Need help quick!!! Lethargic hen, bleeding from head, hard crop.

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

My australorp hen was found in the Coop this morning laying down on the floor. She is very lethargic and seems like she was pecked on the head. I cleaned the cut out with peroxide and put flour on the cut to help stop the bleeding.
Her crop is hard feeling and I'm not sure what to do. She won't eat or drink and is just barely holding on. Please help me help her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she still alive? Perhaps she was attacked because she was dying. A hard impacted crop needs to be flushed with water, and if she isn't alert enough to get her to drink or swallow, I'm not sure what you could do at this point. If she becomes more normal and awake, you could try to insert a feeding tube or a piece of aquarium tubing into her crop, and flush the crop with about 2 ounces of water, then massage it frequently. Here is a thread about tube feeding: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding and a link about crop problems:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/answers-from-chicken-vet-on-impacted.html

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Thank you very much for the response. She is still alive.
Thanks for those links, her crop does feel smaller than normal and hard (not squishy at all really). She hasn't had access to any long grass lately. The last treat she had was yesterday (iceberg lettuce and a very small amount of bread). But I doubt she got much of it because my other hens were pretty quick to get to the treats.

I can't get her to eat much or drink much at all. I've offered her egg, water (with polyvistol- without iron), yogurt, tomato and she hasnt ate much of anything. She Chews a little but doesnt seem to swallow the food. I would pull down her wattles and put some water in her mouth with a syringe, I'm just afraid of her choking.

She also keeps her eyes closed most of the time. She does open them when I talk to her but then she closes them again. She has been sleeping most of the day, but does occasionally stand up on her own.

My hen has an existing leg problem that has resulted in a limp for the past year or so. I'm wondering if perhaps she fell off the roost last night or this morning and wasn't able to get out of the way of the Rest of my flock, and they pecked her. Either that or she is sick in some way.

Do you think her head wound is the reason for her eyes being closed?
Would you recommend pulling her wattles down and gently putting some water (with polyvistol) or Gatorade in her mouth?

Thanks so much.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Quick update on my hen:
Woke up this morning and checked on her. She opened her eyes and looked at me and seemed to be doing good. I picked her up and her neck seemed kind of stiff. She started gasping for air and breathing through her mouth. She did this for a good 45 mins or so. I held her and finally placed her back in her bin. After a few minutes in her bin she is now breathing through her nose again and opened her eyes a few times to look at me. Now she appears to be sleeping.

What do I do?

 

[oesdog]

You could try a wee bit of Olive oil in a syringe if the crop is still solid. You need to gently massage it to break up the mass. As for the breathing you could try putting a wee bit of vick under her wing so she gets a wiff. What about an antibiotic? Tylon is good and can be diluted in water and then given via a syringe. Not sure how else to help just to keep her warm and away from the others in a quiet place.
Has she gotten up on her feet again? Sounds like she may have a respiritory infection. You will need an antibiotic for that. I do hope she pulls through. Try not to give her too much treat food. Scrambled egg and yogurt is probably better bread will clog the crop more.

Oes

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

I'm wondering if she could have gape worm. Yesterday when she slept she extended her neck out and tucked her head in. I've never seen a chicken do this. The gasping also leads me to believe she might have gape worm.

I think I have some safe guard on hand (I might have dyramycin too). Do you think either of these may help her? If so what dosage?
She is drinking today (using a syringe) but not eating.

Edited to add: No rattling sounds when she breathes. She does take shallow breathes sometimes (it gets better and then gets worse again). And she has gasping episodes too.
She has not gotten on her feet much at all today. Yesterday she did stand up a few times. But she needed me to balance her.

 

[casportpony]

If her crop is still hard and full of food she needs to have water tubed to break it up and get it moving. Crop problems are usually secondary to something else that's causing a blockage, like a stuck egg, tumors, ascites, etc. You mentioned that she has a limp... Is she vaccinated for Marek's?

Worming for gapeworms with Safeguard is 20mg/kg 3 days in a row, which is .2ml per 2.2 pounds for 3 days. Keep in mind that open mouth breathing can be a sign that the dying process has started and this can start several days before they die.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Weigh her daily on a kitchen or postal scale. If she's losing weight and/or not eating/drinking she needs to be tube fed, period.

-Kathy

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

She has had leg problems her whole life. I don't believe her limp has anything to do with her current illness, as she has had this limp for over a year.
I got her from TSC chick days, so I'm not sure if she was vaccinated for mareks, I doubt it.

 

[casportpony]

She has had leg problems her whole life. I don't believe her limp has anything to do with her current illness, as she has had this limp for over a year.
I got her from TSC chick days, so I'm not sure if she was vaccinated for mareks, I doubt it.

Just keep in mind that it could be Marek's.

-Kathy