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

[azygous]

I think it's time to try a crop bra. The clue that she may feel relief when propping her crop on the 2 x 4 points to a crop hanging too low to empty properly. Go back to my article and there are directions on crop bras and how to adjust them over a few days to get the proper fit and drainage.

Hopefully this is what got her into this mess, and a bra will get her out of it.

 

[featherhead007]

So sorry your beautiful hen is so sick. I have two Barred Rocks too. I was looking at this thread, because I have a new pullet Rhode Island Red, who is dying as we speak. She's very sick!

 

[Axil]

I'm very sorry to report that our hen didn't make it. I apologize for the delay in letting everyone know the outcome it's been a bit rough here. The chicken belonged to my 9yr/o daughter and the loss hit our family hard.

Shortly after my last post I found that our hen was essentially "overflowing" clear water from her mouth again. I was afraid without intervention she would asphyxiate and I attempted to clear her crop by holding her upside down and massaging her crop. We got the water out ok but then her throat filled with old food the consistency of wet sand. Once it had gotten into her throat i couldn't get it out her mouth or back down into her crop and she quickly aspirated and passed away. I feel awful, as I was directly responsible for her death attempting to help her. I wasn't able to bring myself to perform an autoposy. I did look through what little of the grainy substance she'd gotten out and it contained dried leaves that she hadn't even had access to since last Saturday.

Thank you everyone for your help and warm words. I really wanted this story to have a happy ending but without the help i got here I don't believe she would've made it as long as she did. She got to spend her last couple days warm, inside, being loved. I hope that the information here might help another animal in need at some point in the future. Again, thank you.

 

[azygous]

You really didn't kill your hen. It sounds like she had a gravely impacted crop that probably would have required surgery to clear. You merely hastened her to the end and it spared her further suffering.

 

[Silkie_Mama]

It always sucks to lose a bird, but at least now, you have picked up some knowledge on how to combat this kind of thing earlier, I always try to find a brighter side when loosing a hen

 

[Axil]

You really didn't kill your hen. It sounds like she had a gravely impacted crop that probably would have required surgery to clear. You merely hastened her to the end and it spared her further suffering.

Thanks, I just wanted to give her the best shot I could, and you guys helping me along allowed me to do that even though the outcome wasn't a happy one.

It always sucks to lose a bird, but at least now, you have picked up some knowledge on how to combat this kind of thing earlier, I always try to find a brighter side when loosing a hen

Yes. I'll definitely be able to setup a little triage better now that I've experienced it

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss. For what it’s worth, I have also done the same thing, trying to clear a blockage, and the material was so thick, it was hard for my hen to breathe. I swept out her throat and she didn’t die then, but she died a few days later. She had a sour crop for weeks. When I have treated an impacted or sour crop, I have lost each one. Most times there is another reason for the crop disorder, such as a reproductive disorder, a gizzard problem, ascites, or cancer.