Sick Hen

Sorry I miss spoke, the link worked, but it just said "Sorry, the page you were looking for in this blog does not exist" but I poked around there anyway.

I will check out the flushes link. I will see what I think after I check it out but right now I am thinking I will go with the molasses one... they say to alow them access to the molasses water for 8 hours. I don't think she will drink it on her own. Should I maybe give her a few mls a few times a day for 8 hours?

I guess I should have looked at the link before I replied. Yeah I saw that one. They say Epsom salts make the best flush. That is way I was even thinking about it, but I also think it sounds harsh. At least molasses is food so it can not be too bad and will give some energy. I think I will go with that. Also I think that the apples sauce and other soft food recipe I mentioned may be a good idea. They called it a Cleansing mash.

So if I do those two things then maybe the olive oil is too much at this point? I think I will still make hen layer food and cat food available to her, is that a good idea?

Thanks again for all the help.
 
Maybe slow crop. Sour is supposed to smell bad right? Her mouth does not smell bad at all (and I have been opening it up to feed her). That is why I thought that the worms may have been slowing things down. But I treated for worms and have not found any dead worms on the floor of her cage yet.
 
I give her a mixture of apple sauce, egg yolk and yogurt as well as the molasses and water flush (skipped the molasses in the food recipe because it is in the water). I had to put the food and flush in her mouth by hand. I left some molasses and water for her to drink if she wants as well as chicken food and cat food (but I do not think she is eating that).

Her crop was very small when I got her maybe the size of a ping pong ball. I filled it up with the apple sauce mixture and molasses water until it filled my hand when I held it maybe a base ball size. I will give her some lunch later and report back.

Her eyes are bright and her mouth smells fine. When I put her down in her cage she was much stronger and stood up on her own, before she would kind of fall over then stand up or I would guide her up with my hands or she would just sit where I put her. So that is a good sign.

I will keep you posted. Thanks everyone for the help.
 
Gave her lunch of the same food mixture and molasses drink. Crop was about that same ping pong size then filled it again to about a base ball size.

She seems stronger. Walked around in the runner while I cleaned her cage. Pecked at something on the ground, but when I threw food at her she just looked at it.

She pooped a little it was watery with just a little bit of solid. Kind of a brownish green. Not bright green like some of the abnormal poops I have seen on line. No worms in the poop. Should I be seeing them coming out as they die?
 
You may not see dead worms if they are being absorbed as protein in the digestive tract. Also fenbendazole works gradually over a couple of days.
 
The only time I have had a crop problem was recently in a previously very healthy hen, who suddenly had lost a lot of weight, and she had a squishy slow emptying crop for about a month before she died of what I thought to have been egg yolk peritonitis. It never smelled sour, but each day it blew up with air after she ate her egg. It would go down somewhat by morning. Slow crops can accompany other diseases, kind of a symptom. In coccidiosis, Mareks disease, Eyp, and other it can happen simultaneously. I'm not saying much here I guess, other than to look beyond the crop, because it can be something more.
 
The only time I have had a crop problem was recently in a previously very healthy hen, who suddenly had lost a lot of weight, and she had a squishy slow emptying crop for about a month before she died of what I thought to have been egg yolk peritonitis. It never smelled sour, but each day it blew up with air after she ate her egg. It would go down somewhat by morning. Slow crops can accompany other diseases, kind of a symptom. In coccidiosis, Mareks disease, Eyp, and other it can happen simultaneously. I'm not saying much here I guess, other than to look beyond the crop, because it can be something more.

Yeah that makes sense. I am thinking it could be something more. But I can not do much to help those other things. However, I have been researching diseases so if I see any of the symptoms of those in her I will have a better idea of what might be going on with her. Like you say the fenbendazole (that is safe guard right?) works slowly. At this point I am just trying to give her nutrition and keep her comfortable and hope the medicine works. I am keeping tabs on her and I realize that at some point it may be more cruel to keep her going. But at this point I want to make sure she has the best fighting chance I can provide.

Regarding food I am thinking that the apple sauce, yogurt, egg yolk and molasses may not be the best for an extended period of time. I have heard that ground up oat meal could be good a good addition to the mash and that corn meal is not. Any thoughts on something else to add that I can feed her with a syringe? Should I avoid fibrous foods or at some point incorporate them? How many mLs of food does a sick hen need?
 

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