Should I treat my hen for c. perfringens/necrotic enteritis?

[aart]

I've got monistat on hand for this--I'll see if I can get her to take it in pieces. Of course she is one of the most dramatic chickens in our coop (she is quite friendly but acts like I'm trying to kill her if I attempt any manhandling--and despite being ill she is STRONG). Makes crop massages and administration of meds a rollercoaster.

I found it much easier to mix the miconazole (monistat) into some crumbles.
If you warm it a touch the crumble will soak it up.
Same goes for coconut oil.

ETA: Keeping her in a crate will also make it much easier to handle her for massage. If you have a two doored crate it's even easier.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

We have her in the CHOP (chicken's hospital), which is an elevated pen in our temp controlled basement, similar to a crate but a bit bigger. Since it's table height, I've been able to wrestle her into submission. But I may try the crate if she gets too hard to handle--I do like the setup pictured (and the waterer!).

...Now what do you do about soundproofing walls? I'm pretty sure the neighbors are wondering whether I'm murdering people in the basement--that's how loud this girl is. I'm waiting for the noise complaint or wellness check...

Sadly I thought I had more monistat suppositories, but I only had 2% miconazole nitrate cream. I gave her 2 ml mixed in with a tiny bit of tuna and she ate it right up (she never turns her nose up at tuna--just a sprinkle of tuna water will make her eat anything). I hope that's okay. I can go pick up the suppositories tomorrow, but wanted to at least do something tonight to help get her on her way to recovery.
She also has a vet appointment on Wednesday... and I'm leaving town Thursday

I've got acified copper sulfate--should I try adding that to her water? It did seem to help a hen with doughy crop in the past.

I found it much easier to mix the miconazole (monistat) into some crumbles.
If you warm it a touch the crumble will soak it up.
Same goes for coconut oil.

ETA: Keeping her in a crate will also make it much easier to handle her for massage. If you have a two doored crate it's even easier.
View attachment 2388580

 

[azygous]

Copper sulfate is one way to treat sour crop. But I wouldn't combine it with miconazole.

 

[aart]

I can go pick up the suppositories tomorrow,

You could just get the cream.

 

[aart]

Copper sulfate is one way to treat sour crop. But I wouldn't combine it with miconazole.

Mixing meds is rarely a good idea.
Could be interactions, plus you won't know what solved the issue.
I know you're in a hurry but stick with the miconazole.
Will there be a caretaker that can continue it while you are gone?

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Mixing meds is rarely a good idea.
Could be interactions, plus you won't know what solved the issue.
I know you're in a hurry but stick with the miconazole.
Will there be a caretaker that can continue it while you are gone?

I gave the 2nd dose of miconazole this morning. Sadly I had to move her to a dog crate since she took to eating the shavings in the hospital pen--which I knew would only make things worse. She seems quite despondent about the move, as she feels quite at home in the pen. Her condition is so similar to that of an EE I wrote about earlier--except her crop issues were prompted by EYP. Here are the similarities:

• crop hard in the morning (not like sour crop at all)
• pretty quickly becomes water balloon like throughout day
• Poop looks the same--I'll get a picture up today
• obsession with eating shavings while sick

I'm stumped. Does sour crop get hard in the morning and soften up later? She definitely still has some degree of a blockage going.

My EE recovered miraculously and mysteriously, so it's not quite clear what measures worked for her, or if she ultimately overcame it (she was sick for over a month, and I thought, nearly dead). I had tried everything from ACS to monistat (not at once) and she was also on two different antibiotics over the course of her issue, one prescribed by a vet. She made a 180 long after the antibiotics and ACS/monistat courses--at the time she was only getting coconut oil and colloidal silver.

I do have two vet students coming while I'm gone who know chickens and I'm sure can handle administration of meds. I hate leaving her like this.

 

[azygous]

Are you giving her grit? It's the one thing we often forget when we confine a chicken. It may be why she's going nuts on the shavings.

Since she has an underlying health issue, her organs may be slowing down their functioning. I would give her oil with her food and make grit available.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Are you giving her grit? It's the one thing we often forget when we confine a chicken. It may be why she's going nuts on the shavings.

Since she has an underlying health issue, her organs may be slowing down their functioning. I would give her oil with her food and make grit available.

I gave her some and she ate a bit--good call. I'll keep up with the coconut oil and miconazole. She is still looking/acting bright, so I hope that means she will be okay until the vet trip tomorrow.

Of course, I now see some problems brewing with the other chickens and I'm about to have a meltdown about the timing of everything. Deep. Breaths.

Thanks for your help.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Are you giving her grit? It's the one thing we often forget when we confine a chicken. It may be why she's going nuts on the shavings.

Since she has an underlying health issue, her organs may be slowing down their functioning. I would give her oil with her food and make grit available.

I went down there to give her a nibble of coconut oil and a good amount of warm, clear liquid dribbled out of her beak onto my hand. She sounds gurgly. But the water doesn't smell at all--would that still be sour crop? Or maybe she just took a drink before I came down? The poor thing's crop is bloated it with liquids. I wish the vet could get me in earlier.

 

[Vickischics]

You may want to try Moro's carrot soup:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-rosie-is-limping.1409101/post-23172560

But be careful only to add only half the mentioned amount of salt as chickens kidneys are very sensitive.

I've used this soup as suggested by @LaFleche and it was a miracle!