Sick Pullet

[Ruralhideaway]

8 month old black Asian pullet(hybrid multi purpose something).

FF, dry pellet(both flock raiser), oyster shell, 2 sizes granite grit. Scratch BOSS mealworm blend 3x a week.

Might have laid yesterday. Was ok but a bit hunched at bedtime. I noticed but it was cold and windy, figured she was just sleepy.

Watery yellow whitish poop this am. Tail down, hunched, eyes closing. Went out in run with the others but quickly returned. Crop is medium size, soft, and full of air.

I'd have just done Corid if I hadn't felt her crop. Now I'm not sure.

Going to get her in a kennel on paper towels for poop pics. Other suggestions?

 

[azygous]

Monitor the crop. If it fills up instead of going down after not eating for a while, it could be sour crop. If you feel a hard mass, ripply with fibrous material and if she's drinking lots of water and making weird neck movements, it could be impacted. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

It could be cocciciosis. No harm in treating for it. It could be a bacterial infection. See if she respond to Corid before starting an antibiotic, but you might start trying to find one to have in case you need to use it.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Monitor the crop. If it fills up instead of going down after not eating for a while, it could be sour crop. If you feel a hard mass, ripply with fibrous material and if she's drinking lots of water and making weird neck movements, it could be impacted. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

It could be cocciciosis. No harm in treating for it. It could be a bacterial infection. See if she respond to Corid before starting an antibiotic, but you might start trying to find one to have in case you need to use it.

I'll start Corid today. I have a few abx on hand. Thanks for that link I'll read up.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Can coccidiosis cause sour crop? Or can sour crop cause diarrhea?

Seems at though it's not likely impacted, as its very very soft. Feels like air so I assume it's likely liquid.

 

[azygous]

Any health issue can lower a hen's resistance and pave the way for yeast to colonize the crop, just as the same thing can make a human woman vulnerable to yeast infections, and a baby vulnerable to thrush.

Yes, it can cause very runny stools.

To verify you are dealing with sour crop, you need to make a final check in the morning before the hen eats anything. A full, squishy crop in the morning is a sure sign of sour crop.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Any health issue can lower a hen's resistance and pave the way for yeast to colonize the crop, just as the same thing can make a human woman vulnerable to yeast infections, and a baby vulnerable to thrush.

Yes, it can cause very runny stools.

To verify you are dealing with sour crop, you need to make a final check in the morning before the hen eats anything. A full, squishy crop in the morning is a sure sign of sour crop.

Ok I understand. Should I be providing food today? I have her isolated but haven't gotten her set with food and water yet.

 

[azygous]

Yes, offer her food. But check the crop first, then after she eats, check again, then check an hour after that to see if the amount in the crop is going down or remaining the same.

A normal crop is about the size of an apricot when full. It will be considerably smaller an hour after eating. A crop with issues will be larger, squishy or really hard, and won't get smaller.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Yes, offer her food. But check the crop first, then after she eats, check again, then check an hour after that to see if the amount in the crop is going down or remaining the same.

A normal crop is about the size of an apricot when full. It will be considerably smaller an hour after eating. A crop with issues will be larger, squishy or really hard, and won't get smaller.

Thank you so much. I went out to get her fed and she'd laid a big paper shelled squashed egg. Huge mess mixed up with lots of poop. Her crop had gone down quite a bit. She seems much brighter.

 

[azygous]

If that thin-shelled egg has been crushed inside her and blocking her oviduct all this time, that would have been the cause of her woes. Often, when two yolks are released nearly at the same time, the hen will suffer trying to get them both out, usually because there isn't enough calcium in the shell gland for two eggs at the same time. Soft eggs are harder to pass and get hung up.

She isn't out of the woods yet, though. When an egg is crushed inside and isn't expelled immediately, it can cause inflammation. This can turn into an infection.

When this happens to hens of mine, I immediately start them on an oral antibiotic. You might keep a close eye on her, and if she doesn't resume normal behavior, it could be a sign if infection. The problem with a crushed egg inside, if that is what happened, is that the oviduct is so sensitive to inflammation, it can affect future egg laying.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

If that thin-shelled egg has been crushed inside her and blocking her oviduct all this time, that would have been the cause of her woes. Often, when two yolks are released nearly at the same time, the hen will suffer trying to get them both out, usually because there isn't enough calcium in the shell gland for two eggs at the same time. Soft eggs are harder to pass and get hung up.

She isn't out of the woods yet, though. When an egg is crushed inside and isn't expelled immediately, it can cause inflammation. This can turn into an infection.

When this happens to hens of mine, I immediately start them on an oral antibiotic. You might keep a close eye on her, and if she doesn't resume normal behavior, it could be a sign if infection. The problem with a crushed egg inside, if that is what happened, is that the oviduct is so sensitive to inflammation, it can affect future egg laying.

Great info thank you. Her crop still feels squishy on my most recent check. I let her out to socialize andd maybe eat some dinner. I do FF 2x daily. She ate dry only and was really into the water heavy.

So I think I should pop her back into the crate at bedtime, continue the Corid, treat for sour crop tomorrow assuming it's still squishy in the morning, and add an antibiotic. I have some Clindamycin that needs to be used up so I'll start there unless that one's not a good idea. I also have SMZ-TMP and straight amoxicillin. Could get Tylan or Oxytet tomorrow.