Lethargic hen with slow draining crop and very little (watery, some green) poop

[bethadee]

Hi! First time poster here (I think). My 1 year old bantam Mille Fleur hen started acting funny about 2 days ago. She was pecking around the yard and just previous to acting funny she was drinking out of an old tarp that was probably full of yucky stuff. Her three hen friends were also drinking out of the tarp and they are fine. She basically didn't really feel like walking around and had her feathers fluffed and tail down.

I took her inside and put her in a crate with some acv water and yogurt. Her crop was VERY full of liquid, but it did not have a smell to it. I gave her about a teaspoon of olive oil and massaged her crop to see if anything would start passing. She laid an egg, hooray! But she is not pooping much. When she does poop, it is mostly watery with a little bit of green solid matter. This morning she seemed a little bit better. She spent the night roosting on a branch in the crate so she has at least enough energy to do that, but her crop was still very full. Much less full now so I don't have to worry as much about prolapse, but why is it draining so slow? Why no poop? Has anyone had a similar experience?

I set up my webcam so that I can watch her. Her name is Liza after Liza Minelli because she liked to strut her stuff in front of the camera when she was a little baby meep, and she is still doing that now. So funny. I think she is attracted to the red light on the webcam. Yes I am a weirdo that checks in on my chickens at work. I'm sure you all understand!

 

[bethadee]

One more thing: She is eating and drinking normally. I took away solid food because I didn't want her crop to get any bigger if it was blocked. She is currently happily munching away on yogurt and standing up with her tail almost all the way up. Still no poop!

 

[casportpony]

One more thing: She is eating and drinking normally. I took away solid food because I didn't want her crop to get any bigger if it was blocked. She is currently happily munching away on yogurt and standing up with her tail almost all the way up. Still no poop!

Sounds like she has a blockage somewhere between her crop and her vent, could be anywhere. Get yourself some KY Jelly, glove and gently perform an exam. I might even squirt some KY or mineral oil in her vent.

 

[bethadee]

Thanks! Those pictures are very helpful. I will perform an exam tonight if she is still not pooping. How do I make sure that I am examining her digestive tract and not her reproductive tract? Her egg laying is fine and I don't want to mess with it.

 

[casportpony]

Thanks! Those pictures are very helpful. I will perform an exam tonight if she is still not pooping. How do I make sure that I am examining her digestive tract and not her reproductive tract? Her egg laying is fine and I don't want to mess with it.

I usually have a hard time finding the opening to the reproductive tract, even when an egg is present, so I don't think you'll need to worry.

 

[casportpony]

FYI, I had one die last night, she has a huge mass, probably softball size. I suspect it's nasty egg or poop that she couldn't pass due to her being deformed. Hard to explain, but it's like her back is too short and her vent opening is very small and kept scabbing over. I'll be doing a necropsy and posting the results in a new thread.

 

[bethadee]

My Mille Fleur ended up pulling through just fine. A detail I left out is that I THINK the flock was attacked by a hawk just before she fell ill, so I wonder if the stress of the situation caused her GI tract to stall for a couple of days. She was back pecking in the yard as healthy as ever about two days after she started acting ill.

Unfortunately, she disappeared this past weekend after a fox attack. The fox ended up running off without a chicken in its teeth, but there's so sign of Liza! In every single case I've ever lost a chicken I have found a pile of feathers where they were taken. It's a mystery!