Hi all,
Wondering if anyone could throw out some ideas on how to best treat one of my birds. Backstory: got her in April at 4-5 months old. She came with three others, the others extremely healthy and energetic. This one did not seem sick per se, but has always been less active, not super interested in food, venturing far from coop, and has always required a bit of extra assistance for example getting herself into the coop at night. At this point (probably about 7mo) she has never laid an egg.
About 3 weeks ago I noticed her crop was full a couple mornings in a row. Took her inside, did the standard crop impaction treatment - coconut oil, massages, softened foods. Seemed to work over the course of a few days.
Within another couple of days however, the problem was back. This is more or less the beginning of two weeks ago. For a full week, I did the same impacted crop treatment, plus began to notice a bit of a smell so started sour crop treatment as well using over the counter Monistat. The sour crop cleared up after 5 days of treatment but the crop still was not emptying. Over this time I also treated for worms (safeguard for a week) and for coccidiosis (Endocox 3 days). Nothing helped. I made a vet appointment at that point - about a week ago.
Over the past week I did my best to give appropriate care. Got her a chicken bra, continued massages. Tried an Epsom salt flush and a molasses flush. Epsom bath. Nothing moved at all. Within the past week she has gotten extremely thin, although still eats a bit and does drink on her own. She is not interested in softened food or yogurt but will go for applesauce and jams.
Vet appointment was two days ago. They did an x ray and there is no blockage. There is just something happening in her system that is causing her digestive system past her crop to move extremely slowly. Since I had thrown essentially all I could think of at this problem, they were also at a loss. They suggested lead poisoning, which could result in weakness, weight loss, and slow digestion. Well, that bloodwork came back today and yielded negative results. So we are back to square one.
The vet recommended I come back in for more blood work and cultures. The soonest they have is over a week from now and I’m worried given her rapid weight loss that she won’t make it until then. The vet recommended over the counter oxytetracycline until then in her water, which I have started her on today.
Any suggestions to quicken her digestion? I have had her on probiotics and digestive enzymes throughout the past three weeks. Or suggestions on a high nutrient diet to help her put some weight back on? I was planning to start her on kaytee baby bird food tonight since it can be made more or less a liquid and maybe a bit easier to pass through her system. Any suggestions at all or thoughts on what this could be would be very appreciated! Thanks
Wondering if anyone could throw out some ideas on how to best treat one of my birds. Backstory: got her in April at 4-5 months old. She came with three others, the others extremely healthy and energetic. This one did not seem sick per se, but has always been less active, not super interested in food, venturing far from coop, and has always required a bit of extra assistance for example getting herself into the coop at night. At this point (probably about 7mo) she has never laid an egg.
About 3 weeks ago I noticed her crop was full a couple mornings in a row. Took her inside, did the standard crop impaction treatment - coconut oil, massages, softened foods. Seemed to work over the course of a few days.
Within another couple of days however, the problem was back. This is more or less the beginning of two weeks ago. For a full week, I did the same impacted crop treatment, plus began to notice a bit of a smell so started sour crop treatment as well using over the counter Monistat. The sour crop cleared up after 5 days of treatment but the crop still was not emptying. Over this time I also treated for worms (safeguard for a week) and for coccidiosis (Endocox 3 days). Nothing helped. I made a vet appointment at that point - about a week ago.
Over the past week I did my best to give appropriate care. Got her a chicken bra, continued massages. Tried an Epsom salt flush and a molasses flush. Epsom bath. Nothing moved at all. Within the past week she has gotten extremely thin, although still eats a bit and does drink on her own. She is not interested in softened food or yogurt but will go for applesauce and jams.
Vet appointment was two days ago. They did an x ray and there is no blockage. There is just something happening in her system that is causing her digestive system past her crop to move extremely slowly. Since I had thrown essentially all I could think of at this problem, they were also at a loss. They suggested lead poisoning, which could result in weakness, weight loss, and slow digestion. Well, that bloodwork came back today and yielded negative results. So we are back to square one.
The vet recommended I come back in for more blood work and cultures. The soonest they have is over a week from now and I’m worried given her rapid weight loss that she won’t make it until then. The vet recommended over the counter oxytetracycline until then in her water, which I have started her on today.
Any suggestions to quicken her digestion? I have had her on probiotics and digestive enzymes throughout the past three weeks. Or suggestions on a high nutrient diet to help her put some weight back on? I was planning to start her on kaytee baby bird food tonight since it can be made more or less a liquid and maybe a bit easier to pass through her system. Any suggestions at all or thoughts on what this could be would be very appreciated! Thanks
