Sick hen...Impacted crop and not walking at all

[candi80]

Well I think I got it all. She is definitely full of poop. I don't feel any more hard chunks, it's all small and grainy. While blow drying her she pooped a little, so maybe we're heading in the right direction. Again, thank you everyone for the help

 

[rebrascora]

That's great news. Well done! Fingers crossed you got all the big chunks and she is strong enough to pick up.

It's difficult to get an impression of the texture of that. Is it too hard to cut through. Almost looks like a piece of butter popcorn from the photo.

 

[candi80]

It's hard, you have to apply little pressure to get it to break up and it's really rough. Looked at it and it looks like to the bedding you use (pine shavings and old leaves from the yard) but it also looks calcified. I tried to be careful taking it out cause it was so rough feeling and I was afraid it will damage her insides. The crop is feeling squishy now at the base of the huge lump so I'm hoping that's a good sign

 

[rebrascora]

I was wondering if it might be part of a lash egg, but probably not from your description. Do your hens have free access to grit?

 

[candi80]

We live in Florida so it's really sandy ground here so we didn't bother with having grit separate cause we were told sand was sufficient. The coop she is in they make little bowls in the bedding to peck at and do dust baths. I just gave her some water and massaged her crop and I'm finally starting to hear a squishy.

 

[rebrascora]

Sand is not really large enough to have a good grinding action, so I would supply some grit or even break up some old chipped crockery with a hammer (wear goggles) and let them have that. That's what my mother used to do and I've tried it and they get so excited about an old plate smashed to smitherines!
Good to hear her crop is softening up.
Keeping fingers crossed she continues to make progress.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It seems your making progress

I agree with everything Barbara (@rebrascora ) has posted.

Please keep us posted.

 

[candi80]

Well unfortunately I just went and checked on her and she's expired. But this has definitely been a learning experience and I know now what to look for and how to treat it. The boys will be upset but they will have a new distraction in a few days when the chicks hatch. Thank you so much for the help and encouragement.

 

[rebrascora]

So sorry she didn't make it.

I think she was probably too weak when you caught her but you did your absolute best and gained some valuable experience in the process. It is useful for children to learn about death too....a valuable lesson which we should be less worried about. Children tend to be more accepting of such things that we expect. I remember as a child we helped pluck chickens and turkeys at Christmas at my Auntie's farm. I'm soft as muck and until recently couldn't kill anything bigger than a fly, but looking back on that time I had no problem with it happening in my presence , although I expect the attitude of my mother and auntie probably played a role in that.

I know it's not something everyone can get their head around but it would be really useful if you are able to open her up and see what was going on inside. It's not much different to eviscerating a chicken when butchering and if you take photos of what you find, we could look at them and perhaps help determine what the underlying cause was. Of course you could also get a professional necropsy done but that usually costs money and for a (hopefully) one off death it's probably not worth while. My gut feeling is that she probably had a tumour but it would have been interesting to find out.

Very best wishes and sympathies to you. It's a bummer when you don't have success having tried so hard to save one.

Barbara

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for your loss