Impacted crop, need help!

[Wyorp Rock]

He seemed to perk up when I brought him in for a few hours to warm up and medicate. He doesn’t seem to handle the cold very well with not eating.

That poop is still really green isn't it?

Any changes in feed when this all started? Nothing molded right? Probably already asked that!

When they are not well, they can have a hard time regulating body temperature, so he may do better being kept a little warmer.

You dewormed (using Valbazen) and treated for Coccidiosis (Corid?) last month.
He's been given miconazole and penicillin, had a molasses flush.
Just trying to break it all back down to see if we are missing something.

You had some type of bacterial infection going on in your flock, but the vet didn't give you a name(?), you treated with Penicillin, but it did help right?

Is there a way to get a fecal float and gram stain to rule out worms/coccidiosis or some other infection that may need a different type of treatment? The yellow in the urates usually indicates that the liver is not functioning well, the consistent green poop still makes me think Enteritis, but the green could be due to a diminished liver function or not eating well too.

 

[chickenmomma16]

That poop is still really green isn't it?

Any changes in feed when this all started? Nothing molded right? Probably already asked that!

When they are not well, they can have a hard time regulating body temperature, so he may do better being kept a little warmer.

You dewormed (using Valbazen) and treated for Coccidiosis (Corid?) last month.
He's been given miconazole and penicillin, had a molasses flush.
Just trying to break it all back down to see if we are missing something.

You had some type of bacterial infection going on in your flock, but the vet didn't give you a name(?), you treated with Penicillin, but it did help right?

Is there a way to get a fecal float and gram stain to rule out worms/coccidiosis or some other infection that may need a different type of treatment? The yellow in the urates usually indicates that the liver is not functioning well, the consistent green poop still makes me think Enteritis, but the green could be due to a diminished liver function or not eating well too.

You got the treatments right. Coccidiosis was treated with Amprol 128.
The bacterial infection I had in the past was Bacillus Cereus found through a liver biopsy. It’s been years since it’s popped up and he’s not showing the same symptoms. Also, penicillin made a huge difference right away when I had that bacteria. I’ve culled any bird that’s had it, Breeding for resistance. Interestingly, it popped up 3 yrs in a row (only one line of birds got it others in same coop were fine) all around this same time of year. February/March/April. It’s normally associated with food poisoning but I rarely feed scraps. I haven’t given them any snacks in a few weeks.

I did change 2 things when this started happening, I mixed the normal feed with 50/50 new feed. New feed is corn/soy free and whole grains. Also I started pulling feeders at night and I give them back a couple hours after sunrise so they had a couple hours after they got up with no feed but a yard to be in. The feed should have been freshly milled. It’s coming straight from the company. Natural Farm Feed in Spokane, WA. The old pelleted feed should be fresh. I only by the feed every 2 weeks.
Also, one unfortunate thing happened, we had freezing weather for 3 days and I was sick, the whole family was sick and I had a very clingy 7mo old… I thought my heated waterers were on but the cord was unplugged so everything was frozen. Could dehydration cause this? Things did thaw a bit during the day so it wasn’t frozen completely for 3 days but probably didn’t have as much water available as usual. I felt awful about this. The birds normally had plenty of feed and water for days.
I have pulled the new feed and he only has his normal pellets available. He didn’t like the soaked feed. I battened down the hatches on his mini coop and added a chick brooder plate to the coop and set him on it for the night (it’s a DIY brooder plate and plenty strong) and he has a lady friend to snuggle with. Hopefully it makes a difference for him. He seems in much better spirits out with her vs in a kennel in the laundry room.

I hope it’s just him not eating causing the green poop. Is there a way to jump start his gut? I’m religiously treating for sour crop. He seems to want to eat but is so full of fluid. And he releases air when I massage his crop. I’m careful not to squeeze too hard to make him throw up. I’m really trying my hardest for him.

I don’t know any vets around here that treat chickens. I could just try and call and see if they would run a fecal without being a client (I’m newish to the area). I should just get a microscope and supplies for floats and staining. I have some experience in the veterinary field from my younger years.

Edited to add:
I’m a little embarrassed to admit this but I am just now getting a hold of a rat problem. Never had this bad of an issue. I’ve killed 18 in the last couple weeks. I set a camera out in the coop and I have only 2 big smarties left I can’t seem to catch, YET. Could he have eaten a rat turd? And gotten some kind of infection not treated by Penicillin? If I go to Tractor supply is there a different antibiotic that would better treat an infection?
I’m just throwing things out there.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I don't think the water was the problem.

