Sick Chicken - Help Please

[Mylied]

Yes, Kathy, thank you. I will try. Just wish my husband was home. I think it might be too late because she keeps falling asleep. But I'll try.

 

[TwoCrows]

X2

Sour crop can sometimes be a secondary issue to something else. And as stated above, a dying bird often has a full crop. You could try leaning her forward for just a few seconds to empty the crop, but if there is something else going on, it will fill up again. I would start by keeping her warm, under a heat lamp as well as a vomiting. If nothing else, the heat will give her comfort.

 

[casportpony]

not sure how to treat sour crop

Treatment would depend on the cause... If it's a bacterial infection, antibiotics and if it's a fungal infection, anti-fungals, but it could also be some type of blockage or other disease that causing the crop not to empty. Now would be a good time to get a baseline weight on her.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Yes, Kathy, thank you. I will try. Just wish my husband was home. I think it might be too late because she keeps falling asleep. But I'll try.

That's a bad sign, it often means they are dying. Just do your best and keep her warm and quite. DO_NOT_give her a bath! Not sure why, but some people have been doing this as some sort of last ditch effort to save their birds and I can almost guarantee you that would send her over the edge.

I wouldn't vomit her either as she sounds like any extra handling might be too much. If her crop doesn't start to clear in a few hours and she seem stable, maybe then, but I wouldn't do that now.

-Kathy

 

[Mylied]

There's nothing in her vent, including feces. I noticed she hasn't went to the bathroom and normally the vent check will make them go. All that came out was yellow and white liquid. Dang, I am kicking myself for not bringing her in. I'll try to find my heat lamp and just keep her comfortable.

 

[casportpony]

Are her legs warm or cold?

-Kathy

 

[Mylied]

Cold. Her comb is too. Now that you mention it, her vent was warm, but not hot like the last chicken I had to check.

 

[casportpony]

Cold. Her comb is too. Now that you mention it, her vent was warm, but not hot like the last chicken I had to check.

Sick birds are often hypothermic, so are dying birds. Don't know how feasible it is, but is there can you turn up your heat and heat a room to at least 80 degrees? Maybe put her on a heating pad or hot water bottles?

From: http://avianmedicine.net/content/uploads/2013/03/07_emergency_and_critical_care.pdf
Supportive Care
SICK-BIRD ENCLOSURES
Sick birds are often hypothermic and should be placed in heated (brooder-type) enclosures b (Fig 7.7) in a quiet environment (see Chapter 1, Clinical Practice). A temperature of 85° F (29° C) with 70% humidity is desirable for most sick birds. If brooders are not equipped with a humidity source, placing a small dish of water in the enclosure will often supply adequate humidity. A moist towel that is heated and placed on the bottom of a cage or incubator rapidly humidifies the environment, as indicated by the fogging of the acrylic cage front.

 

[Mylied]

I have a humidifier and a heat lamp. The house is at 75, but I can't heat rooms individually.

 

[casportpony]

I have a humidifier and a heat lamp. The house is at 75, but I can't heat rooms individually.

I can tell you from personal experience that they do best at 80-85 degrees. I have no way to raise the humidty, so I don't worry about it.

-Kathy