post crop surgery foods

[my beautiful girls]

I dis



do they make an appetite stimulate for hens like they do for cats and dogs? Can the vet syringe/ tube in the molasses mixture or will that bother the stitches? A crop holds 50 ml? She is still barely eating. I took her to work with me today and tried 7 different foods. barely anything. 2 days ago, I brought her sister in the crate with her and they ate some together. yesterday and today, eleanor did not eat with her. she didnt want to microwaved apple either. no egg of any kind, she didnt eat rice either. I know shes hungry.

maybe the antibiotic in her water is making her nausea? tetroxy antibiotic. she doesnt have a known infection. she was just on amoxcillin for 7 days. 5 days pre crop surgery. I will stop and only do the electrolyte water. after I wrote this 15 minutes ago, I changed her water to electrolyte water only and she literally took 47 drinks. I counted. I feel so dumb not thinking of this before!

 

[my beautiful girls]

@azygous I want to give you an update. Eleanor is on her way to recovery. The vet and I gave her the molasses flush by tubing 50ml of the molasses water into her crop 3 days in a row and she has stopped passing grass. I think the molasses gave her a little nutrients as well. she still was not eating. yesterday, 9 days post crop surgery I gave her chick starter, crickets and red wiggle worms and she is eating well. I did stop the antibiotics. I think that was a contributor to lack of interest in eating. she has her choice of electrolyte water or plain water still. She is offering me her food and her poops are mostly solid. she has lost 2 pounds and very thin, but i think she will gain it back eventually. I will keep her seperate for 4-5 more days to make sure everything remains on the up. that will be 2 weeks post operation, then she can be with her sisters and pecking in the dirt again. thank you for your advice, it was very helpful.

 

[my beautiful girls]

when do I reintroduce grit to Eleanor? she is 11 days post crop surgery and is eating crumbles, worms, apples and crickets now. crop seems to be emptying fine. She has not been back to the coop yet.

 

[azygous]

Let her have grit now. She should be healed up by now.

 

[my beautiful girls]

update: it has been a rollercoaster these last 3 weeks. Eleanor ended up with sour crop because her crop was not emptying completely from the surgery and her poops had lots of undigested food. I started her back on the miconazole, she wore her bra 24/7 and she had 2 more molasses flushes which helped alot. finally 3 days ago her crop is completely flat in the mornings. her appetite is good, but her weight is down to 2 pounds 14 ounces. she was 4.5 pounds. my questions are how long will it take to gain back the weight and when is it safe to let her dust bathe and peck around in the dirt. She has been a house hen since her surgery. she visits her sisters 3 times a week on the concrete to socialize. all is well in the respect. thank you for taking the time to read my post and any wisdom you can share.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad to hear she's still hanging in there.

Is her crop wound/stitches healed up? If so, then she should be able to get out and dust bath with her friends if she wishes to.

As for how long it will take her to put on weight, there's not really a timeline for that. She slowly lost weight over a period of time, so it will take time for her to regain. I'd provide her with a nutritionally balanced poultry feed, limit treats and let her gain back by just eating her normal feed.

 

[my beautiful girls]

I'm glad to hear she's still hanging in there.

Is her crop wound/stitches healed up? If so, then she should be able to get out and dust bath with her friends if she wishes to.

As for how long it will take her to put on weight, there's not really a timeline for that. She slowly lost weight over a period of time, so it will take time for her to regain. I'd provide her with a nutritionally balanced poultry feed, limit treats and let her gain back by just eating her normal feed.

yes, all healed up. so you think her crop can handle dirt? I'm very nervous about it not emptying again.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

yes, all healed up. so you think her crop can handle dirt? I'm very nervous about it not emptying again.

Oh, I see, you're worried about her eating dirt while dust bathing! They do that sometimes.
Well. That's a good question and I don't have a concrete answer!
My thoughts are at some point, you are wanting to get her back outside at some point, so she's going to be on dirt, picking at things and eating them. So, now may be the time to see how she does.

@azygous may have other thoughts on this.

 

[azygous]

In post #14 I answered this question. Dirt is grit. That's generally why a chicken eats dirt. Her crop should be able to handle it by now.