Sick Hen

[SW2226]

On March 15th I noticed that my hen wasn’t feeling well. She was wanting to close her eyes a good bit, no appetite, no energy and had some white runny discharge stuck to her back feathers. I brought her inside and set her up to stay. I started trying to figure out online what maybe was wrong and with all the symptoms I honestly thought vent gleet. So I started taking care of her with all the information I found the best way to treat it. Her crop then felt like maybe a golf ball size. The beginning of the next week I decided the best thing to do would be just take her on the to the vet. At the vet she took a needle to try and draw out any fluid off her abdomen but she didn’t get anything. She then took some X-Rays and determine she needed a hysterectomy and said that she didn’t have vent gleet at all. She’s prescribed her an antibiotic, a pain medication and said that she needed a crop bra. Her crop at this time was stretchy like. Also said for us to use a feeding tube she prescribed and for us to get the hand feed mix supplement that you give to parrots. We used the feeding tube for the amount of days she said and she’s almost done with her antibiotic. She said to put her on laying mash for right now and not to give her laying crumbles which the other hens eat. She said she wanted us to make the room dark at like 4:30pm so she’ll think it’s winter time so she hopefully won’t lay an egg. We have to weigh her each day and she’s still inside my home. She’s is still straining to use the potty, whimpers and still has this white discharge coming out her vent. The dr had told me that day I took her not to treat as vent gleet so no more apple cider vinegar, plain yogurt, monistat ect..Her appetite is ok and she really doesn’t want water though. Her crop now is big like full and firm. I massage it which helps but it gets back the same. With her whimpering and straining and with just a little coming out I know she’s hurting. The dr said as long as she maintains her weight she can return next week to the flock. She’s still the same though I can’t return her this way and I don’t want her to be in pain. I feel like the dr maybe diagnosed her somewhat wrong and we should have continued to treat for vent gleet. I am at a loss on what to do and don’t want her to be in pain.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Do you have photos of your hen, a profile of her with and without the bra, her poop and of her vent (the discharge)? Did the vet happen to give you images of the Xrays?

If the recommendation is a hysterectomy then it sounds like your hen has some type of reproductive disorder, did she say whether there's egg matter in the abdomen like EYP, Internal Laying or if the oviduct is impacted?
Being in the dark at 4:30? Was the vet trying to stop production? If so, then a hen need to have total darkness for 16 hours a day for weeks to stop production.

The crop may not being emptying if she has inflammation in the body. Going from golf ball size to having to wear a bra and being watery/bloated doesn't sound to promising.

Was your hen able to eat/drink on her own or was tubing the only way to get nutrition into her?

One of the more concerning things to me is she's straining and whimpering trying to go.
Is her poop watery, dry, firm, etc.?

We are not vets here on BYC, so do remember that.
I'd at least work on her eating/drinking, get some coconut oil into her 2X a day to see if that helps with constipation.
The crop being bloated sounds like it's turning sour, but if there's a blockage or inflammation this may be part of the reason for the bloat.

I'm going to tag in @azygous to read your story as well. I'm very sorry that your hen is suffering. Hopefully we can make a few suggestions to make her more comfortable when we get some photos and more info.

 

[azygous]

I don't always assume that a vet has done the correct thing. It permits me to shift into my intuitive mode with a clean slate.

My take is that she's got an obstruction in her reproductive tract. Did the vet take X-rays? Did the vet give her a calcium and oxytocin injection for egg binding? Look on the discharge paper or itemized bill. What appears as vent gleet can actually be mucous and urates from egg binding.

The impacted crop follows. There's something clogging the works. I would give calcium, 600mg minimum, but it may be too late with the crop in stasis.

Is the crop more like a water balloon or a stuffed bag of beans?