Sick chicken..losing feathers and crop issues. Help!

[scoopsmom]

My bantam Cochin, Ruffles, is sick again. She had a doughy crop about a month ago that took her several weeks to get over. I gave her acidified copper sulfate in her water which is the main thing that got her better. Which is what I have started her on again for the past 2 days.

It's very weird because she acts completely normal. She's eating well, drinking regularly, and her poop is normal. But I noticed a few days ago she was moving her neck weird...I guess jerky and side to side? Hard to explain. She will only do it once and not very often. She is also very skinny. She lost alot of weight during her last crop problem but she's been eating normally for a few weeks now but it's as if she hasn't gained any weight back and could have possibly lost weight! My mom noticed a few days ago that her crop feels squishy again! She has lost alot of feathers on her head, and when I looked closer at her it's as if they broke off and the quill is still there. Honestly she looks like a dying cancer patient but her behavior is completely normal!
She has been separated from the flock completely. She's even sleeping in the cage because I have no clue what's going on with her. She did have a dust bath of diatomaceous earth in her area before and I'm going to give her a bath in it tomorrow in case it's mites.

Please please if you have any ideas on what this could be or what treatments would be good let me know! I can't afford to take her to the vet.

 

[azygous]

How old is Ruffles? I'm guessing she's beyond being a spring chicken? Usually, with repeated crop issues, there is an underlying cause, making the crop disorder a secondary issue. At this point, we don't know what that could be, but please keep it in mind.

A simple reason for repeat bouts of sour crop is a condition called pendulous crop. This is where the crop loses its muscle tone and sags. This prevents the contents from emptying completely. They stagnate much as a clogged drain does, the contents souring and a yeast culture dominates.

If Ruffles' crop hangs low and even moves when she walks, she has pendulous crop. The "cure" is a crop bra to support the crop so the contents are up high enough to reach the "drain".

If pendulous crop isn't the reason for Ruffles continuing crop woes, then she probably has a chronic disease that is affecting her general health.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings Scoopsmom,

If she has been on copper sulfate for a while, her gut flora is probably off. That will lead to the inability to metabolize nutrients, resulting in rough feathers, breaking feathers and weight loss.

Restore her gut flora with a good probiotic and replace lost nutrients with additional vitamin supplement. Some aloe vera juice in her water to strengnthen her immune system and promote healing, is also good.

If she is getting sour crop again, instead of acidified copper sulfate, try some oznystatin or nystatin antifungal. Also, keep some lactolose handy, in case you need to get things moving through the crop.

A strong immune system and good gut flora will speed the hen's healing.

If your interested in trying a natural method in the future, here is a link to look at.
http://citygirlfarming.com/2014/05/26/treating-a-sour-crop-naturally/

And, I really like azygous' suggestion for the crop bra. I have to get one for my hen!

So, these are my views on the issue.

Good Bless!

 

[scoopsmom]

She is only 9 months old. I actually copied a design I found online of a crop bra and made 2 of them thinking she would be wearing it all the time. Then her crop seemed to improve so I thought maybe putting her in a crop bra may be a little premature. So I figured I'd just wait and see if she'd be ok without it. Well now her crop isn't as full and hanging as much as the first time, but it is fuller than it should be and squishy, or doughy. I think maybe it's just a slow crop, proably pendulous, but I don't think it's sour. She doesn't have foul breath or anything like that.

 

[scoopsmom]

Hen Pen Jemm, I think you are completely right about her gut flora being off! I'm so glad you responded because I heard after the copper sulfate to follow up with probiotics, and I gave her yogurt for days after but obviously it wasn't enough. I went and bought probiotics at Tractor Supply today as well as vitamins and started her on that. I will get some aloe vera juice tomorrow.

As I mentioned I'm not so sure it's sour crop so should I still try try the oznystatin or nystatin antifungal? And at what point do I use the lactolose? Because she's so thin already and it's not an impacted crop since things are moving through and her poop is good, I don't think I should remove her food? I have been wetting her food as I read it's easier to digest. Also, still giving her yogurt and applesauce on occasion. So as far as feeding her...does all that sound ok?

Also, was wondering if you have heard of Reglan? I read it can be good to treat slow or sour crop. I picked up some Corrid to have on hand and thinking maybe I should give it to her in case its cocchidiosis?

Thank you both so much for responding so quickly!

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Sour crop smells bad, if you don't smell anything and her poops are good, don't treat for that.

She is only 9 months old? It could be Coccidiosis, no way to know for sure without a fecal float test. But go ahead and treat her for 5 days with Corid.

You will have to wait to administer the vitamins and probiotics, till after the Corid.

And feed her like a queen! Plenty of fresh water too. Give her some watermelon if you can get it. Keep her hydrated.

I have no experience with Raglan.

Put all your medicines in a storage case for any future issues.

God Bless you and your hen!

 

[scoopsmom]

Thank you so much for all your help. She's on her second day of corid. She's been doing her neck winding more, so far that's the only difference

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I'm curious about the feathers broken off at the shaft. Would this make sense as a symptom of these possibilities, or could she be molting? Would molting involve the entire feather falling out, though?

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Thank you so much for all your help. She's on her second day of corid. She's been doing her neck winding more, so far that's the only difference

Check the crop again for squishyness, or is it hard like a golf ball. Sounds like she is trying to adjust the contents of her crop. She may have sour crop again if her crop is squishy. There is not always a pungent odor coming from the open beak. If you are sure it's sour crop, you can administer some antifungal, twice a day, or follow the product instructions. She would only need Lactalose if she had an impacted crop.

If she is eating, and pooping normally, but very thin, I would take her to see a Vet.

There are so many bacterial and viral infections that could be causing her to not absorb nutrients.

Have you checked for worms? Look at her poops, do you ever see any white dots, that start to change shape? If you do these are tapeworm segments, which can also cause weight loss. She really needs a fecal float test, she could have several types of internal parasites. Any vet office can send the fecal sample for you, even if they don't care for poultry.

It is hard to diagnose. All we can do, is use the process of elimination. Which may end up hurting rather than helping.

Giving antibiotics for illnesses that your are just guessing at, is not the best option. Antibiotics, are a double edged sword. They can heal or kill at the worst, at the least... they are ineffective.

I really wish I could offer more help.

Examine her again. Start from the beginning, what do you see, feel, smell, and hear. Begin checking at the top of her head, then work down to her vent. Look at everything, if you see, feel, smell, or hear anything that doesn't seem normal, write it down.

First thing on the list should be: Neck twisting.

Look with fresh eyes. Then, update this post.

We'll try again.

God Bless!

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

One more thing you might check.

You will need a helper to hold the hen.

Get a Q-tip and open the hen's beak, then do a quick swab of her throat.

Look at the swab; do you see anything that looks like threads? If not, that's good!

You have just checked for Gapeworm.

Now, give your little girl a treat of diced fruit.