My favorite and best laying hen, Lovie a 1 year old Silver Wyandott whom I got from a neighbor several months ago and then found out upon getting her home that she had been bit by a dog on her rear, maybe some of you remember the post, anyway I am certain she has an impacted crop.
Three days ago I noticed that she was just off. She was sitting all hunkered down in the corner of the coop, not rushing out when the doors were opened in the morning with the others, not really interested in eating. I picked her up and looked her over but didn't notice anything amiss. I figured maybe it was because it was our first really cold day here and she was cold. She has her head all pulled in like she was cold.
I started to get a watchful concerned attitude on day two, though she did rush out with the others I was still watching her closely.
Last night I went to put the chickies away for the night and noticed her all hunkered down again with head pulled in and just looking blah.
I picked her up and this time immeadiately noticed a problem; her crop was about the size of a baseball and hard as a rock.
I rushed her inside the house and gave her some water with electrolites and vitamins in it. She drank alot.
I don't know if I should have but instinct told me to massage her crop gently in a circular motion to maybe help get anything moving. I checked on her once per hour until bedtime. I didn't notice a change. I wanted to give her until morning with lots of water so I set her up in my hospital cage with water and a thick bed of straw and went to sleep.
I woke this morning to check her and her crop was very noticably smaller but still had grainy feeling parts and a golfball sized lump in it that is moveable.
I offered her some fresh water and some rolled oats. She drank but wanted nothing to do with the oats. We offered her tiny bits of water soaked bread and she gobbled them down, it was something anyway.
Though this she has been pooping.
Last night she pooped two solid normal poops that had nearly no odor and were greyish brown in color.
This morning she had a really smelly cecal poo and then has pooped a few more times today but it's soft and has a not so pleasant odor. It's not runny, it's not green, it's not mucusy.
I do not have a vet who will see chickens.
I am stumped as to what to do. I know she cannot go on like this.
I have a hunch she either has shavings in there or fallen leaf pieces from the other day when all the chickens were foraging through the leaves, there are definate grainual bits in there that you can easily feel from the outside as well but I imagine that is normal since they eat grit to help break down food.
I don't know whether I should attempt to remove the blockage myself or not try at all and put her down. Watching her suffer to death is not an option for me, I care too much about her.
I do have some animal surgical experience, i.e; I have done sutures for spays and neuters of cats and minor skin repairs when I worked with a vet.
I can get the supplies I need without a problem to attempt to remove the blockage.
It's just a matter of not knowing what is the right thing to do. I would hate to lose her but at the same time I'm really scared about trying to save her.
At this point she has nothing to eat but 4-5 small, like this ___ big each soaked pieces of bread and no grain or anyting this entire day, and who knows how long before that. We have offered grain today but she won't have it.
Her crop should not feel the way it does with the little she has ate.
Three days ago I noticed that she was just off. She was sitting all hunkered down in the corner of the coop, not rushing out when the doors were opened in the morning with the others, not really interested in eating. I picked her up and looked her over but didn't notice anything amiss. I figured maybe it was because it was our first really cold day here and she was cold. She has her head all pulled in like she was cold.
I started to get a watchful concerned attitude on day two, though she did rush out with the others I was still watching her closely.
Last night I went to put the chickies away for the night and noticed her all hunkered down again with head pulled in and just looking blah.
I picked her up and this time immeadiately noticed a problem; her crop was about the size of a baseball and hard as a rock.
I rushed her inside the house and gave her some water with electrolites and vitamins in it. She drank alot.
I don't know if I should have but instinct told me to massage her crop gently in a circular motion to maybe help get anything moving. I checked on her once per hour until bedtime. I didn't notice a change. I wanted to give her until morning with lots of water so I set her up in my hospital cage with water and a thick bed of straw and went to sleep.
I woke this morning to check her and her crop was very noticably smaller but still had grainy feeling parts and a golfball sized lump in it that is moveable.
I offered her some fresh water and some rolled oats. She drank but wanted nothing to do with the oats. We offered her tiny bits of water soaked bread and she gobbled them down, it was something anyway.
Though this she has been pooping.
Last night she pooped two solid normal poops that had nearly no odor and were greyish brown in color.
This morning she had a really smelly cecal poo and then has pooped a few more times today but it's soft and has a not so pleasant odor. It's not runny, it's not green, it's not mucusy.
I do not have a vet who will see chickens.
I am stumped as to what to do. I know she cannot go on like this.
I have a hunch she either has shavings in there or fallen leaf pieces from the other day when all the chickens were foraging through the leaves, there are definate grainual bits in there that you can easily feel from the outside as well but I imagine that is normal since they eat grit to help break down food.
I don't know whether I should attempt to remove the blockage myself or not try at all and put her down. Watching her suffer to death is not an option for me, I care too much about her.
I do have some animal surgical experience, i.e; I have done sutures for spays and neuters of cats and minor skin repairs when I worked with a vet.
I can get the supplies I need without a problem to attempt to remove the blockage.
It's just a matter of not knowing what is the right thing to do. I would hate to lose her but at the same time I'm really scared about trying to save her.
At this point she has nothing to eat but 4-5 small, like this ___ big each soaked pieces of bread and no grain or anyting this entire day, and who knows how long before that. We have offered grain today but she won't have it.
Her crop should not feel the way it does with the little she has ate.
