My hen is sick but Im not sure what exactly, vet said she would most likely slowly starve to death soon

[SunshineLadies]

My girl is a few months away from 3 years old, and I believe she's a New Hamphire Red of some sort.
She's had a floppy comb for a few months now and a little dull in colour, and has some laboured breathing. But in January she started to "throw up" and couldn't hold down water and her crop would be full. We took her to the vet, they emptied her crop, and assessed that nothing was blocking the crop, and did xrays anyway (if including those xrays here would be helpful please ask) and they didn't see anything that would block the food and water. They said it was most likely an infection that was causing it. Said her bones were dense (in a healthy way) and she was still hormonal which is normal (though she hasnt laid an egg since..I wanna say November 2021 but Im not sure). They also gave her fluids since she was dehydrated, and gave me a bottle of antibiotics to give her twice a day orally every 12 hours (amoxicillin) for 10 days. She seemed to get better from that (no more "vomiting", but her comb was never back to a perky normal red) but then she started to get the same symptoms again after a couple months (vomiting and comb ends turning purple and very dull)...so we took her to the vet again just a few days ago and when they weighed her she lost a third of her weight since last time (they weighed her at 2.945 kg). And she didn't have much in her crop but they emptied it anyway and didn't find anything besides some grass, and some dried mealworms we gave her as a small treat before going to the vet and some water she drank. Her comb has turned a purple colour at the ends since before the latest vet visit. They said she was probably going to just slowly starve to death in due time, or that we could schedule a day for euthanasia. They said they would prescribe me the same antibiotic medication again if I wanted to give it another shot and of course I would, so I'm doing the same thing as before. But with that, I purchased a "Severe Stress Probiotic Water Supplement for Chickens with Electrolytes, Prebiotics & Oregano" to put in her water, and a scratch feed that she was more willing to eat than her normal feed (she wasn't eating much before the most recent vet visit). It's been a few days since I started this, and she hasn't thrown up any water, has had a decent appetite and drinks water like normal and her dropping are more solid than before, though not back to normal (they've been very watery pre-vet). Her crop tends to stay full, but she still produces droppings so she's obviously digesting..just not very quickly. Her comb looks a bit better than before, though it still shows a faint purple on the tips. I've been weighing her at least twice a day to just see if she's lost anymore weight, and thankfully she hasn't, though it barely increased to 2.990kg in the most recent weigh. The plan is that I definitely dont want her to die because of starvation, so I will get her euthanised if her weight consistently drops. Im quite frustrated that they couldnt give me a pinpoint answer to what was wrong with her....Would anyone know what the issue is specifically? Is there any hope for her to go back to normal at this rate? Is there something else I can try and do for her? I have 4 backyard chickens total, if that helps. They are completely fine and healthy, except my girl here. Any thoughts and suggestions would be much appreciated.



These are her most recent photos. She's still quite alert and active. She walks around and dirt bathes. Average appetite, drinks water. Just wish I knew what was wrong so I could more properly try to help her

 

[SunshineLadies]

*Ah sorry I meant to say Novembet 2022 with her not laying eggs*

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. Many times we cannot see exactly what is going on inside their bodies until after death when we can do a necropsy or autopsy. The crop not emptying fully is usually a sign of something else happening where there is pressure inside the abdomen. That could be from laying internally, salpingitis, cancer, ascites (water belly,) or infection. These all can be common in hens over 2 and can sometimes occur earlier. Since she is not laying, it probably is a reproductive disorder. Is her tail position down or up? It is common for them to act fairly normal, but have a poor appetite, and lose weight. The crop should normally feel empty by early morning, so I would think about trying to treat her for a slow or sour crop. Or just let her be, and put her down if she is suffering at some point. Here is a good article about treating crop problems:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[SunshineLadies]

Sorry about your hen. Many times we cannot see exactly what is going on inside their bodies until after death when we can do a necropsy or autopsy. The crop not emptying fully is usually a sign of something else happening where there is pressure inside the abdomen. That could be from laying internally, salpingitis, cancer, ascites (water belly,) or infection. These all can be common in hens over 2 and can sometimes occur earlier. Since she is not laying, it probably is a reproductive disorder. Is her tail position down or up? It is common for them to act fairly normal, but have a poor appetite, and lose weight. The crop should normally feel empty by early morning, so I would think about trying to treat her for a slow or sour crop. Or just let her be, and put her down if she is suffering at some point. Here is a good article about treating crop problems:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Her tail is positioned up. Thank you for your detailed response, I appreciate it so much. I'll try to treat her for a slow or sour crop and do what I can with that.

 

[Fontaine]

I wish I had some thoughts on this but I don’t as I’m experienced. I just wanted to say how sorry I am you’re going through this .