Sick Hen, ~9mo/o acting lethargic and has yellow diarrhea

[hayley3]

Good for you....I watched a youtube video of how to do it and I made things worse.

 

[Axil]

I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience. I reeeaaallly didn't want to have to try and do that, but with her at the stage she couldn't open her mouth without leaking I felt I had no choice.

Time will tell if it ultimately made any difference. Since it's dark out I finally forced myself to stop checking on her every 15min and turned out the lights hoping she will feel better with some rest *fingers crossed*

 

[Axil]

Update:
Last night I was starting to lose hope as my poor hen looked absolutely miserable. She was making a lot of swallowing motions like she was struggling to keep the contents of her crop down, and was shaking as if she was freezing even though she is in a ~70 degree house.

This morning when i checked on her she stood up and took a few shallow sips of water. Then in the 15min or so it took me to get her meds ready she had drained the small bowl and passed a bit of that watery yellow substance. I gave her the meds, this time giving her a about 50% more than the recommended dosage. I still had to hold her beak open to administer it, which was much more difficult than last time due to her managing to yank her head back at the last second a couple times. I took that as a good sign.

So I'm hopeful again and so very thankful for the advice I've gotten in this thread. There is no doubt in my mind that she would have passed away had the treatment been delayed any longer. I realize she is still far from the finish line but I'm hopeful that she is finally moving in the right direction.

The chickens are my 9yr/o daughter's personal pets and trying to explain the situation to her has been absolutely heartbreaking. So thank you again for all the help, it makes me relieved beyond measure that I can tell her we are giving her pet the very best chance we can.

Apologies for the long winded post, chronicling this whole ordeal has made it helped me stay sane and confident I'm doing things the right way.

 

[hayley3]

Awww, that is great news!

 

[Axil]

So she has probably drank about a cup of water already, but still has no interest in eating. Should I try to add a supplement to her water or just wait her out?

All the diy electrolyte recipes contain sugar. My understanding is that sugar is to a yeast infection what gasoline is to a fire. Perhaps I'm overestimating the risk if it gets some calories in her?

I also have a sugar free electrolyte powder made for human consumption. I've attached a picture below. Would this be a safe addictive to replace some lost salt and minerals?

 

[Axil]

The above is for a 16oz serving, the little bowl she has in there is about 4-6 oz so she wouldn't get much more than a quarter of the dosage above (unless you recommend I mix it stronger)

 

[azygous]

Sure. You could give her that sugar-free concoction. You may also need to consider tube feeding at some point.

Have you offered boiled egg? Tofu? Strained baby food, meat or veggies? Yogurt? These are usually foods a sour crop patient will tolerate.

Please be aware that some sour crop issues stem from a terminal health condition such as cancer or a chronic reproductive tract infection, and probably won't respond to treatment. It's very sad when you need to face this possibility after several days of miconazole not working.

One hen that I was trying to treat for sour crop wouldn't respond. After euthanizing her and doing a necropsy, I discovered cancer tumors had completely taken over every organ and the tumors were literally floating in the "soup" of her abdominal cavity.

 

[Axil]

Thanks, I'll mix her some of that in a bit. I've been offering boiled egg and a few layer pellets since last night. She looks at them like she wants to eat them, sometimes even halfheartedly pecks the bowl above where the food is, but wont eat it.

I will try yogurt again the night before last she went crazy for it, but that was prior to her downturn. Tofu I do not have but if the above doesn't work I'll get some.

I do understand that sometimes despite the very best care the outcome can be fatal, but I'm determined to make sure she does get the best care I can provide

Thank you again for your persistent guidance

 

[Axil]

Welp, here is another update and it feels good to have some promising news to report.

I made her a little dish of water with the supplement pictured in my previous post. She gave it a long look, then cast a dubious eye my way. After i took a drop and tapped the end of her beak with it she must've decided raspberry flavoring wasn't so bad and took a few sips.

Spoiler

I'll keep an eye on the bowl and if she seems to be reluctant to continue drinking it i'll give her plain water again.

I then added glob of yogurt to a little bowl, mixed in some layer feed and offered it to her. She did the same deal where she seemed to want to eat it but wouldn't go for it. I held out a couple pellets in my hand and she immediately went to snap one up, but rather than swallow it seemed like she was trying to chew it then threw it across the cage at me. Then a light-bulb went off. I wondered if the issue is she wants to eat but feels like she can only get very small pieces down her throat. I took back the yogurt mix, waited until the pellets got really mushy then stirred them in really well with the yogurt. Again i had no luck until i physically stuck a small bit of yogurt onto the tip of her beak. After that she attacked the bowl with enthusiasm

Spoiler

After she ate she even felt well enough to clean her beak of the remaining yogurt. About halfway through her meal she leaked some putrid liquid out as she was trying to eat. I think i'm going to wait an hour or so before i offer more food in hopes her crop will empty a little more and minimize the risk of her choking.

She also picked at some of the smallest slivers of timothy hay. I'm assuming the small amount of fiber that's giving her can only help move things along. I don't expect she'll try and gorge herself on it and end up with more issues but i'll keep an eye out. I also saw a jet black stream of liquid poo come out of her. I'm not sure if black is better or worse than yellow but considering the droppings had pretty much stopped last night and today I take that as a promising sign.

 

[azygous]

I'd like to see that black poop. If you don't still have access to it, could you photograph and post the next time she squirts out some black poop? Unless a chicken has been eating charcoal or ashes, black poop could indicate internal bleeding in the intestines.

A full crop, like a full stomach on a human, prevents feeling hungry. So her appetite should pick up as her crop empties. Congratulations on getting some food into her.