Need feeding advice for sick Buff Orpington

[yxstu]

Hello.
My 4-1/2 year Buff Orpington, Lucy, is not doing well. She was on antibiotics for an infection in her leg approximately three weeks ago. The leg looks better and she has been off the antibiotics for 5 days now however she has stopped eating and drinking.

We just left the vet’s office where the vet stated her crop is normal however she has lost 1 lb since the her initial visit three weeks ago. I was giving her 1 ml of mineral oil and she did pass a very long twisted strand of grass two days ago. The vet does not know what is wrong with her and suggested euthanasia. I’m not at that point yet. I asked if they could give her fluids so they gave sub q fluids and I want to try and get some food in her. Can anyone suggest what the best food would be and how to administer it since she has no desire to eat on her own.

Thank you.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you considered that she may be having some reproductive problems, such as internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis? Those can be common in chickens over 2, and may cause a slowdown of digestion. She also might have something else going on. Has her crop been impacted or sour, before you treated with mineral oil? There might be something going on in her gizzard as well.

If her crop now seems to be functioning normally, and is empty by early morning, you might consider tube feeding her for a time. If it is not emptying overnight, then tube feeding could compound the problem.

Here are some links to learning how to tube feed:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...res-under-construction.1064392/#post-17271576

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/updated-go-team-tube-feeding.805728/#post-12548717