Hen with swollen watery crop, not eating or pooping

[aurorarora]

Big Bertha is a nearly 2 year old red sex link. Two days ago we noticed she wasn't really eating. Her crop was big and squishy and she was kind of burping and moving her neck funny. We checked her crop yesterday morning and it wasn't any smaller. When I picked her up, she spit out some brown liquid (no smell). I'm scared she will aspirate if we try to help her vomit.

We then isolated her without food or water for 12 hours, and gave her a few gentle crop massages, which she really seemed to like. Her crop size went down a little and it got a bit firmer. I noticed there wasn't any poop in the crate during that time but she seemed perkier. We let her drink some water and put her in the coop for the night with the others. She may have pooped during that time but we aren't sure. Today she still has no appetite (we tried to give her a tiny bit of scrambled egg yolk) but she is drinking water. Her crop is still large and squishy.

I'm worried it could be an obstruction farther down the digestive tract which is so backed up the crop can't empty. She may have tumours or be egg bound or have an infection. She has had a slightly squishy belly for a while, which the vet had told us could be the beginning of water belly. Or she may have straw or grass or some kind of foreign body in there. We are hoping to see the vet soon, just waiting for an appointment, but I'm worried about her in the meantime. I think I'd feel better if we could get her to poop.

Do you have any suggestions for what we can do in the meantime? Is there some kind of chicken laxative? Or maybe a warm epsom salt bath? I'm worried about handling her too much because it causes her to spit up her water, but will do it if it is likely to help.

I will say we have been having a lot of problems with our hatchery sex link hens that are the same age. It is either the breed, the breeding stock or the hatchery conditions, because our older chickens haven't had these issues.

 

[aurorarora]

Update: We let her out of the crate to walk around a bit, which made her quite happy. She pooped a small amount of clear white mucisy poop, with some greenish blobs in it. I'm glad she got that out, but still worried. I have been reading and researching and there is so much conflicting information.

Here are some of the suggestions I've seen:

• Docusate Sodium
• epsom salt flush
• molasses flush
• crop massage
• crop bra
• coconut oil frozen chips
• epsom salt bath
• monistat by mouth
• poultry drench
• enzymes
• oil of oregano
• motility medication
• induce vomiting
• use tweezers to empty the crop

It's hard to know what to do when there's so much conflicting information. The vet cannot see her for a week, though I did find a mobile vet who can come in a couple of days, but she doesn't have all the equipment so that's a challenge.

 

[Tookie]

So sorry about your hen.

Health issues are quite common in high production breeds like her, sadly. I speak from experience.
It's best not to withhold water or food, so I'd just not worry about that. So let her drink or eat whenever.
I do not recommend vomiting her, it's very risky, and could cause more harm than good. A better way I've found to get her crop empty is to just have her a bit elevated off the ground, and tilt her head forward and down, I've found this is a good way to empty the crop somewhat. I also massage the crop a bit, but be careful. If her crop is just really really full its best not to massage much. Once her crop is not as full, you can do some massaging.

Here's an article on crop issues, sour crop is in there.->
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Along with the miconazole, I'd give her coconut oil as well. After the coconut oil, it's good to massage her crop in a downward motion, as long as her crop isn't overly full.
You can also get some greek yogurt or kefir, that would be good for her.
You may need to start feeding her with a syringe if she doesn't start eating soon.

 

[aurorarora]

Thank you. So we have started her on Nystatin, which is helping a lot. It's very difficult to administer because we have to give her 8mL and she is so incredibly wiggly. I've medicated other chickens, and none have been this difficult. She was squirting liquid as we were trying to get her first dose in her and I'm afraid she may have aspirated a little as she was gurgling afterwards. However the next morning, she seemed to have turned a corner!

We are going to start her on antibiotics after she has had 3 days of Nystatin and will keep them both going for a week. She has an appointment at a vet in a few days because I believe there is something else going on that has caused this and we want to try to figure out the underlying issue.

 

[Tookie]

Thank you. So we have started her on Nystatin, which is helping a lot. It's very difficult to administer because we have to give her 8mL and she is so incredibly wiggly. I've medicated other chickens, and none have been this difficult. She was squirting liquid as we were trying to get her first dose in her and I'm afraid she may have aspirated a little as she was gurgling afterwards. However the next morning, she seemed to have turned a corner!

We are going to start her on antibiotics after she has had 3 days of Nystatin and will keep them both going for a week. She has an appointment at a vet in a few days because I believe there is something else going on that has caused this and we want to try to figure out the underlying issue.

Ok sounds good!

Keep us updated!

 

[aurorarora]

OK so the vet just called me and said there was no fungal overgrowth in the crop liquid that she had tested. She recommended we stop the nystatin, but I'm nervous because I assumed it was helping.

The vet had given one antibiotic pill when she was here and prescribed more to start in a couple of days. Could that have helped the crop go down so much overnight?

 

[Tookie]

OK so the vet just called me and said there was no fungal overgrowth in the crop liquid that she had tested. She recommended we stop the nystatin, but I'm nervous because I assumed it was helping.

Then maybe she has a blockage and it hasn't gone sour yet?

The vet had given one antibiotic pill when she was here and prescribed more to start in a couple of days. Could that have helped the crop go down so much overnight?

I'm not sure...I'm gonna tag the experts, @azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive .

 

[aurorarora]

Then maybe she has a blockage and it hasn't gone sour yet?

I'm not sure...I'm gonna tag the experts, @azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive .

Thank you! Her crop is smaller but she still has a low appetite. She’s eating some but not a lot

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The vet had given one antibiotic pill when she was here and prescribed more to start in a couple of days. Could that have helped the crop go down so much overnight?

What antibiotic did the vet give? Did the crop go down after the antibiotic?

It can take days/weeks for a crop problem to resolve - often it's a symptom of something else unless the digestive system has a blockage. Reproductive disorders, worms, infection, etc. are some common problems seen when the crop is slow to move.

Is she pooping now?

 

[aurorarora]

What antibiotic did the vet give? Did the crop go down after the antibiotic?

It can take days/weeks for a crop problem to resolve - often it's a symptom of something else unless the digestive system has a blockage. Reproductive disorders, worms, infection, etc. are some common problems seen when the crop is slow to move.

Is she pooping now?

The crop went down significantly overnight after one dose of antibiotics and antifungal. The antibiotic is Amoxiclav

We are going to try to figure out the underlying cause at the vet on Monday. Hopefully an xray can tell us more.

She is pooping now. She only stopped pooping for about 12 hours or so, pretty much while we were withholding food and water. I did see a small watery poop the next day and have seen (and been the recipient of) several since then.