Please help: Young hen lethargic, strange poo, crop full this morning

[aoxa]

Sorry for your loss. You might consider doing a necropsy - either sending her to a lab or doing it yourself. Terry at www.hencam.com says she does them herself and learns a lot. I'm sure there are threads on BYC that explain how to do it.

Yes I definitely recommend opening her up if you can stomach it. There is a lot to learn. We love helping assess necropsies here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/729605/the-natural-chicken-keeping-thread-ots-welcome

 

[okmarge]

Thanks big E. I have learned from this I think. I did notice changes in this hen awhile ago but I did not know what to do and I hoped she would come out of it. She did lose a lot of weight and I believe from what I read on this web site, it was caused by a intestinal fungus and the resulting diarrhea.

I am not the lady with the chicken with the full crop. Our entries got mixed up.


I am going to add vinegar, leafy greens and yogurt to their diets now and hope the rest stay healthy. And no I am not going to do an autopsy.

 

[pwand]

well it is too late.  She just died.  I feel so bad that I didn't do something sooner.  I need to not let this happen again.  I did notice she was losing weight a while ago.  She would roost earlier in the evenings.  She did have some poop stuck to her feathers and I would just clean it off. All the hens are laying less this winter so I did not think much of that. 
I wouldn't know how to check a crop.
   I think I feed them OK except for leafy greens.  Now that it is winter there isn't any grass clippings to give them. I will add greens to their diet.  Also apple cider vinegar in their water.
  I live in the high desert. It has been cold with below zero temp at night for a few nights. 

 I do give them oyster shell and occasional grit.  I also give them scratch daily plus some kitchen left overs. 

thanks for your replies.

I am so sorry for you loss. Hugs

 

[FoxyChicken]

Quote: Yes, I am the original poster and my chicken is still alive if anybody else has more advice to add

 

[pwand]

Thanks big E.  I have learned from this I think.   I did notice changes in this hen  awhile ago but I did not know what to do and I hoped she would come out of it. She did lose a lot of  weight and I believe from what I read on this web site, it was caused by a intestinal fungus and the resulting diarrhea.   

I am not the lady with the chicken with the full crop.  Our entries got mixed up.


I am going to add vinegar, leafy greens and yogurt to their diets now and hope the rest stay healthy.   And no I am not going to do an autopsy.

Send her for a necropsy, i believe some places its free. If you chose to do this, put her in the fridge, not the freezer. Anything can cause diahhrea and weight loss. There are so many diseases they can get, you will want to know if your flock is at risk. Deworm your flock and treat them for mites as well.

 

[pwand]

Yes, I am the original poster and my chicken is still alive if anybody else has more advice to add

I would use olive oil to check her.

 

[FoxyChicken]

Well I have some tentative good news. My husband went home early from work today and said that my sick girl was acting like herself and there was a big wet white poop in the coop! I'll still check her crop in the morning to see if that's working yet, is it possible that it didn't empty because there was a blockage on the other end? Anyway, I am so relieved the egg or whatever it was came out and she's feeling better! I can't wait to get home and check on her for myself!

 

[aznewmom]

Sorry to hear of your loss, Okmarge.
These mysteries are always tough.

 

[aznewmom]

Good news, Foxy! I'm glad she is acting better.
My DH is coming home with a book on chicken diseases for me. He called from the feed store all excited about it. LOL
Then he told ME that I could now do a necropsy. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, not sure how I feel about THAT, and the poor girl isn't dead.
I guess I will look up how to better check my hen's vent. I just put up a post about my situation when I saw this post/thread.

 

[FoxyChicken]

I checked out your thread aznewmom, sorry to hear you lost your girl

At least she passed in your arms

Mine is still hanging in there, today she is acting totally normal and happy but her crop still isn't emptying. Yesterday morning she seemed a little punky again and I had to go out of town overnight so of course I was worrying about her the whole time. When I got home today she was acting just fine, I got her to eat some bread soaked in olive oil, massaged her crop, and she drank some water. Her poops are a normal texture but kind of small and bright green. Not sure what that means, but it seems at least some food is going through