nutri-Drench per the label directions for chicks 4-6 weeks old, (0.5 fl. oz. per gal). If you don't have somewhere close to buy Nutri-Drench today, you can substitute some Poly-Vi-Sol without iron until you can get some ND.
The Baytril will have wiped out her good gut bacteria. So get some probiotics in her.
I like Gro2Max powder. Until you get some, give a little bit of full fat plain yogurt or kefir with active cultures.
I like the idea of the raw ACV but put it in the water. That will make the bad gut bacteria uncomfortable.
If you are on city or county water, get some aquarium chlorine/chloramine neutralizer without any other additives for fish.
She's obviously out of production currently so she doesn't need layer feed. Give her a starter or grower feed till she recovers fully.
Try not to treat at all - especially with corn or scratch grains.
After a couple days, treat with diced yams or carrots.

I'm sorry I just now saw your reply. I'm still trying to figure out how all of this works lol. The vet is simply simply a large animal vet. They treat farm animals as opposed to house pets: chickens, sheep, goat, horses, cattle. I tried yogurt yesterday but she refused to eat it. I don't usually give anything other than her normal feed. Maybe a couple handfuls of scratch once a week but thats split between 14 birds. She's been isolated in my basement but I let her out today and yesterday in her crate in the shade because its been nice and warm. Thank you for all the wonderful advice! I so appreciate it.

 

[BigMoma3]

She didn't make it

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That's too bad. If you want to know what afflicted her, send her for necropsy and lab work. What state are you in?
Don't use the same vet. Your state poultry diagnostic lab should have an avian pathologist on staff who does the necropsies.
Usually when a bird is obviously out of sorts they don't make it. They are good at hiding illness so they don't get killed and eaten by flock mates.

 

[BigMoma3]

That's too bad. If you want to know what afflicted her, send her for necropsy and lab work. What state are you in?
Don't use the same vet. Your state poultry diagnostic lab should have an avian pathologist on staff who does the necropsies.
Usually when a bird is obviously out of sorts they don't make it. They are good at hiding illness so they don't get killed and eaten by flock mates.

We are in TN. I just found out Tn apparently does free necropsies for food animals. I will call about details in the morning. Thank you for all your help

 

[BigMoma3]

for pics if you are on a computer you can drag and drop them into the text box or use the upload a file option.

Thank you. She didn't make it. But I am grateful for all the help. It was a warm welcome to BYC

 

[BigMoma3]

Welcome To BYC!
I'm sorry to hear about your hen.
The normal body temperature range for an adult chicken is 105-107 F to me it doesn't sound like she's got a fever.
The vet only gave one dose of Baytril? Did he send more home with you to follow up?
"Normally" Baytril is given for 3-5 days.

Is your hen able to poop? What does that look like?
What you describe for this morning, she is having issues with her crop. Does her breath smell bad - yeasty or fermented? If it does, then Sour Crop. If there really is no odor, then you could be dealing with an impacted, doughy or slow crop.

You don't mention when your hen last laid an egg? When you examined her, did you notice if her abdomen was bloated or felt like it had fluid in it? Often crops issues are a symptom of an underlying condition - worms, coccidiosis, infection and reproductive disorders are common conditions that accompany crop issues.

Read the article below to see if one of the crop problems sounds like what you see/feel - report back to us with your findings along with some photos and we will go from there.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

My hen didn't make it, but thank you so very much for help and such a speedy response.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That's a shame but awesome that you are getting tests done. Just keep the bird refrigerated and not frozen.
Kord Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory
TN Dept of Agriculture
436 Hogan Road
Nashville, Tennessee 37220-2014
Phone: 615-837-5125

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss
I agree, getting a necropsy would give you some answers.

 

[Wezdin]

so sorry to hear about your hen.

 

[MomJones]

I think you're right about the aspirated trachea thing.
Is the vet a good avian vet with poultry experience or just a good vet?
I agree about the problem with only a single dose of Baytril.
I'm sorry I've never dealt with sour crop in my life.
When there is an unknown, unexplained condition I always go back to basics.
Isolate her somewhere with warmth and excellent ventilation. For the rest of the day, I'd just stick with plain water. First thing in the morning I'd give her a few drops of Nutri-Drench. Then provide water with the same dose of Nutri-Drench per the label directions for chicks 4-6 weeks old, (0.5 fl. oz. per gal). If you don't have somewhere close to buy Nutri-Drench today, you can substitute some Poly-Vi-Sol without iron until you can get some ND.
The Baytril will have wiped out her good gut bacteria. So get some probiotics in her.
I like Gro2Max powder. Until you get some, give a little bit of full fat plain yogurt or kefir with active cultures.
I like the idea of the raw ACV but put it in the water. That will make the bad gut bacteria uncomfortable.
If you are on city or county water, get some aquarium chlorine/chloramine neutralizer without any other additives for fish.
She's obviously out of production currently so she doesn't need layer feed. Give her a starter or grower feed till she recovers fully.
Try not to treat at all - especially with corn or scratch grains.
After a couple days, treat with diced yams or carrots, dark berries like blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. Wild turkeys dig and eat tubers in winter and the long chain carbs are good for good gut bacteria.

This is excellent stuff, all this information you guys give out. My husband and I run 24 chickens for egg and occasionally meat use. They're different breeds and have a huge (huge) secure run but a smallish (although highly decorated) coop. Only been doing this for a couple of years so I'm constantly looking out for problems, etc. Thanks so much all of you for posting. I'm printing this page and adding it to my chicken book.