Possible impacted crop or gizzard issue? Not sure... Please help!

[Chickiee]

Rosie is doing much better today! Not perfect, but much improved so I'm thrilled! Crop is small. Yesterday I got him eating a little yogurt with scrambled egg on top. I think he needed the energy. this morning he was the first one out of the coop when I opened their hatch. I'm obviously still keeping an eye on him, but things are looking up! Thank you for all the help!!

 

[Chickiee]

Just another quick note... his comb is still a bit darker/grey at tips and flopped over. Is this ok? Is this just going to be the way it is, or should I look for it to be perking up? He's still drinking a lot of water. Thanks!!

 

[CedarAcres]

Glad he's doing better! It will probably take a few days for him to get back to normal. Having the impacted crop was stressful on his body so he needs to recover. His comb should return to normal once he is better. I'd offer him the yogurt and egg again. Hope he continues to improve and is back to his normal self soon!

 

[Chickiee]

CedarAcres, Rosie is eating yogurt and scrambled egg now with gusto (except for 3 days towards the end of last week when I was out of town), but I don't know that he's eating too much else. His stools are still just liquid and now with brownish yellow mush. I don't see too many pieces of feed in it. No real substance to it at all. Crop is not large. Do you have any thoughts on how I can firm up his stools? He's mostly keeping with the flock by always looks like he's going to sleep. Sometimes he runs a bit, but other times he's almost falling over/not steady on his feet. I'm afraid he's weak. I may put Save-a-Chick in the water again. I'm not sure where to go from here, so any input would be appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[CedarAcres]

I'd stop letting him eat the yogurt and see if that fixes the problem. Yogurt is great for restoring some good bacteria into the gut but it can cause loose stools. Although they absolutely love the yogurt.. they'd eat as much of it as they could probably! You can try wetting down some of his feed and see if that makes it more appealing to him. Can you tell if he's lost weight at all? I'd probably be keeping him isolated until he was back to 100% but I know that it's not always practical for everyone to do that. If he doesn't perk up in a few days I'd probably start him on an antibiotic in case he got an infection as a result of the impacted crop. I like using baytril for chickens (you can look that up online on many bird websites) but there are also other antibiotics that you can get at the feed store or a tractor supply if needed. You can add the vitamins to his water again to see if that helps him perk up. I also like to give them a good full body exam if they aren't feeling well.

 

[Chickiee]

Too bad you're in CT, b/c I have no idea how to do a chicken exam. Ok, so this is my game plan... I just fed him scrambled egg this morning. He went right to it and started eating, but didn't finish it. He's still drinking water. Crop is not enlarged. I do think you're right about starting him on some medicine. When he's not eating, his eyes are partially closed. Doesn't look perky or happy. I can be right near the flock talking to them and he's standing with his eyes shut. This can't be good. I'm going to try Farm & Fleet to see if they carry anything I can give him. I'm afraid ordering online will take too long to get. Adding Save-a-Chick to the water supply too. Thanks for your help Cedar Acres!

 

[casportpony]

Can you post a picture of the poop?

-Kathy

 

[CedarAcres]

If he's not acting normally something is definitely wrong. When they are just sitting with their eyes closed and no activity they aren't feeling well. Posting a photo of the poop can be helpful as casportpony said above. It's surprising sometimes what you can figure out from looking at poop! I usually will weigh them when they're ill as well to see if they are losing weight, which is not a good sign. Sometimes you need to resort to tube feeding to help them pull through. Are you noticing any other symptoms at all?

 

[casportpony]

If he's not acting normally something is definitely wrong. When they are just sitting with their eyes closed and no activity they aren't feeling well. Posting a photo of the poop can be helpful as casportpony said above. It's surprising sometimes what you can figure out from looking at poop! I usually will weigh them when they're ill as well to see if they are losing weight, which is not a good sign. Sometimes you need to resort to tube feeding to help them pull through. Are you noticing any other symptoms at all?

Good advice!

-Kathy

 

[Chickiee]

I haven't noticed him poop yet today, but I haven't been following him around either. When I see him do his business, I will take a pic. He does stay with the flock though and they free-range out about 1-2 acres from the coop. I don't want him to be hurting. I ran to Farm & Fleet (farm store in WI) and picked up some Durvet Brand "Duramycin-10, Tetracycline Hydrochloride Soluble Powder". This is what was recommended by someone there who doesn't have chickens. This was also all Farm & Fleet had for antibiotics and everywhere else I called didn't have antibiotics. The package directions are for mixing it in anywhere from 12.5 gal of water to a lesser strength medicine of putting it in 100 gal of water. I have a 3 gal waterer. Is this what I should use? I don't want him to freeze by himself at night by isolating him to the garage; I know the flock keeps the coop fairly warm. He definitely has lost weight. He used to be one of the heavier ones we have; he's a RIR. Antibiotic warnings say to "not use in chickens laying eggs for human consumption" so I need to keep it away from the hens. What do you think? Is there something else I could try? I thought the antibiotic would be something I give him specifically with a little medicine dropper... not in the whole waterer.