My old girl Poppy is struggling ☹️

[Mrs J]

Hi everyone
My old girl Poppy is really struggling. She is 8 yrs old and seems to be having one problem after another. I first noticed about 4 weeks ago that she was looking quite rough so I brought her inside to check her over. Her crop was impacted and rock hard, the size of a little stone. After lots of coconut oil and massaging it cleared so I put her back outside. 2 days later she was looking really sluggish so I brought her back inside, it was sour crop, I treated and cleared that and she seemed to pick up. I have been keeping a close eye on her and checking her crop, the sour crop came back, but that has cleared up again. She has lost so much weight and is not eating at all so I have been feeding her scrambled eggs, grapes, berries, bananas and tuna and fish flakes for protein, giving her plenty of fluids etc. Watching her today, she is peeing clear fluids, no poop. She is inside with me now and still no poop despite me feeding her and her crop being full. This tells me she most probably has a blockage? in her intestines maybe?? I went rooting to see if I have any laxatives and the only one I have is Dulcolax with Bisacodyl. There so much conflicting information about this so I am scared to use it for fear off causing her more upset. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, is it a blockage in her intestines? Is this laxative safe to use if she is constipated? If not, any home remedies that I can make until I can get to the shops tomorrow? Is this part of her old age and maybe other underlying issues? She is not egg bound, I did check just to be sure even though she hasn’t laid an egg in years.
TIA
Mrs J

 

[Eggcessive]

I would not use bisacodyl laxative on a chicken. Unfortunately Dulcolax has a brand of stool softener, but they are more known for their laxative. The stool softener which is better known as doccusate sodium and the brand name Colace is okay to use to help with crop problems and constipation. But people make the mistake of using the laxative sometimes.

Can you post any pictures of her stools? The urates, normally the white cap is the uric acid. If she is passing clear liquid, that is probably her stool. Is her lower belly enlarged under her vent? Can you use a disposable glove, and insert a finger into her vent to feel for any stuck poop? Use some lubricant or ointment if needed. She may be nearing the end of her days. I would try to make her comfortable. They will usually take a little scrambled egg to eat. You may want to consider ending her suffering if she seems uncomfortable.

 

[Mrs J]

I would not use bisacodyl laxative on a chicken. Unfortunately Dulcolax has a brand of stool softener, but they are more known for their laxative. The stool softener which is better known as doccusate sodium and the brand name Colace is okay to use to help with crop problems and constipation. But people make the mistake of using the laxative sometimes.

Can you post any pictures of her stools? The urates, normally the white cap is the uric acid. If she is passing clear liquid, that is probably her stool. Is her lower belly enlarged under her vent? Can you use a disposable glove, and insert a finger into her vent to feel for any stuck poop? Use some lubricant or ointment if needed. She may be nearing the end of her days. I would try to make her comfortable. They will usually take a little scrambled egg to eat. You may want to consider ending her suffering if she seems uncomfortable.

Thank you for your reply I have checked her vent and I can’t feel any obstruction and her belly is not enlarged, I will post pics asap, tonight she hasn’t even passed any clear fluids I have her in a dog crate and she hasn’t even got the energy to jump up on to the roost that I made. She is still chatting away and putting a brave face on, bless her.