Older hen not well..thinking Internal Laying/EYP..also not clearing crop

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Not looking good. No improvement so far. She has not eaten anything since Sunday, and very little water. I'm not sure how she is still standing. She has lost over a pound of weight since this started. I do give her water with a syringe, but with the crop not clearing, that seems pointless. Her crop is mainly liquid. I don't feel any solids in there.

She's out in the run with her mates. She mostly just stands in one spot, eyes closed, but occasionally I do see her pecking at the ground a bit. Seems like she wants to do chicken things, but just doesn't feel well enough to do much.
 
vantain said:
Not looking good. No improvement so far. She has not eaten anything since Sunday, and very little water. I'm not sure how she is still standing. She has lost over a pound of weight since this started. I do give her water with a syringe, but with the crop not clearing, that seems pointless. Her crop is mainly liquid. I don't feel any solids in there.

She's out in the run with her mates. She mostly just stands in one spot, eyes closed, but occasionally I do see her pecking at the ground a bit. Seems like she wants to do chicken things, but just doesn't feel well enough to do much.
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Sad to hear she hasn't improved. It is sounding like obstruction. If she can't clear it on her own, she would likely need surgery. Most times it happens in the crop and it is an easy surgery. I know some on here have done this themselves, but as the heart is located behind there, I prefer to bring mine in to a vet to first confirm the obstruction and then have them do the surgery. They generally recover within a few hrs of the surgery and start eating/drinking again. When my latest chicken had the obstruction of binder clip, all I felt was a ballon-like liquid crop. This was at the point where nothing was moving through her system any longer, as it had finally caused a full obstruction. She kept wanting to drink, but liquid would come up when she would lower her head. She had lost weight rapidly at that point as well.

Though the EYP people mention could be an issue, I've had a hen that is now almost 8 yrs old that has periodically laid soft shelled/no shelled eggs throughout her time and periodically exhibits signs of EYP. I treat her periodically and it improves. Though it could be this for your hen, to me it's sounding more like crop obstruction.

Wishing you the best!
 
Sometimes a hen can be suffering from reproductive issues that also cause other symptoms. Sadly it's pretty common. A lot of times all you can do is see that they are getting fluids, eating a little something and then when they seem to be suffering, kindly put them out of their misery instead of letting them linger. Cervical dislocation is a quick and effective method.

Once the bird has expired, perform your own necropsy to see what you find. Doing one yourself will give you a lot of information sometimes and you will gain some knowledge as to what the bird has been going through. It's just amazing to see sometimes. Of course a formal necropsy through your state lab is more thorough and you will get a diagnostic, but I personally prefer hands on.
 
I have been patient, and want her to survive, but I also know that they do die. She is still with us this morning, and I would say she is about the same as the past few days. She isn't completely lethargic. She has periods of the day when she just stands or sits with her eyes closed. But I have seen her at other times, pecking at the ground, even scratching a bit in the dirt. She just seems to be very tired. She won't fly up to the roost, but uses the ramp to get up and down.

I have read that a chicken cannot survive without food for 4-5 days. This is where it gets odd. She has not eaten anything since last Friday (7 days), at least that I know of. There are never any droppings below her on the roost in the morning, and I have not seen her drop anything but some clear liquid occasionally. I think it is mostly water, which she does drink.

She has lost over a pound of weight since this started, and is wasting away. But she isn't at the point of being so weak she cannot stand or walk. Her tail is up, most of the time.

I know I should do the right thing and help her go, but I have a hard time doing that when they are at least still mobile, and trying. If she was lethargic all day long, and or so weak that she can't stand, it would be easier to make that decision.

She's just a chicken......but....
 
It's important to examine why we are reluctant to end the suffering of one of our chickens when we know she is suffering. Our own beliefs about life often interfere with what should be a simple decision.

No. She's not "just a chicken". She's a living creature as we are. Purposely stopping a creature from living goes against our own commitment to continue to live. Our own survival instinct gets confused in these cases with another creature nearing the end of their life. It's what makes death so confusing and scary to us in this culture.

So, it helps to separate your hen's life from your own. Your hen's body is losing its ability to support life, meaning all her parts have quit working as they should. The end is not far away if left to finish on her own. By ending it for her, you would not so much be ending her life but removing her from the last days of suffering before she gets to the end on her own.
 
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Her suffering is over.
RIP Daisy!
IMG_1871.jpeg
 
A few highlights of her life...
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IMG_1152.jpeg
IMG_1173.jpeg

She was never one to be held, but she was the kindest of the bunch. When the new girls arrived, she became a surrogate mom to them, while my other Hen hated their arrival.

She was one of my first four chickens when I started this chicken keeping journey. Two others (all ISA Browns) have preceded her, with one of the bunch still left.
 

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