Pendulous crop?

[TwoCrows]

And X2 in what @Wyorp Rock said, no free ranging until you get this under control. You dont want her eating any hard foods for now. Her food, water and poop need to be monitored for now too, so she should be caged or locked in the run. Keep a buddy with her if she seems lonely.

 

[micstrachan]

LOL Ask a 2 more people and you will get 4 different opinions
Go with what Leyla says, she has dealt with more crop issues than I have.

You can try a bigger syringe, but if you are going to try to get it directly in the crop, then the 1ml is smallest and easiest to use (at least for me).
The Dulcolax (stimulant free) comes in like a gel cap. You can squeeze it out if you wish. I usually just put it in the beak and the birds swallows it
As you're finding out - all of us do things differently, soooo....it's really up to you to find what "works" best for your situation.

Wait, you pop the liquid gel pill in the mouth without squeezing it out? And you find it helps? I learned this summer with Margo that pilling a chicken is actually pretty easy, so I'd be happy to go that route.

I use the 1ml syringes because you can control exactly how much water you get into them. About .3 or .4 ml under the tongue is about as much as they can take without aspirating.

And because you say the crop is nice and soft now, hard when everything drains over night? Impactions don't usually act this way. Sounds like a doughy crop to me.

Birds can live on eggs exclusively for quite a long time. An egg contains all the building blocks of life, definitely enough to live on for a sick bird. I kept a quail hen alive on eggs and peaches for 8 straight months while recuperating from Western Equine Encephalitis from a mosquito bite. Its all she would eat for 8 months, refused everything else and she did survive! No worse for the wear either!

Great to know! I just mixed up some lemon with cayenne and cinnamon. I also made up some more copper water. So when you syringe a couple tablespoons, do you just sit with the little patient and give small volumes several times?

Oh, and yes. The trend seems to be soft at night if she's had access to water she'll actually drink and firm in the morning.

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes, I stand them on a bench outside, lean over and syringe it all in till its gone. Only takes about 5 mins. IF the patient cooperates.

 

[micstrachan]

Ok, so I can use the mini coop as the bench... just put a towel over the hardware cloth roof of the tiny run and stand on a keystone. I did that just now and Ruby resisted, so I wrapped her in part of the towel. She was getting stressed, so I gave her a break. It was half lemon juice with cayenne and cinnamon and half copper water. I maybe got 5 x 0.35mL in her. Not much, but it's a start. The spices were pretty concentrated, so it might be enough. I was nervous and a little shaky and was trying to sooth her with a sweet voice at the same time. The scene was a little comical, but I'm sure I'll get better with time. I think she will get used to it, too, as I remember Rusty did back when I had to syringe feed her over a year ago.

So here's a question... do you KNOW right away if you aspirate a bird? Wouldn't they start coughing and shaking their head? I always wondered if I aspirated Rusty, since she was gurgling/rattling on her last day. She never gave me any indication that I had aspirated her.

I have another thought... I think I will purée some kale and a little yogurt into egg and see if she likes it. I might save that for tomorrow.

Now that I know how little Ruby weighs, I am determined to help her beat this. Tough love it will have to be. Hopefully by NEXT weekend, she'll be ready to free range. We'll see...

 

[micstrachan]

Also, she was afraid to walk on the puppy pads and was kicking them aside when she could find dirt to scratch in, so I mostly removed them. She is picking at the bedding, though I blew out and picked up all the feathers I could and raked it out before putting her in there. There is mostly just dirt, small pebbles, a little rice hull and a little pine shaving in there. Tonight after they go to bed I will do a more thorough clean out, as I'd like to keep her in there for several days. I'll lay down a large towel, instead of puppy pads, though, as she is used to towels. All my girls like to huddle around me when I have a towel out, as that's how they sat on me when they were chicks.

Anyway, Ruby is still with her flock, so the little red coop will work well if I prep it better. In fact, Margo is laying down beside her on the other side of the wire (Margo also sat beside Rusty when she was ill... sat shoulder-to-shoulder with her in the run when she could have been out free ranging and roosted down low beside her when Rusty was too weak to get up to the higher roost). Margo is a dominant hen... really top hen except for the fact that Bagheera plucks her back feathers. I find it interesting and endearing how she sits beside sick hens, even though she is usually quite bossy and sometimes kinda brutal!

One more question...
If I am going to syringe copper water and give her access to fresh/plain water, might it be a good idea to make the copper water more concentrated or is there a danger/risk with that?

 

[TwoCrows]

You will know immediately if the liquid goes into the airways, they will gurgle a lot.

What I do is set them down in the bench, wrap my left arm around over the back, up and under the beak. I lean into them almost on them so they can't back up or go forward. Generally they sit at this point. (Breaks your back, LOL but they are controlled) Keep the beak level at all times. I syringe and draw with my right hand. (I am right handed) I suck up about .3ml and put the tip of the syringe down under the tongue or right in front at the beak tip. If you get it down deep under the tongue, they cant aspirate. I keep a fluid motion going so that I get done as quick as possible as not to stress them, however I break at about half way, (a few mins).

IF you do aspirate her, she isnt going to keel over dead. She will absorb it into her system and cough most of it out in the next 10 mins or so, as long as it wasn't too much.

 

[TwoCrows]

And no, keep the Copper mix as directed, I would not go stronger than 1/4 teaspoon Copper per gallon of water. And NEVER use it undiluted, always mix exactly as directed.

 

[micstrachan]

Ok, will do. I have a batch mixed up at that concentration and that's what I mixed 50/50 with the spicy lemon.

 

[micstrachan]

You will know immediately if the liquid goes into the airways, they will gurgle a lot.

What I do is set them down in the bench, wrap my left arm around over the nack, up and under the beak. I lean into them almost on them so they can't back up or go forward. Generally they sit at this point. (Breaks your back, LOL but they are controlled) Kerp the beak level at all times. I syringe a draw with my right hand. (I am right handed) I suck up about .3ml and put the tip of the syringe down under the tongue or right in front at the beak tip. If you get it down deep under the tongue, they cant aspirate. I keep a fluid motion going so that I get done as quick as possible as not to stress them, however I break at about half way, (a few mins).

IF you do aspirate her, she isnt going to keel over dead. She will absorb it into her system and cough most of it out in the next 10 mins or so, as long as it wasn't too much.

Ok, good. I am pretty confident she did not aspirate then, and neither did Rusty in the past. How do you open the beak using your method? I am envisioning the palm of the hand facing toward the face/beak? I have my left hand approaching her head from behind, hold her head, open the beak with my fingers, and then use the right hand to syringe. I may have to stand up a little higher to pin her down with my body.

 

[TwoCrows]

Ok, good. I am pretty confident she did not aspirate, then, and neither did Rusty in the past. How do you open the beak using your method? I am envisioning the palm of the hand facing toward the face/beak? I have my left hand approaching her head from behind, hold her head, open the beak with my fingers, and then use the right hand to syringe. I may have to stand up a little higher to pin her down with my body.

My left hand under the beak, at the corners of the hinge between top and bottom mandibles, I lightly squeeze, I think my finger nails help pry it open too. LOL Practice prying open the beak in this fashion, its really easy to get the hang of it and this way you can do this yourself without help from someone else to hold, etc...