Impacted crop question

[bismo]

Those are telltale signs that a bird is feeling puny and unwell...continue with the crop massages and do the worming. Let us know if there are any changes. I had a pullet this year that had an impacted crop and it took a week of coconut oil and massages before she was back to her mouthy self, lol, sometimes it takes a while. I hope your girl bounces back soon

Sounds good, I'm looking into worming options right now. Seems like some work for some types of worms, and some don't, so I'm just trying to figure out the right one. Leaning towards fenbendazole but not 100% sure.

 

[coach723]

Fenbendazole is usually the easiest to find, as Safeguard liquid goat wormer, horse paste, or Panacur. You can also use Albendazole (Valbazen), that usually has to be ordered. If you use fenbendazole you will need to dose 5 days in a row (.23 ml per pound of bird weight), that will treat most common worms (except tapeworm- that is less common however), if you use albendazole (valbazen) then you will dose twice, 10 days apart (for a standard sized bird usually .5 ml - actual math for dosing is "weight in lbs / 2.2 x 20 / 113.6" ) and that will do the same worms. Dosing for Valbazen is a little less volume of med per pound. Any of those will work.
It doesn't sound like she's egg bound. A truly egg bound bird cannot poop. You can check by inserting a gloved and lubed finger into her vent 1-2", if there's an egg you would feel it. She could have had a glitch in laying, or being ill may be the reason she's not laying. It can be a cause or effect, hard to say. Crop problems and digestive problems can be very frustrating since you can't see what's going on inside. There are a lot of things that can cause it, so you just start with the most common and work from there.

 

[bismo]

Fenbendazole is usually the easiest to find, as Safeguard liquid goat wormer, horse paste, or Panacur. You can also use Albendazole (Valbazen), that usually has to be ordered. If you use fenbendazole you will need to dose 5 days in a row (.23 ml per pound of bird weight), that will treat most common worms (except tapeworm- that is less common however), if you use albendazole (valbazen) then you will dose twice, 10 days apart (for a standard sized bird usually .5 ml - actual math for dosing is "weight in lbs / 2.2 x 20 / 113.6" ) and that will do the same worms. Dosing for Valbazen is a little less volume of med per pound. Any of those will work.
It doesn't sound like she's egg bound. A truly egg bound bird cannot poop. You can check by inserting a gloved and lubed finger into her vent 1-2", if there's an egg you would feel it. She could have had a glitch in laying, or being ill may be the reason she's not laying. It can be a cause or effect, hard to say. Crop problems and digestive problems can be very frustrating since you can't see what's going on inside. There are a lot of things that can cause it, so you just start with the most common and work from there.

Thanks for the info. As I was massaging her crop just a minute ago, I felt it "protude" for a second like her body was pushing it out, and heard upset stomach noises. Not sure if that's normal crop function after feeding her water, or if that's abnormal. Luckily the impaction has remained soft and broken up unlike the last 2 days, but it also doesn't seem to have passed.

 

[coach723]

The only foods should be water soluble, nothing fiberous or hard to digest. Some regular crumble or pellets mixed with some water to make a mash is good. But if the crop stays full then adding more to it is not going to help things. So that's a judgement call on your part based on how it's going. If some is passing, but just a small mass remains then some food would be OK. If nothing is passing then I'd stick with fluids until it's moving.

 

[coach723]

You are very welcome. Fingers crossed for your hen.

 

[bismo]

Doing well so far, fed her some mashed up feed mixed with water last night, and it passed through her. Her tail's no longer down, but it's not all the way up like the other chickens. She's eating the same mash today, and seems to be pooping pretty regularly too. She's definitely a lot happier now that she's not starving.

 

[coach723]

Glad to hear she's doing a little better!

 

[bismo]

She's feeling pretty good today, but I've only been giving her the mash feed + water. What's the process in getting back to normal feed? And how quickly can I transition? I've got to get back to work monday, so I won't be able to check on her all day like I have been. I'm hoping I can do a drier mash tomorrow, then try regular feed and have her back with the other hens monday. Would that be a good idea, or is that too fast?

 

[coach723]

Is the small mass gone from her crop? If so, and her poops are looking pretty normal then you can reduce the water in the mash and see how she does. The go back to regular feed and again see how she does. If the problem comes back you will have to back track again.

 

[bismo]

Is the small mass gone from her crop? If so, and her poops are looking pretty normal then you can reduce the water in the mash and see how she does. The go back to regular feed and again see how she does. If the problem comes back you will have to back track again.

I'm honestly not sure if what I'm feeling is a marble-sized mass or just an empty crop, I suppose I should compare it to my other chickens. If that is still a small piece of impaction left, I should be able to get rid of it pretty easily. Can I start giving her access to grit again?