HELP! my chicken is not eating or drinking and has a runny poop

[3fatladies]

Hi my most lively hen out of the 3 that i have is feeling poorly today... shes been in her coop all day and hasnt even got up to eat... i moved her water bowl towards her and she drank a little but didnt drink much and didnt eat. she has been pooping, but it is very watery with sometimesy a light white goo or yellow goo.. im so worried about her.. i have read that it might be related to her crop so i gave her a little massage and realised that it seems like she plucked some of her feathers from her crop. it also felt very watery almost like a bag of water... ive tried feeding her all her favourites but she just doesnt seem interested. i am bringing her in with me tonight so i can keep an eye on her and make sure the other two dont bother her.. i may take her to the vet tomorrow but last time i took my chicken to the vet the surgeon didnt seem to know much about chickens.

would love some help please.. im so worried about my little hillary

 

[silkiechicken]

An avian vet might know something, but most chickens are still considered livestock. I would look up sour crop.

 

[redrstr29]

ok first Has it been very hot out,If so she could have heat shock, and also if her crop is mushy then it might not be compacted, maybe she had sour crop which could be helped if you give her plain yogert and/or put apple cider vinegar in her water, and lastly it could also be a case of worms, you wouldnt see worms in the poop though unless shes totally infested so just because its not in there doesnt mean she doesnt have it, some yellow poop is acceptable, but only if its foamy, if its really runn and yellow then it could be worms, also check under the wings for lice, that could be draining her, i say under the wings because its easier to spot in that area were there are less feathers also when my chickens eat alot and have a full crop there is some spacing between the feathers in the area because its full, I hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions, I am in no means a professional but I have had chickens for 17 years, good luck

Aldo

 

[Eggcessive]

If you suspect sour crop or impacted crop, do not put vinegar in the water until she has recovered because it makes it worse by causing things to be more acid. Vegetable oil or olive oil (about 1 teaspoonful given orally with a dropper or syringe) is good, then massage the crop several times a day. Plain water is all she should be given the first day, then yogurt and maybe applesauce the second day. If she starts pooping, by the 3rd day you can offer soft foods. Just a thought, but could she just be going broody? Has she been staying in a nest box in a trance?

 

[redrstr29]

^^^^^ -------good point ?? especially if she "picked her feathers off" right??????

 

[redrstr29]

does she ruffle her feather up when you go near her or make a loud noise??????????/

 

[3fatladies]

Hey guys.... thanks for all your help ive tried everything... sorry i didnt reply sooner ive been nursing a sick chicken..

I tried olive oil but it didnt do the trick.. i read some where that olive oil then holding her upside down a little might even make her spit up food if something is stuck in throat... but as you may have guessed this didnt work either

i looked under her wings and found no sign of fleas or lice..

her poop didnt have worms in it but i did put some apple cider vinegar in her water anyway ... just incase... since she wasn't eating anything i also read that yogurt might help so i literally spoon fed her yogurt but most of it ended up splattered across me..

i also tried massaging her crop and i dont think it helped ... it felt like a water balloon

so after 3 days of my little hillary not eating and barely drinking and having diarrhoea i decided to take her to a vet whos had some experience with chickens.. he checked all her vitals n said she was fine although she was a little on the light side.. he then did a rectal examination and heyyy prestoooooo

as nastyyy and disgusting as it was there was some weird sort of egg stuck in her... so the vet cleaned her up and said that if i hadn't had taken her she would have died! shes now on antibiotics and is back to being the queen hen!!

so for anyone else who has this problem with a chicken make sure you get your chicken to the vet asap!!

THANKS!!

HILLARY.... HILDA..... IRIS

 

[redrstr29]

YES !!!!!! thank goodness, I hope shes pull through!!!!!!

may I ask.....how they got the egg out im kind of curious just in case i ever have to help a chicken in a breached birth lol

 

[3fatladies]

Thanks.. she seems to be doing fine thank god! but the vet basically cut some feathers from her bottom which was nasty cause it had poop stuck to it and it was like CEMENT!!! haha and he put on his glove and lubed up.. he put in 2 fingers and told me it wont hurt her as an egg is larger anyway. he then literally pulled out this thing that looked like intestines but obviously wasn't.. it was like a thin tube of skin or something...and he squeezed out of it the egg thing he tucked the skin thing back in.. and on the way home she pushed out the rest of it! was really nasty i dont think i would be able to do it myself.. to make matters worse when i got home and let her out into the garden my other hen (iris) ran into the carrier and ate the weird egg... i tried chasing her around the garden to get her to drop it out of her mouth but it was too late she had eaten it

hope that helped.. and wasnt too graphic.

Hillary, Hilda and Iris

 

[redrstr29]

lol thats crazy funny, about them running around with it, i dont know if id really attempt something like that, chickens have to have the wierdest problems