please help I’m freaking out

[luckysamara199]

hello, I’m really concerned about my hen. She is Golden buff polish and is 5 months. I noticed a few days ago she started dropping clear liquid from her mouth. I’m really concerned. Is it normal? Is there something I can do about it? Is she sick does anyone know what this is?

 

[citymeetscountry]

hello, I’m really concerned about my hen. She is Golden buff polish and is 5 months. I noticed a few days ago she started dropping clear liquid from her mouth. I’m really concerned. Is it normal? Is there something I can do about it? Is she sick does anyone know what this is?

You’d do better posting in emergencies

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/

sorry I don’t have advice

 

[Swbertrand1]

hello, I’m really concerned about my hen. She is Golden buff polish and is 5 months. I noticed a few days ago she started dropping clear liquid from her mouth. I’m really concerned. Is it normal? Is there something I can do about it? Is she sick does anyone know what this is?

No, this is not normal. Have you checked her crop each morning? Her crop should be full in the evening and empty before she feeds in the morning. If her crop is not emptying overnight, it is possible that she has an Impacted Crop, and if left untreated can turn into sour crop, a whole other issue. See a link at the bottom for a description.

The liquid you're seeing dripping from her mouth is likely fluid that she's taking in, but it's not reaching her system because of the blockage - this is a dangerous time for her too because she's getting neither nutrition nor fluids, or a much smaller amount than she needs to survive.

If Impacted Crop, isolate her first and withhold additional food since you'll only be adding to the problem. You'll need to get a lubricant into her next. Some use mineral oil, others use vegetable oil, some use olive oil, and still others use coconut oil to help lubricate what is currently in her crop to help her move it from the crop and into her digestive tract. Coconut oil can be frozen into pea-sized pieces and fed without much trouble. The others will need to be syringed into the bird's mouth about 2ml to 3ml (2-3cc in a syringe) at a time. If you don't have syringe, some folks have soaked small pieces of bread in the oil and hand-fed the oil-soaked bread to their birds. Use what you have or can get your hands on.

Once the oil is administered, massage the bird's crop gently squeezing and releasing the "ball" that you're feeling in her crop. Massage side to side and top to bottom too. You're trying to mix the mass that's blocking her with the oil or coconut oil to help it move on out of the crop. I'd start this process ASAP rather than waiting for morning to start if this has been going on for days already. Feeding her a bit of yogurt will help to stave off Sour Crop too and help to moisten the contents of the crop.

Make sure she has clean fresh water to drink while food is being withheld; she needs to remain hydrated as much as possible, and the water will also help soften the crop contents.

Here's a good description of how to administer liquids to a chicken if you've never done it so that you don't aspirate them:
https://bitchinchickens.com/2020/02/06/how-to-safely-give-oral-medications/

Here's a description of Impacted Crop and how to treat from PoultryDVM:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/impacted-crop

 

[luckysamara199]

No, this is not normal. Have you checked her crop each morning? Her crop should be full in the evening and empty before she feeds in the morning. If her crop is not emptying overnight, it is possible that she has an Impacted Crop, and if left untreated can turn into sour crop, a whole other issue. See a link at the bottom for a description.

The liquid you're seeing dripping from her mouth is likely fluid that she's taking in, but it's not reaching her system because of the blockage - this is a dangerous time for her too because she's getting neither nutrition nor fluids, or a much smaller amount than she needs to survive.

If Impacted Crop, isolate her first and withhold additional food since you'll only be adding to the problem. You'll need to get a lubricant into her next. Some use mineral oil, others use vegetable oil, some use olive oil, and still others use coconut oil to help lubricate what is currently in her crop to help her move it from the crop and into her digestive tract. Coconut oil can be frozen into pea-sized pieces and fed without much trouble. The others will need to be syringed into the bird's mouth about 2ml to 3ml (2-3cc in a syringe) at a time. If you don't have syringe, some folks have soaked small pieces of bread in the oil and hand-fed the oil-soaked bread to their birds. Use what you have or can get your hands on.

Once the oil is administered, massage the bird's crop gently squeezing and releasing the "ball" that you're feeling in her crop. Massage side to side and top to bottom too. You're trying to mix the mass that's blocking her with the oil or coconut oil to help it move on out of the crop. I'd start this process ASAP rather than waiting for morning to start if this has been going on for days already. Feeding her a bit of yogurt will help to stave off Sour Crop too and help to moisten the contents of the crop.

Make sure she has clean fresh water to drink while food is being withheld; she needs to remain hydrated as much as possible, and the water will also help soften the crop contents.

