High liver enzymes

[crazychick26201]

No brown liquid today, but she has also eaten nothing. No bad odor . Yesterday she ate a bit of hard boiled egg and then expelled brown liquid into the bowl. So it seems to happen if she tries to eat. I checked her crop several times today including this morning and it is small but squishy, mostly because of all the water she has drank. No ascites. She is growing weaker.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I am sad for you and your dear hen.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. I doubt if anyone can diagnose her exact cause of illness until a necropsy could be done after death. Liver enzymes could be elevated and she could be ill from a number of things that would affect the liver. I usually do home necropsies. If you did one, opened her abdomen, and took pictures of the organs, you might get confirmation. With fatty liver disease you would see a large amount of fat, possibly a blood clot near her liver, and possibly yellow ascites fluid in her belly. Cancer, a reproductive infection or egg yolk peritonitis could be other findings. The state vet could do the necropsy for a more thorough diagnosis, but to bury her at home, I would choose the home necropsy.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

How is she doing today?

 

[crazychick26201]

Well she actually is doing better today, so euthanasia plans have been paused to give her a chance. She is much more alert, foraged in the yard for 30 min. And ate a handful of mealworms. Vet check tomorrow. I am cautiously optimistic. I have dealt with a similar situation once before and the hen still died.

 

[Eggcessive]

Let us know how she is doing later.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Still hoping....!

 

[crazychick26201]

Update: I had a lengthy consultation with the vet. Surprisingly she has not lost anny weight , and seems alert. And looked at the X-ray. No egg binding, no tumor, no evidence of blockage. She put a tube into the crop and drew out the fluid. Tested it. No evidence of bacteria. The only thing is her liver enzymes are elevated. I have been trying to force feed her. Very stressful for us both. The vet (and she is an avian vet) suggested I stop the liver support supplement because it may be making her not have an appetite. And to offer her a choice of foods. When I brought her home, I took her out to be with the flock for a little while. And put down a pan of finely chopped veggies. She ate a couple bites before she tried to take a bit of kale from the lead hen’s mouth, and was attacked. Another stressor. I took her outside while she scratched around awhile. I found a worm under a rock and she ate that. I got a trowel and dug a few more up and she ate all those. Then i returned her to the hospital crate in the basement. This morning, she was up, alert, and drinking water. She looked interested in a scrambled egg and nibbled a bit of cabbage but did not really eat. I have not massaged her crop yet. It looks squish and full. She is drinking a lot of water. I am supposed to call the vet on Monday to give her an update. And discuss possible euthanasia again. Boy it’s hard when she seems so alert to put her down. I am not sure how long to let this go on.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Have you tried yogurt? Maybe mix in some of her commercial food till it's nice and soft?

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you learned how to tube feed her? Your vet could sell you the tube and syringe, or you could get it online for baby goats. That way you could tube her, or rinse and drain her crop if needed. It sounds like she is still enjoying her life somewhat. Could you keep her with the other chickens in the coop or run inside a crate with food/water, so she could be with them and they could stay familiar? Supervised visits out of the crate might help.

I just realized that you are in WV. The state vet there does not do necropsies, as I checked a couple of years ago. Ohio State vet school does them though. You are fortunate that you have a vet who can help. Are they pretty familiar with chickens? I am just outside of Huntington, and no vets here are interested in chickens. I usually do a home necropsy on my hens who die, just to find out or confirm what was wrong. There is a good video where the abdominal organs are labeled, and it shows how a necropsy is done. Of course, most of us just do a brief opening of the abdomen, and taking pictures of the liver, the intestines, look for the oviduct or any tumors or lash eggs. When the belly is opened, usually there is yellow fluid with liver disease. Here is that video, and later on if you ever do a necropsy, be sure to take pictures of findings. Many here can help.