Unless your TSC happens to have some Amoxicillin (Fish Antibiotic) then very likely they don't have anything different. Most ABX you have to order online and they are fairly limited.
I don't know if eating a rodent turd would cause this. Anything is possible.
Nothing to be embarrassed about, chickens and livestock attract rodents. Trapping works pretty well, but sometimes the smarty pants ones you have to try to poison. It will be an ongoing battle, you think you get rid of them, then more find you.

So the crop is still watery. @azygous may want to chime in here. Since you've given ABX and treated with the Miconazole, I would be inclined to see about helping balance the gut and see if that poop improves. I'd give him white cooked rice with buttermilk.

 

[azygous]

By all means start giving a probiotic such as acidophillus. It can definitely help improve function all along the digestive tract.

I don't think the rats have contributed to the rooster's health issues, but certainly rate the effort to get rid of them. My best luck getting rats is with spring traps placed where they appear to be trying to build nests. I block the trap off from being accessible to my chickens but still easy for the rats to get to. One rat recently was devoted to the idea of nesting in one of my egg laying boxes. They are smart, though, and require a militant commitment to battle. Are you smarter than a rat? You'll find out.

 

[chickenmomma16]

By all means start giving a probiotic such as acidophillus. It can definitely help improve function all along the digestive tract.

I don't think the rats have contributed to the rooster's health issues, but certainly rate the effort to get rid of them. My best luck getting rats is with spring traps placed where they appear to be trying to build nests. I block the trap off from being accessible to my chickens but still easy for the rats to get to. One rat recently was devoted to the idea of nesting in one of my egg laying boxes. They are smart, though, and require a militant commitment to battle. Are you smarter than a rat? You'll find out.

I just gave him some probiotic powder for chicks in his water. I figured the antibiotics/miconazole were killing everything off and I was going to give probiotics after meds were done.
Seriously, I have snap traps, the corn bread mix/baking soda “poison”, a ratinator left open to bait them first, and we’ve even tried to sneak out to the coop with a .22 but they run out of the coop instead of cornering themselves inside like the others before them did. These last 2 won’t go near any sort of trap. I watch them on camera just avoiding the traps and cornbread poison and running out of the coop.

I don't think the water was the problem.

Unless your TSC happens to have some Amoxicillin (Fish Antibiotic) then very likely they don't have anything different. Most ABX you have to order online and they are fairly limited.
I don't know if eating a rodent turd would cause this. Anything is possible.
Nothing to be embarrassed about, chickens and livestock attract rodents. Trapping works pretty well, but sometimes the smarty pants ones you have to try to poison. It will be an ongoing battle, you think you get rid of them, then more find you.

So the crop is still watery. @azygous may want to chime in here. Since you've given ABX and treated with the Miconazole, I would be inclined to see about helping balance the gut and see if that poop improves. I'd give him white cooked rice with buttermilk.

See my above response to Azygous. I’ve been really good about keeping up on the rodent issue but someone bout a little piece of land next to us as “storage” and it’s turning into a trashy looking plot.

I’ll offer him some rice. I don’t have buttermilk, only dairy on hand is cottage cheese. I just gave him probiotic water this morning. He actually looked pretty good this morning! I was scared yesterday, he did not look good. This morning though he was walking around and seemed more alert. Still a bit weak and tail down, but I’ll take anything! He’s inside for a bit to medicate and check poop. He happily gobbled up a few mealworms. He still has a couple days left with the Miconazole. Today is day 5 on the penicillin.

 

[azygous]

Have you tried the roller bucket trap?

 

[chickenmomma16]

Have you tried the roller bucket trap?

Not yet. But desperate times call for desperate measures. My sister had good luck with the electric traps. There is the sticky traps but I think those are so cruel.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Not yet. But desperate times call for desperate measures. My sister had good luck with the electric traps. There is the sticky traps but I think those are so cruel.

I agree, I have a rat issue too. I'm almost there, I believe, but there's a couple very clever ones left. I'll be resorting to electric kill traps to get them. They're supposedly very efficient, and humane. I'll let you know if I have success with them!

 

[chickenmomma16]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous

Would it be a good thing or a bad thing that he’s mostly pooping urates and not the green anymore? I’ve noticed in the coop area there is some green but it’s been a lot less and more urates. Still no huge change. It’s colder today and he was pretty listless this morning until I warmed him up inside. He does have a heating pad outside in the mini coop with no drafts.

 

[azygous]

Ah, the cruelty debate. Each is entitled to their opinion, but the issue demands a clear choice. Do you wish to raise rodents along with chickens? Or would you rather limit your efforts to just raising chickens? If your answer is the latter, then you would be wise to choose the most efficient means of rodent control.