Here's a good description of how to administer liquids to a chicken if you've never done it so that you don't aspirate them:
https://bitchinchickens.com/2020/02/06/how-to-safely-give-oral-medications/

Here's a description of Impacted Crop and how to treat from PoultryDVM:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/impacted-crop

Which oil do you think will work best? Can you please add a picture. Thank you so much for your reply. Do you think my drizzalls will be okay? Will she survive

 

[Swbertrand1]

Which oil do you think will work best? Can you please add a picture. Thank you so much for your reply. Do you think my drizzalls will be okay? Will she survive

You're welcome. Picture of what? Any of the oils will work, but some of the most respected on this forum use Coconut Oil because of its ease of dosing with the bird and effectiveness. Will she survive? If this is Impacted Crop and if you can get the blockage cleared, she has a very good chance.

Please share what her crop feels like NOW, and tell us exactly how many days you've noticed the liquid coming from her mouth. Also, report back what her crop feels like in the morning...

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

Is it hot where you live? I live in the desert with 100° + temperatures and my rooster will drink a lot of water and then go to peck food and water will come back up. It doesn't happen all the time but I've seen it 3 times so far, as soon as he eats it stops. I see it most often in the morning when I let them out and bring their food out, I keep water in the coop so he drinks first thing in the morning, only once was it mid day on a day hotter than normal and I saw him and all the other chickens drinking a lot but not eating as much that afternoon. If it is heat related, it is common for chickens to drink more water in an attempt to cool down and helping them keep cool would be all that's necessary to remedy it, I put ice in the water bowls hourly and offer frozen vegetables and provide plenty of shade. I hope it's just something harmless like that for your hen.

 

[luckysamara199]

You're welcome. Picture of what? Any of the oils will work, but some of the most respected on this forum use Coconut Oil because of its ease of dosing with the bird and effectiveness. Will she survive? If this is Impacted Crop and if you can get the blockage cleared, she has a very good chance.

Please share what her crop feels like NOW, and tell us exactly how many days you've noticed the liquid coming from her mouth. Also, report back what her crop feels like in the morning...

It’s been about 3 days that I noticed. I felt her coop it feels a bit squishy but I compared it to the other chickens and they feel the same. She opens and closes her mouth when I hold her liek if she was drinking water. I also notcied She has been opening her mouth to adjust her coop a lot. And I noticed she’s been drinking a lot of water

 

[luckysamara199]

You're welcome. Picture of what? Any of the oils will work, but some of the most respected on this forum use Coconut Oil because of its ease of dosing with the bird and effectiveness. Will she survive? If this is Impacted Crop and if you can get the blockage cleared, she has a very good chance.

Please share what her crop feels like NOW, and tell us exactly how many days you've noticed the liquid coming from her mouth. Also, report back what her crop feels like in the morning...

Her crop feels a bit squisher than all my other hens. I compared and she feels a bit different.

 

[luckysamara199]

Is it hot where you live? I live in the desert with 100° + temperatures and my rooster will drink a lot of water and then go to peck food and water will come back up. It doesn't happen all the time but I've seen it 3 times so far, as soon as he eats it stops. I see it most often in the morning when I let them out and bring their food out, I keep water in the coop so he drinks first thing in the morning, only once was it mid day on a day hotter than normal and I saw him and all the other chickens drinking a lot but not eating as much that afternoon. If it is heat related, it is common for chickens to drink more water in an attempt to cool down and helping them keep cool would be all that's necessary to remedy it, I put ice in the water bowls hourly and offer frozen vegetables and provide plenty of shade. I hope it's just something harmless like that for your hen.

It has been hot in Oregon these past few weeks. I’ve been givin them ice packs and cool baths and ice cubes in their water and watermelon.

 

[Shezadandy]

It has been hot in Oregon these past few weeks. I’ve been givin them ice packs and cool baths and ice cubes in their water and watermelon.

Check that she's got a nice empty crop in the morning, so before she's had a chance to eat or drink - get out there and make sure she emptied overnight.

If she's empty in the morning, the water coming back up could very well just be the chicken trying to cool herself with lots of water. Chickens can only cool themselves by drinking water, panting, and holding their wings away from their bodies.

Because this year in Oregon has been so terrible with heat wave after heat wave, I gave up and put an air conditioner unit in my coop with furnace air-filters over the air-intake areas. The furnace filters have to be changed daily so the coop dirt doesn't kill the A/C, but the pay off is the 100+ chickens sleeping comfortably tonight and every night since I got it- which means I get to sleep!

I've done all the watermelon and cool water possible, deep shade galore - but when the temperatures don't cool off overnight- it's still nearly 80 degrees at midnight here - they just don't get a break and they're doing everything they can - including overdrinking- to stay cool. Obviously in hotter parts of the country people select more heat-tolerant birds. I never thought I'd see heat wave after heat wave up here like this - and I have the birds I have, selected for cool rainy weather ... not ongoing heat.

I used to look for the worst-off birds, usually my bigger, heavier feathered ladies, my older girls - and they'd get a 'motel' for the night in the basement in a crate so they could recover. And that was an OK solution when it was just a couple days over the course of the summer- and when the flock was smaller. So if you're able to give the ones who have the hardest time staying cool a break overnight inside in a cool spot, I recommend taking that step for them.