Impacted gizzard?? PLEASE see my post on page 3

[Noobchick]

Put Wazine in their water this AM. Thanks to everyone who helped! Keeping my fingers crossed for my girls- BPR still very droopy this AM, and the poop under the roosts was disgusting. Only one pile of normal looking poo.

 

[Noobchick]

Been checking on my sick girl thru out the day today. She hasn't drunk anything in the few times I've been down and her poops are still mucousy and seem to be getting more bloody.

I'm starting to get really worried that I'll lose her. She's not eaten anything in the last two days at least either. Please someone i need some help!!

 

[Noobchick]

Just in case it matters, my girl is a Barred Plymouth Rock. Shes about 18 weeks old.

Took her to the vet last night and they took Xrays. Her gizzard was twicenthe size its supposed to be. No way to tell whats in there. The vet prescribed Flagyl and Panacur, which is an antibiotic and an anti-worming med. She also gave her a shot for pain. (I will also use the antiwormer for the other 7 birds in my flock and have given them electrolyte water.)

Last night, I managed to get her to eat some cat food mixed with olive oil and some electrolyte water. She had some poop this AM that was mostly greenish liquid-like stuff with a small amount of what looked like cecal poop.

Shes drinking water now but I havent been able to get her to eat the cat food again. I tried adding some raw oatmeal and then a few tiny pieces of lettuce. She sticks her beak in then refuses to eat more.

Im wondering if she is eating the bedding. She kept picking up pieces of bedding in her beak. Cant tell if she ingested any thiugh.

So. My question is this: what do I do to get her gizzard back to normal???? Im really concerned and I dont know what to do at this point.

 

[GA_in_GA]

Wish I could help, but am still too new.

At least this will bump you.

 

[Noobchick]

Thanks. Im hoping someone knows what to do.

 

[Noobchick]

Got her to eat some hardboiled egg yolk. Shes still drinking and looks perkier. But still the green poop which I see from some threads on this site could indicate that her organs are shutting down. Someone please help me.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i don't know how much i can help. If you have a vet who has seen her, ask about the gizzard issue.

On the green poop, i can only comment from experience. i had a 2-3 year old silkie that stopped eating and her poos were brighter green than normal, very watery with green pieces. She finally passed and the necropsy showed she had liver cancer. i thought i had read on several other threads that green droppings can be caused by undiluted bile from the liver, especially if they aren't eating enough. So it doesn't necessarily mean that her organs are shutting down, or that she has cancer or anything horrible. It might just be because she isn't getting enough food.

It's good she's eating some egg, and drinking water. i would continue with the Wazine for today. Then in two weeks follow up with the topical ivermectin drops on the skin at the back of the neck. That should catch all the worms your chickens might have.

Hope she feels better soon.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you can, talk to that vet.

Some thoughts. I'm not a medical professional so take this for what it's worth. I could be way off base with any of these.

Does she have grit? If she does not have grit to help her grind her food, her gizzard may really be impacted. Some smaller stuff can squeeze through, maybe, but some stuff could get stuck in there. If possible, you might try feeding her grit. Grit will not help an impacted crop, but it might an impacted gizzard.

Then to show how helpful I am, the opposite possibility. I've read where birds can scarf down so much sand and gravel that it can cause an impaction, crop or gizzard. That study was on emus but there was something in the article that it could happen to other birds. So maybe grit is not the answer but the problem?

The other thought and an even less pleasant one. Maybe she ate a small nail or something similar and it punctured the wall of her gizzard when she tried to grind it up.

I wish you luck. It's rough not knowing.

 

[Wynette]

I think the vet took an x-ray, which would have shown any metal objects she may have ingested.

It IS possible she's eating her bedding, but not likely; when they are not feeling well, they do tend to eat things they normally do not.

Do not leave her on electrolyte water more than 2-3 days; it's hard on their organs.

The thing they die from most quickly is dehydration, so make sure she's drinking. Did your vet show you how to tube feed her? If not, s/he should have; it's very easy, and it assures you that the bird is getting the nutrition and hydration she needs.

I think course of action right now needs to be getting adequate hydration and nutrition into her. Since you've already taken her to your vet, you should also call the vet and ask what else you can do....I'm very sorry you're going through this, and I wish you the VERY BEST of luck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

You are right. With the X-ray, anything hard enough to puncture the gizzard wall should show up, even hard plastic. So should a gizzard packed with sand.