Sick Bantam

[FrancescaSimon]

Help please. I have a 1yr old Bantam, mostly free range and fed organic feed. She has been sick for a couple of weeks, but still able to get about. All other birds are fine. Her symptons are sore, swollen red breast with loss of feathers, lethargy in morning and evenings (she goes to roost very early). If I pick her up she produces spittle.
I have not given her any treatment or medication. Would be grateful for any advice. Thanks!

 

[Beaky Buzzard]

I am not sure if I am right,but the loss of feathers sounds like mites.As for the swollen breast I have no idea.Could she have gotten chemically burnt? Sounds weird but Ive heard of it happening.Good luck !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[FrancescaSimon]

Thanks - I actually posted a general reply before I saw yours. I read enough to have the courage to turn her upside down because I suspected (from all this reading) that what she had was an impacted/distended crop. Boy, what a lot of stuff came out when I massaged her!
I just kept on doing it because I figured what could be worse than a miserable, lethargic, possibly dying chicken?
Anyway, the crop is a lot smaller and she is walking around with the best of them again, looking a lot better and certainly none the worse for her "treatment".
The sore breast is probably because they roost on milk crates in their coop at night (I've never been able to persuade them to roost on the poles), so I think she has been rubbing her distended chest against this not very soft surface.
I intend to do this massaging treatment a few more times and to put her into a soft bed at night.

Thanks again for the moral support. Love my chickens.

 

[un-named]

Quote:
Are you sure it is not an impacted crop? I don't know what they feel like, but maybe a search engine here could help?