Olive oil - bad for chickens? UPDATE: oh dear, I think it's e-coli :(

[LynneP]

I've been using a bit of apple cider vinegar in the drinking water since having a similar problem. Some of them seem to get *too* interested when the grit is renewed so I've begun giving it only when I offer treats, in their blue plastic livestock bowl. My layer feed has grit and oyster anyway!

The ACV is about 1 Tbsp to a gal of water. They all like it.

 

[caralouise1974]

Quote:
Aha - I think you may have hit on something I was beginning to suspect anyway LynneP - I think she's got a little touch of e-coli, from the imbalance in the gut flora that the crop impaction would have caused. It's classic case stuff - dark brown sticky poops, a funny sweet/sour smell coming off her, and the symptoms follow treatment for a crop problem. Does that make sense to anyone else out there too? Or am I putting together two and two and getting five?

I already give ACV, but am intending to give probiotics daily for the next week and see if that clears things up. It can't hurt in any case, can it!

Does anyone know what the mortality risk is for e-coli? (I'm kinda not as worried as when she had mycoplasma, as that looked so darn awful, and she was acting very poorly, but even though she's outwardly fine now, maybe I should be?)

 

[caralouise1974]

Sorry to give myself a bump, but... Anyone?

 

[LynneP]

I'm still working on my girl, very slow progress.

I would think that a disturbance in her gut flora would be expected and that if you are concerned and IF you are sure the impaction has passed you could offer a little plain yogurt mixed with layer feed to re-establish her previous flora.

 

[Aprilxoxo]

I know this is old but it gave me alot of useful information i needed but im scared about the massaging. How firm should i be? I think because im too scared to apply any pressure at all, im actually doing nothing to help and making my chicken think im a weirdo

 

[Perris]

I know this is old but it gave me alot of useful information i needed but im scared about the massaging. How firm should i be? I think because im too scared to apply any pressure at all, im actually doing nothing to help and making my chicken think im a weirdo

there are a number of good articles on dealing with impacted crop, e.g.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
good luck with it

 

[BluDucky7]

Okay, so Henrietta recovered from her crop impaction at the weekend, but I am noticing a bit of poop weirdness going on now.

Her poops are more often of the smelly dark caecal variety, and look very black and oily. They are also noticably smaller than usual. Funnily enough, the nighttime poops she does are fine, if a bit small, but the daytime poops are quite often caecal ones.

She is otherwise totally fine, happy and active, laying daily.

Do we think that the olive oil could be responsible? Or might she have some problems further downstream from her crop (ie gizzard, bowel?) with all that extra grit I think she swallowed? It is also pretty lovely weather here in the UK (23 degrees celcius - which is amazing for us in April!) so she's very hot and drinking lots of extra water. Might that be doing it?

Anyone think I should simply stop worrying over nothing?