Hen with impacted crop

[casportpony]

Also check him for mites and lice.

-Kathy

 

[WalleyWaller]

Keeping him warm is very important. Keep giving the fluids and hopefully he'll start pooping. Has he been de-wormed?

-Kathy

Yes, he and the rest were treated 3 or 4 weeks ago with Valbazen. I also gave them all Corid for 7 day after that. Thank you very much for your help Kathy!!!

 

[casportpony]

Can he stand and walk now?

-Kathy

 

[WalleyWaller]

Can he stand and walk now?

-Kathy

Yes, but he is weak. He is standing and able to walk. He just did a small watery poop after 29ml more water. I will try to give him 60 ml every 2 hours if possible.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: You might want to try adding 5 ml of corn syrup to his warmed water, gatorade or pedialyte.

-Kathy

 

[WalleyWaller]

You might want to try adding 5 ml of corn syrup to his warmed water, gatorade or pedialyte.

-Kathy

What about the Save-A-Chick Electrolytes?

 

[casportpony]

Quote: I've never used it.

-Kathy

 

[MrsBachbach]

What about the Save-A-Chick Electrolytes?

Not sure what the purpose of the corn syrup is. If it is to give energy, I would think the save a chick would serve the same purpose. If the corn syrup is for the purpose of flushing out the digestive track, it would not serve the same purpose. I have heard of corn syrup being used in children to soften stools.
Your bird has likely been this way for quite some time given his condition. Food is not passing through in sufficient amounts. He has been slowly starving. Whether the blockage is located in the crop or further down the digestive track is a guess. If it's further down, food just fills up in the crop, sours, and very slowly empties if at all. If you feel a mass in the crop that doesn't want to break up, it is likely causing the very slow crop. If it's mostly fluid filled or soft, then I would say the blockage is lower and not much you can do. You could try some olive oil or something, but I have never had luck with lower blockages.
Just once I remember having a young bird that had a mass of grass or hay that was twisted in his lower digestive track. I gave him, by tubing, extra water daily for several days and just by chance saw something slightly protruding from his vent a few days later. Took some tweezers and started helping him give birth to about an eight inch thick cord of twisted grass/hay. It was unreal. Never gave my growing birds access to hay or grass again. Also put extra feeders in the pens so the lower birds in the pecking order had their own feeders to go to. It is usually the birds on the bottom of the pecking order that eat the trash because they are scared to go to the feeders where the top birds eat. They get chased away sometimes.
He may be too far gone to save with surgery, but that is usually the only way you can remove a mass in the crop. I would really suggest trying some raw egg yolk in that water to get him some nutrients. I have found baby food to be helpful too with birds that can't get anything but liquids through.
If you do decide to do surgery after other methods fail, I know there is plenty of "how to " info on this site.

 

[WalleyWaller]

Not sure what the purpose of the corn syrup is. If it is to give energy, I would think the save a chick would serve the same purpose. If the corn syrup is for the purpose of flushing out the digestive track, it would not serve the same purpose. I have heard of corn syrup being used in children to soften stools.
Your bird has likely been this way for quite some time given his condition. Food is not passing through in sufficient amounts. He has been slowly starving. Whether the blockage is located in the crop or further down the digestive track is a guess. If it's further down, food just fills up in the crop, sours, and very slowly empties if at all. If you feel a mass in the crop that doesn't want to break up, it is likely causing the very slow crop. If it's mostly fluid filled or soft, then I would say the blockage is lower and not much you can do. You could try some olive oil or something, but I have never had luck with lower blockages.
Just once I remember having a young bird that had a mass of grass or hay that was twisted in his lower digestive track. I gave him, by tubing, extra water daily for several days and just by chance saw something slightly protruding from his vent a few days later. Took some tweezers and started helping him give birth to about an eight inch thick cord of twisted grass/hay. It was unreal. Never gave my growing birds access to hay or grass again. Also put extra feeders in the pens so the lower birds in the pecking order had their own feeders to go to. It is usually the birds on the bottom of the pecking order that eat the trash because they are scared to go to the feeders where the top birds eat. They get chased away sometimes.
He may be too far gone to save with surgery, but that is usually the only way you can remove a mass in the crop. I would really suggest trying some raw egg yolk in that water to get him some nutrients. I have found baby food to be helpful too with birds that can't get anything but liquids through.
If you do decide to do surgery after other methods fail, I know there is plenty of "how to " info on this site.

Thank you very much MrsBachbach! I agree with you that it had apparently been impacted for a while. I would have most likely tried the crop surgery but unfortunately he passed away early this morning. I wish I had caught it sooner. I was tube feeding water and the electrolytes but it was too little too late. I really appreciate you sharing this information! Thank you!

@castportpony, Kathy, I am so sorry for your loss as well. We try our best but we don't win all the battles. Thank you so much for all your help!

 

[colleen318]

I've got a similar issue with one of my hens. She started a heavy molt about 2 weeks ago and has not been herself. She continues to eat, but her poops are watery. I also noticed, that she is drinking a lot of water. I picked her up today, to put her in the coop and noticed that her crop is large and somewhat soft. Is this from all the water or what? I'm really concerned about her. I go to work really early in the morning, come home for a few hours and then back to work at night. Sometimes, it's really difficult to get a good read on her.

Thank you

Colleen Johnson