Orpington hen 2.5 yo with chronic diarrhea for 11 months and pendulous crop

[Alto9]

We have a beautiful english silverlaced orpington, Ada Lovelace, and she nearly died last November (it's August now) but she still had chronic diarrhea and I feel so bad for her. I'm hoping if I post what we've been through the last year and perhaps some of you will have tips to help rid her diarrhea. Last October we discovered she had lost a ton of weight (she was about 8 lbs and was hovering around 4.5/5 lbs. She looked dizzy/drunk and liked being around me when I was in the coop area even when I gave out treats which was uncommon. She has always been a good eater. I'll also note she's always had a pronounced crop. She was one of our first chickens and we thought she had a tumor when she was a chick because it was SO big! Anyway, we brought her inside and tried for a week to massage her crop, fed her oil with a syringe, fed her probiotics and vitamins, scrambled eggs (very picky though, she only liked the whites!), etc. Nothing was working and she continued to lose weight. At her lowest she reached 4.1lbs which was HALF of her baseline. We went to the vet because we were so worried we might need to put her down. They weren't much help but suggested we give her antibiotics and see if that helped. Slowly after the antibiotics she began to gain weight, even though she continued to have diarrhea every time she pooped. Her poop has definitely changed from green to normal brown.

She is still kickin', back at 8+ lbs, but still has a full crop 100% of the time and 100% of her poop is diarrhea. Any suggestions for how we might try to clear up the diarrhea?

PS: We have not tried a crop bra, interested in thoughts on after 11 months of a pendulous crop if it would still work...

Thank you!
A

 

[LikeTurkeys]

I have not had a good experience with crop bras, but that was with a BBW turkey who probably had other issues. Did you give her probiotics after the round of antibiotics? Antibiotics can cause diarrhea due to an imbalance in gut bacteria.

Also, what are the temperatures like in your area? Hot summertime weather causes a higher water intake + lower feed consumption, which can also lead to wet poops.

 

[Jenbirdee]

full crop 100% of the time? even in the morning? Is it hard or squishy? does her breath smell bad?

 

[Alto9]

I have not had a good experience with crop bras, but that was with a BBW turkey who probably had other issues. Did you give her probiotics after the round of antibiotics? Antibiotics can cause diarrhea due to an imbalance in gut bacteria.

Also, what are the temperatures like in your area? Hot summertime weather causes a higher water intake + lower feed consumption, which can also lead to wet poops.

Thanks for responding @LikeTurkeys and your experience with the crop bra.

Yes, we gave her probiotics after the antibiotics for about a month and continually give them every few months.

Temps are OK, we're in Southern California so our winter and spring were much cooler than yearly norms. This summer has been very mild with the hottest day reaching just over 80F. The other two girls we have are just fine.

 

[Alto9]

full crop 100% of the time? even in the morning? Is it hard or squishy? does her breath smell bad?

Yes, full crop 100% of the time even in the morning. Our other two girls (americauna and australorp) are fully flat in the morning.

That's always been tough for me to answer. It's hard where I can tell there's food in there, you can feel the grit and food but doesn't seem impacted since she is passing waste. Also, I should mention, last year the vet did flush her crop with saline. All that came out was grit. And it refilled back to being big a few days later.

No bad breath smell even when she was really sick.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'll also note she's always had a pronounced crop.

She is still kickin', back at 8+ lbs, but still has a full crop 100% of the time and 100% of her poop is diarrhea. Any suggestions for how we might try to clear up the diarrhea?

PS: We have not tried a crop bra, interested in thoughts on after 11 months of a pendulous crop if it would still work...

Did the vet run a fecal float to see if she has worms as well?

She has a pendulous crop, so yes, I would try a crop bra to see if that helps.

In this thread, @azygous walks through making a crop bra along with comment and adjustments to the bra (photos are in the thread too). I recommend you read the whole thread. Hopefully a bra can help Ada Lovelace and resolve some of the loose stool as well.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/making-a-crop-bra-for-a-hen-with-pendulous-crop.1464848/

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Slowly after the antibiotics she began to gain weight, even though she continued to have diarrhea every time she pooped. Her poop has definitely changed from green to normal brown.

Is she the only one with diarrhea? Maybe post some pics of the poops?

EDIT: Just saw that you said your other two girls were fine.

 

[Alto9]

Did the vet run a fecal float to see if she has worms as well?

She has a pendulous crop, so yes, I would try a crop bra to see if that helps.

In this thread, @azygous walks through making a crop bra along with comment and adjustments to the bra (photos are in the thread too). I recommend you read the whole thread. Hopefully a bra can help Ada Lovelace and resolve some of the loose stool as well.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/making-a-crop-bra-for-a-hen-with-pendulous-crop.1464848/

Hi @Wyorp Rock. No the vet didn't run a fecal float. We had just run a course of the water dewormer a month before as a preventative measure. We've never had a worming problem.

OK - we'll try the bra. Thanks for referring me to @azygous!

 

[Alto9]

Is she the only one with diarrhea? Maybe post some pics of the poops?

EDIT: Just saw that you said your other two girls were fine.

@LikeTurkeys @Alto9 and @Wyorp Rock Here are the poop pics.

The green one is when she was really sick.
The one on the outdoor chess set is when she was recovering.
The last pile thats brown/white is today 11 months after first signs of illness.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is she doing better with the bra and treating her crop?