Help! Chicken Emergency

[yw549259]

Hi everyone,

I’m having a real emergency with one of my chickens. Does anyone know if there are any skilled board-certified vets in New York State with enough surgical experience/good success rate dealing with reproductive issues in chickens? She also seems to have a doughy/impacted crop and is digesting food really slowly and refuses to drink any water, so is there anything else I can do to clear her crop?

I’m fully aware she’s sick right now, so I’d really appreciate helpful comments on this thread. Any advice/info and help on the subject matter would be greatly valued, thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

A slow or doughy crop can be secondary to a reproductive disorder or other pressure inside the abdomen. How old is she? Has she been laying normal eggs recently? Has she ever laid any lash egg material or does she have any solid palpable abdominal masses? How did you come to this diagnosis? Have you had xrays? We never know how much medical experience one has, so I don’t mean to offend you.

I can’t help with vets in NY. Hopefully some others may chime in. You can try some chilled coconut oil cut into small pieces to offer her to peck, about a tsp daily. Then if you can get some water into her, or possibly tube feed water, you can try to massage the crop several times a day to help break up the doughy crop mass. Don’t massage if her crop becomes full and puffy.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She has an impacted oviduct shown by ultrasound?
Sadly, most chickens do not survive anesthesia to have surgery performed.

It's not uncommon for a hen to have crop symptoms when they have a reproductive problem. Reproductive disorders often affect the digestive system.

I'm very sorry, I understand it can be distressing and heartbreaking to see a beloved hen decline. Even with the best of care, there's no cure for reproductive problems.