Impacted and Sour Crop...and Something Else?

[Wyorp Rock]

Have you de-wormed her?
If not, then I would use Valbazen since she's molting. Dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given once, then repeat in 10 days. (Safeguard/Fenbendazole is known to cause feather damage in molting birds)

Just to recap - her crop is emptying completely in by morning?
I would see what Carol (@azygous ) thinks about the "something" you feel at the bottom of the crop. Possibly a blockage(?) She may recommend a molasses flush, but I've never had to do that. I have been able to get a crop emptying with giving 1 stool softener along with coconut oil. I think one hen I had to do that for 2 days.

I would be tempted to also give her a direct oral dose of Corid once a day for 3-4 days. Liquid Corid oral dose is .10ml per pound of weight. I know that sounds odd instead of having her drink Corid water, but she doesn't look well enough to be drinking enough on her own.

You may be right that she has an underlying condition, it's really hard to know. One thing I have found is all of my Barred Rocks seem to struggle during molt one way or another.

 

[azygous]

From the looks of the poop, she's quite sick. You may be battling a secondary issue while a primary issue is at work, namely reproductive cancer. When these tumors in the reproductive tract get numerous, they can form an obstruction. This will slow down crop function, causing material to always be present in the crop no matter what you do.

I'm also going by her body language, especially her eyes. She's feeling pretty rotten.

I suggest going ahead with a stool softener as @Wyorp Rock suggested, along with more coconut oil. Let it work for half an hour and massage, focusing on the hard bit of matter in the crop, trying to use your finger tips to break it up.

Continue probiotics and make grit available. Yogurt, buttermilk, keifer, or probiotic tablets, use any of them. If, after all that, she continues to decline, then you might suspect cancer.

 

[Mimi13]

@Wyorp Rock and @azygous, thank y’all for responding.

Worming - I use Nemex, pyrantel pamoate, to worm my birds (no egg withdrawal using it) and I have it on hand. Is it okay to use it without damaging her feathers?

Corid - is there a possibility of coccidiosis? Scary to think.

Object in/on crop - I don’t think it is anything she has ingested or can be broken up. It feels gristly and is smaller than a dime. Tumor? Her crop completely empties, does she still need the stool softener and coconut oil?

Molt - this is her second molt. Her first was uneventful.

Poop - went from nasty/oily after the coconut oil to this mostly pure white liquid, with a little bit of dark green solids in it, kind of like she’s not getting any food, but she is. She eats her Flock Maker and grass and whatever else she wrangles up outside. She’s outside with the others now.

I have had two hens that died about 2 years ago that were chalked full of tumors. One had tumors all over her liver and the other’s entire body cavity was full, nothing was untouched. Unfortunately I’m suspecting something of the like with this girl too. I just think it’s strange that she seemed to perk up some after her crop cleared, but now she seems to be regressing.

 

[Mimi13]

Georgia Girl enjoyed her day out yesterday acting completely normal, just a little haggard looking. For the first time, since I’ve been letting her out during the day, she marched her little skinny tail feathers up into the coop with the others instead of coming down to the house wanting in. I still brought her in due to the cold nights.

I wormed her this morning with the Pyrantel Pamoate, 1/2 cc per 5 lbs. I hope her new feathers aren’t adversely affected.

Her poop looks much better this morning.

Maybe the poor girl just needs time, IDK.

She was incessantly cooing at the chickens outside this morning, so I let her out to roam in the den. When I came back in this is where I found her. No joke. This was not a staged picture. She was ready to go outside though.