Sick hen, standing motionless...help

[casportpony]

I have kept mine in the basement where it is 60 dregrees. I do let her out for about an hour in the afternoon and she heads for the rest of the flock she will eat grass and look for food. but she won't scratch with her feet like the rest of them

60 degrees is better than outside, but she should probably also have access to a heatlamp. If she were mine, I would do a thorough exam. This includes checking for lumps, bumps, bruising, cuts, stuck eggs, crop status, looking in mouth, smelling mouth, eyes and poop. Then I would dust her for mites/lice with poultry dust (not DE), even if I couldn't see any. Next I would weigh her on a digital kitchen scale and worm her with Safeguard for Goats/Cattle (Fenbendazole 100mg/ml) at 50mg/kg by mouth and repeat in ten days.

 

[casportpony]

My posts are meant for all of you with sick birds.

 

[shell3]

my hen had simular symptoms standing around not acting normally. she had a squishy crop that felt full of liquid. and she smelt sour too. i posted on here and was told it sounded like sour crop. this was confirmed by a vet and shes had it a couple of times first time i used a suggestion from here for using monistat. search bar: curing sour crop with monistat. second time vet gave nystatin. ive had to empty the crop before giving meds. good luck

 

[casportpony]

my hen had simular symptoms standing around not acting normally. she had a squishy crop that felt full of liquid. and she smelt sour too. i posted on here and was told it sounded like sour crop. this was confirmed by a vet and shes had it a couple of times first time i used a suggestion from here for using monistat. search bar: curing sour crop with monistat. second time vet gave nystatin. ive had to empty the crop before giving meds. good luck

Thanks for sharing... I think that something like Nystatin would work best, and if you're here in the states, and know where to look, you can find it without a prescription. If anyone wants the to know where to buy it, send me a PM and I'll reply with the link. I would post the link, but I have done that in the past and those links then go away.

 

[shell3]

yeah im in england and we dont have monistat i used canesten instead but does the same. vet sold me nystatin for about £8 thats about $6 i think. but not all vets carry it anyway so buying it elsewhere might be better any way. also feel for any hard masses in the crop as could have a blockage of grass or something. nystatin will get rid of the infection but if theres a blockage it may come back. if theres a mass give olive oil about a ml morning and same afternoon and gently massage the crop to disloge/break up mass.

 

[shell3]

also if shes not eating it may be the crops too full with fluid. does it feel like a big water balloon? when mine was like that i emptied it and then she ate. to empty it i tucked her under my arm like a rugby ball(thats football to you lol) and tipped her forwards if shes full with fluid it'll just shoot out if not use your other hand to gently massage the crop. Its very important to let her up every 5-6 seconds to breath let her get her barings before doing it again if you need to. otherwise she could choke and asperate. i found it was a bit scary to do first time as i myself am no expert but it helped my girl. i searched it on here before i did it made sure i did it right. be gentle though and dont force anything. good luck and keep us posted x

 

[Happy Chooks]

If it is sour crop, you can try soaking some bread in olive oil and have her eat it. It might push the blockage through.

Search sour crop and you'll get lots of threads.

 

[Annshens]

Thank you so much! Sour crop sounds exactly like what she has. You've given me some hope! I rushed to the store and gave her one dose already. One more before bed. I'm really hoping to see some improvement overnight.

 

[shell3]

def do have hope x my girl got very sick for a long time but ive never given up and now shes recovering xx my thread is 'sour crop' her names bombie. may help you to read advice given to me. just put it in the search bar. stay strong and keep us updated. whats your hens name?

 

[shell3]

what did you get at the store? nystatin?