Lethargic hen with squishy crop, not eating, mucus-y poop

[Wyorp Rock]

Her poop is completely liquid today, almost looks mucus-y. I haven't seen any storms in her poop and I've also never dewormed my chickens. I started her on corid yesterday, just in case.

The Corid won't hurt her, but it will not treat worms. It will only treat Coccidiosis.
Did the vet not run a fecal float to see if worms are part of the issue? If not, then if you want to deworm her, use Safeguard Liquid Goat Dewormer (Fenbendazole). Dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days.

I know it sounds like a lot, but often a hen may have more than one thing going on. Once condition or illness can drag the system down and allow other issues to escalate as well.

I would first treat infection and crop as suggested. See what happens.

 

[iowacricket]

The Corid won't hurt her, but it will not treat worms. It will only treat Coccidiosis.
Did the vet not run a fecal float to see if worms are part of the issue? If not, then if you want to deworm her, use Safeguard Liquid Goat Dewormer (Fenbendazole). Dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days.

I know it sounds like a lot, but often a hen may have more than one thing going on. Once condition or illness can drag the system down and allow other issues to escalate as well.

I would first treat infection and crop as suggested. See what happens.

Thanks! What kind of antibiotic would you recommend?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks! What kind of antibiotic would you recommend?

Right off hand, Baytril would probably be your best bet.

She could use an antibiotic. Do you happen to have any non-"cillin" antibiotics on hand? It's a little tricky treating a crop disorder and an infection since "cillin" antibiotics can aggravate yeast.

 

[iowacricket]

Right off hand, Baytril would probably be your best bet.

Thanks so much! I've ordered some Baytril. Maude was alert this morning, although her crop was still squishy with liquid and she was still pecking at food but not eating it. I gave her coconut oil and massaged her crop a bit and I'll give her the yeast cream shortly.

No, the vet didn't do a fecal float, though I did bring in some poop.

 

[azygous]

Bring them another sample and ask them to run the fecal for worms and coccidia. It's inexpensive and takes less than an hour to do.

 

[iowacricket]

Update on Maude:
She had been about the same, not eating much, laying down, liquidy poop - and she's lost a little bit more weight, which has me really worried. I've been giving her the miconozale 2x daily, coconut oil and crop massages, and corid in her water. I'm still waiting for the Baytril to arrive, since the farm stores around me didn't have any, and I have some poop saved to take to the vet.

This morning in the run though, Maude looked a little perkier, maybe her comb was even a little redder. Our only other hen, Rosie, was in the nesting box and there was a huge fresh poop that could only have been Maude's.


It's a rainy day here, so I brought her inside to give her the miconozale, coconut oil, and crop massage. On the way back out to the run, I put her down in the grass and she gobbled up every earthworm she saw, found a huge grub, and then was foraging and eating like her old healthy self!

I'm cautiously optimistic that she's taken a turn for the better, so thank you all so much for the advice! Do you all think that I should I still give her the Baytril when it arrives?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The poop looks better.
I'm glad she's improving a little. I would continue to treat the crop.
Has she been dewormed?

If she's much improved by the time the Baytril gets here, then you may want to monitor her for a few days to see if you think she needs it.

 

[iowacricket]

The poop looks better.
I'm glad she's improving a little. I would continue to treat the crop.
Has she been dewormed?

If she's much improved by the time the Baytril gets here, then you may want to monitor her for a few days to see if you think she needs it.

No, she's never been dewormed? Should I deworm her?

This afternoon, shes still foraging, but her crop is also still squishy and now there's a rancid smell from her mouth when there hasn't been before.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Look inside her beak to make sure there's no yellow or white pasty lesions.

The bad odor coming from the beak is probably from the Sour Crop. I would continue treating that for a full 7 days.

Getting a fecal float through a vet is the best way to know if you need to deworm or not, but a lot of us don't have that option. Safeguard liquid goat dewormer or Valbazen is what I would use.
Safeguard you can find at TSC. Valbazen you would order online.

Safeguard dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.

Valbazen dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given once, then repeated in 10 days.

 

[aprilamy2001]

We literally just had this same issue Tuesday. Took our 3 month old pulley in. Doc said she had digestive issues possibly from bacteria. Gave her antibiotic and some other medication to help move the food. She went from I thought she was going to die in min to a brand new pullet . Not sure if you have figured it out yet. But her poo and crop were exactly like yours.