Sickly hen...please help

[valhalla]

First of all, Hi to all of you out there and sorry that my first post is a question.
Right, I have only been keeping chickens for a couple of months now and I have this one chicken that is a beautifull Road Rock with a lovely green colour...Now she is only 24 weeks old and has been the top-dog of all the others...Recently however she has not been herself at all...She keeps on wanting to lay down...Now firstly(having read some info on here) thought she might be egg-bound so I checked to the best of my ability but could not feel anything..We took her to a vet yesterday..(please dont laugh)and he seemed to think she had a compacted crop...Now he turned her upsidedown and massaged this disgusting vomit type of thing out of her...This consisted of grass and water but the smell was a horrible sour smell. He also checked for any obstruction such as string etc..He gave me a water additive called Lectade and said I was to isolate her with no feed for 48 hours...Now checking her today, she is even weaker...very listless and lays down with her feet sticking out on one side...Any advice is greatly appreciated for this is my favourite girl

 

[allaboutdemchicks]

Poor girl!

Oh, don't think that taking a chicken to the vet would make any responsible pet owner laugh. It's a very determined thing to do!!!

I honestly don't know, I wish I did, but I've never experienced anything like that. The two things that I think of are exactly what you've come up with and that is the compacted crop and eggbound.

I suppose at this point I would put her in a quiet, dark place and to make sure she doesn't get dehydrated. Also, vitamins will be a must.

I'm crossing my fingers that someone will post that will have some experience with this problem

....in the meanwhile, I'll be thinking of you and your pullet.

 

[tulie13]

The Lectade should help her out - that has some nutrition in it. But if she's not drinking her water you need to squirt it down her throat!!! Make sure it's behind the tongue, they breathe through a hole under their tongue.

The other thing you want to do is make sure her water has some Apple Cider Vinegar ACV in it - usual drinking levels is 2 Tablespoons per Gallon of water, but with a sour crop I'd do that AND squirt a few cc's of diluted ACV (1 part ACV to 3 parts water) directly into her crop to kill the fungal infection (sourness). When they get stuff stuck in their crop, usually it grows a fungus which is in the yeast family. This can also overwhelm and kill them if it is not stopped. The acidity in the vinegar will knock it back - VERY IMPORTANT to get some of this in her crop!!!

If she is weak and has lost weight, she may need some extra heat at this point, too. Do you have a heat lamp that you can warm her up with, like you do with baby chicks? I had a heating pad I put on the WALL of my box, not on the floor, so my chicken could either lean up near it or move away from it.

I just had an outbreak of coccidiosis and other complications, and I was medicating all the chickens water and adding all sorts of good stuff to their feed. Unfortunately due to the stress and changes, THEY WEREN'T EATING the special ultra-nutritious feed, and THEY WEREN'T DRINKING the medicated water!!!

So if you want to get anything down her, you may need to hold her beak open and squirt it down her throat!!!

Good luck, keep us updated!

 

[jjthink]

Poor thing - she is in bad shape. It is important to get fluid down them correctly. If you have concerns, the vet can tube her and do it. I'm torn, saying this, because I hate to see her have added stress of schlepping back to the vet, but...it may make the difference.
I hope so very much that she'll feel better,,,,
JJ

 

[valhalla]

Firstly...thank you all for your kind words of support and indeed your greater knowledge...It is with a heavy heart to tell you she died two hours ago...Had the vet on the phone at the time but he was also at a loss as to what to do...T you all again and RIP my lovely Cher

 

[crobi13]

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss.

 

[jjthink]

I'm so sorry...

JJ

 

[loralei]

So sorry for your loss! Please know you went beyond by taking her to the vet and find peace knowing you did everything you could do.

Godspeed,
Laura