sick hen with pictures

[patyrdz]

Oh wow! I would say impacted crop too! I hope she gets to feeling better! She is really pretty!

 

[L&Schickens]

Poor girl. I gave her olive oil (That is all I have at the moment

) and she does not feel very full in the crop, but I do feel hard seed in there for sure. She is a mostly free range bird, so I don't know why she would over eat.

Unfortunatly, I am not cutting her open and my hubby would have a cow if I spent a bunch of money on an avian vet to see her. She will have to decide for her self if she is going to live or die. I will do what I can but there is just no way I could cut her open. I am sure I would kill her if I did.

 

[TurtleFeathers]

I'm grabbing at straws here, because I'm new to chickens, but I've been raising parrots for 20 years - and with parrots, the word "impacted" implies an obstruction of some sort. I'm not so sure its an obstruction - could be, but maybe not.

I've only ever seen crops that big in birds with "slow crop" which is normally caused by a yeast or bacterial infection, which prevents the food from being digested. Some call it "sour crop," but either way, the bird is hungry because it isn't digesting its food, so it continues to eat, and the crop continues to grow because the food isn't going anywhere. All this food just sits in the crop and goes sour with the yeast or bacterial growth. The bird will eventually stop eating and die without medication.

Is her crop really soft like a water balloon? Do you have someone that can take a swap of the crop and test for yeast or bacteria, or look for an obstruction? If you have a chicken vet, you will probably want to make an appt. ASAP before she gets weaker. You could remove the contents of her crop and flush it out by going down her throat with a syringe and a crop needle, but that takes experience - if you go down the wrong "pipe" you could kill her. Do NOT cut her open - anesthesia is required for that, and not only would it be painful, but it would kill her for sure.

Kathy

 

[L&Schickens]

Thank you Kathy. I can call one person I know and see what he says. I will call him tomorrow.
Thanks again

 

[TurtleFeathers]

Hope they can help - I know its late, but if you can call tonight, I would. Keep her warm in the meantime.

Kathy

 

[nzpouter]

penguin stance... possibly egg bound... have you try putting a few drop of oil on her bum?

 

[L&Schickens]

Well, diagnosis is Mareks. So how do I treat that? I was told it is from the down off of other chicks in the incubator. This chick was incubated in my incubator not under a hen. So, what can I do for her?

 

[LynneP]

I'm so sorry, she is a beautiful bird. I wish I had experience to share but here are some threads from those who know-
https://www.backyardchickens.com/se...8859-1&q=treat+Marek's+disease&sa=Search#1260

 

[L&Schickens]

OK, I have given the St. Johns wart to her and we will see what happens. Force feeding is hard to do, but I am force feeding her scrambled eggs and bread too. I hope she gets better. She is so pretty.