Please Help! Sick chicken - could it be sour crop or coccidiosis?

[animalgrl]

I am hoping someone here has some suggestions. I have a sick Cuckoo Marans pullet (5 months) named Cuckoo. She has been lethargic since Tuesday, and did not eat at all yesterday or today. On Tuesday I saw several runny and bloody looking droppings but at the time didn't know which of the girls they were from. I took her to the vet today, and the vet gave her fluids and an antibiotic injection and is doing a fecal test for coccidiosis. While being handled at the vet, the vet noticed that her crop was squishy and Cuckoo vomitted clear fluid while being handled. On the way home I thought this might be sour crop. But would that account for the bloody runny droppings? Should I try treating her for sour crop? I'm really concerned as she is very lethargic and the vet said her prognosis is not good. She recommended trying to feed her some medicated starter feed in case she has coccidiosis and I have to give her antibiotic injections every 8 hours. Please, if anyone has any suggestions! I don't want to lose her.
Thank you!

 

[animalgrl]

My girl is doing a little better today, but her crop is still big and squishy and she still isn't really eating more than one or two bites I can entice her to take. Does anyone have any suggestions? I read online if it is sour crop you can massage the crop in the direction of the throat while tilting the chicken forward to try to expel the contents of the crop. How do I do that? Do I just gently rub the crop in the direction of the throat? I tried that last not and didn't get anything, although she did regurgitate a little on her own later that night. I'm really concered about her.

 

[chickenstar]

I had the same problem with my hen, don't try to vomit her its very dangerous and if done wrong you could kill her, this is what I did for my hen I gave her two docusate sodium capsules of 100mg each (this is a stool softener for use in people) you can buy it over the counter at any drug store so give two of thease each morning to her and also 3-4 cc of red wine via syringe and I asure you her crop will clear , cheak the state of her crop each morning , it could take up to 4 days that's how long it took for my hens to clear up just remember sourcrop is the result of a crop that at first got impacted and could not clear so got infected and sour and in order to prevent this I recomend buying a good probiotic and giving this to her every day as well , let me know how she's doing

 

[chickenstar]

Also massage her crop in a downward motion several times a day , good luck and remember you need to act fast to prevent starvation and sourcrop infection

 

[animalgrl]

Thank you for your suggestions. The vet recommended against massaging her crop and gave me Metaclopramide (Reglan) injectable to give her three times a day to get her crop moving. She has gotten three injections of this so far. I'm worried about giving anything that might interfere, but I want to do everything I can to help her. Also, I have no idea how to pill a chicken. Do I just put it in her mouth and let her swallow? I'm so confused and just don't know what to do. I have been doing what the vet says - the antibiotic and Reglan injections 3 times a day and feeding her veggie baby food via syringe (I could only find carrot so that is what she is getting). She seems to perk up a little at points, but her crop is still big and squishy and it's breaking my heart to see her like this. She doesn't really seem to be getting better and I'm not sure if I am feeding her enough or too much or if the food is even getting past her crop. I'm trying to do the best for her, but I'm emotionally exhausted. I'm considering euthanizing if she isn't better by Monday. I really don't know how much time to give her to know if the treatment is working or not. This is so much harder than any sick dog or cat I've ever taken care of! I will try gently massaging her crop downward and giving the stool softener. Thank you for your support.