Not eating/not pooping

[momto5ladies]

On Saturday I noticed Bitsy was standing in the rain with her eyes closed. For the longest time she didn't move. I went out there with meat and everyone ate but Bits. All she would do is stand there with her eyes closed. Thankfully I have a winter/medical coop set up in the garage so I was able to put her in there.

I added Electrolytes and Probiotic's to her water which she has been able to drink. The only food I've been able to get her to eat is Butternut Squash baby food. I have tried everything (yogurt, fresh corn, meat, all kinds of baby food, scratch, greens, etc.) but she won't eat anything.

Yesterday I took her to the Vet. The doctor thought it might be an upper respitory infection and gave her fluids, an antibiotic shot and Vitamin B Complex injection. I've also been given an antibiotic fluid that I give her twice a day.

So far there has been no improvement. I plan on giving it another day but won't let her suffer. If theres no improvement by tomorrow then I will have to take her in to have euthanized.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? Anything else I can do. Bits is only 27 weeks. She laid her first egg about two weeks ago but hasn't laid since. I asked the doctor he thought it was a problem with her crop, he didn't think so. He also didn't think an egg was stuck.

Bits is a Barred Plymouth Rock. These are my first chickens.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

Sorry to hear Bits is so poorly.
How does her crop feel? If she hasn't been eating much then it should feel pretty empty. If it feels quite full or hard then she may be impacted. You can usually massage their crops without any discomfort....most seem to quite enjoy it. Smell her breath.
I don't mean to dispute what your vet says, but some vets have little or no idea about chickens, so you can't always assume they know what they are talking about..
She will benefit from a heat lamp or heat pad if she is unwell. Once they get cold and have no food inside to keep them warm, they can deteriorate quickly, so a heat source can generate a quite rapid improvement. I would continue to give her warm soft/sloppy food if she will take it. Her pellets soaked in water to a soft paste and mixed with scrambled egg or bread soaked in warm water or keep with butternut squash baby food if that's all she will eat. The benefit of sloppy food is that it is easy to eat and ensures they get plenty of fluids.
Examine her body condition. How does her keel bone feel... that's the bone than runs down the centre of her breast to her abdomen. Can you just feel it or is it quite pronounced and sharp.

If her crop is empty and her body condition is poor (sharp keel bone), she may benefit from being tube fed. Sometimes they can get so weak that they can't be bothered to eat and that makes them deteriorate further. @casportpony is the expert on tube feeding and would be able to guide you through it, if you think it may help.

I hope you are able to help her to recover.

Keeping fingers crossed for her.
Best wishes

Barbara

 

[momto5ladies]

Thanks Barbara for your reply. I will try to massage her crop. The Vet thought it felt full but I wondered about that as she hadn't eaten in so long.

I'll get a heat lamp on her (great suggestion). Maybe that will make her feel better.

 

[rebrascora]

I recently had a bantam with an impacted crop. It took nearly 2 weeks of sloppy food and 4x daily massage to bring her right. Also, if she is impacted, oral antibiotics will not help as they will not be absorbed by her system.

Do you supply grit for your chickens. Lack of grit can cause impaction. especially if you feed them grains and/or they have access to grass. You might want to try vomiting her if you feel that her crop is the problem. There are you tube videos on how to do that, but start with some gentle massage and report how it feels. ie soft and squishy, granular, firm, hard or even clay like. Also smell her breath whilst you massage. If she has sour crop it will be pretty obvious without getting your nose too close.

Good luck

 

[momto5ladies]

Just an update. I had Bitsy put to sleep yesterday. She wasn't moving, wasn't eating and stopped drinking water. It was the right thing to do. She was only 27 weeks old.

 

[rebrascora]

So sorry to hear that. Never an easy decision but the responsible thing to do.

Have you considered having a necropsy done? I really like to know what was wrong if I lose a bird, in the hope that I can improve my knowledge for "next time".