Slow/Sour Crop

[MadChickenMama]

So here is some of his poop. None of the little pea-like ones are in here, though. And then a picture of the sleepy one.

 

[MadChickenMama]

Oops hit the wrong button. Here are the pictures. Ignore the crunchy looking thing next to one poop, that's just some feed that got wet and then dried.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Awww...poor little guy!

How long after you brought him from your sisters did he get sick?
Tell us more about the chicken room? Is that a garage, extra room in the house, etc.? Did I read correctly, he does much better when he is not in the chicken room?

If he is doing better when not in the room - investigate that angle further. Is there lighting, fresh air, no mold or fumes, etc.? Not badgering you - just brainstorming.

He may have a blockage somewhere, it sounds like his crop is not completely emptying. Even though he is only eating chick starter, does he have a source of grit?

Any way you take a stool sample to a vet for testing of Coccidiosis and worms? I see you are in NC - we have 4 state labs that will do testing too if you are near one of those - Raleigh, Elkin, Monroe and Fletcher If I remember correctly stool testing is under $20 at the labs.

IF testing is not possible, I would consider treating him for Coccidiosis. The fluffed appearance, small stools, the crop not emptying, him moving to a new place, etc. he may have become overloaded. You can find Corid at your local feed store.
Dosage is 1 1/2 teaspoons Corid powder or 2 teaspoons of 9.6% Corid liquid per gallon of water. Give for 5-7 days - make sure this is the ONLY water available during that time period. Mix a fresh batch at least once a day.

Keep us posted.

 

[MadChickenMama]

Awww...poor little guy!

How long after you brought him from your sisters did he get sick?
Tell us more about the chicken room? Is that a garage, extra room in the house, etc.? Did I read correctly, he does much better when he is not in the chicken room?

If he is doing better when not in the room - investigate that angle further. Is there lighting, fresh air, no mold or fumes, etc.? Not badgering you - just brainstorming.

He may have a blockage somewhere, it sounds like his crop is not completely emptying. Even though he is only eating chick starter, does he have a source of grit?

Any way you take a stool sample to a vet for testing of Coccidiosis and worms? I see you are in NC - we have 4 state labs that will do testing too if you are near one of those - Raleigh, Elkin, Monroe and Fletcher If I remember correctly stool testing is under $20 at the labs.

IF testing is not possible, I would consider treating him for Coccidiosis. The fluffed appearance, small stools, the crop not emptying, him moving to a new place, etc. he may have become overloaded. You can find Corid at your local feed store.
Dosage is 1 1/2 teaspoons Corid powder or 2 teaspoons of 9.6% Corid liquid per gallon of water. Give for 5-7 days - make sure this is the ONLY water available during that time period. Mix a fresh batch at least once a day.

Keep us posted.

Let's see, she brought him over on Thursday the day before Hurricane Florence hit NC. He and 3 other chickens were kept in a guinea pig cage inside my 6ftx6ft chicken room, which is a storage room in my house. The room itself doesn't have any vents or windows but I leave the door to the room itself open and then storage room is in what I call the den, which is a converted carport right off the kitchen. I leave the door between the kitchen and den open as well. Then I have a fan running to help circulate air.

After a week, maybe slightly more, I let the smaller chickens out to mix with my bigger ones (they're all Seramas). Then, last week we finally got one of the coops from my sister's over here and set it up and moved the bigger chickens to that outside. So now it's just the 4 smaller ones in the room. I do need to clean the room out, but they should be going outside tomorrow or Thursday. We had to fix their run because I had to cut the tarp off during the hurricane because it was going to carry it away lol. My granddad just fixed it today and I need my sister's help getting their coop over, but she works all day

This little guy I noticed being lethargic on...Saturday? I know it was the 2nd day of him being lethargic that I checked him and I want to say that was Sunday. We just got them some grit yesterday. As they have been eating chick feed and I haven't had money lately, I didn't worry about it too much.

And it's okay to give this medicine even if it turns out he doesn't have cocci?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes, the Corid if fine to give even if he does not have Coccidiosis.

I would still work on his crop to see that it's emptying too. Offer him some wet chick starter to see if he will eat that. He needs to be drinking too.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Try olive oil to help things move. It is similar to mineral oil but is natural and 100% safe for chickens

 

[MadChickenMama]

Yes, the Corid if fine to give even if he does not have Coccidiosis.

I would still work on his crop to see that it's emptying too. Offer him some wet chick starter to see if he will eat that. He needs to be drinking too.

Ok, thanks. And I've seen I should treat the whole flock. I'm not sure where he would have picked up that illness from if it's that as none of my sister's chickens had it and even then, when this guy and his group were outside at her house they were in a different area than her chickens had been. And my yard has never had chickens in it. But I am definitely worried.

I don't know if he's just tired cuz of the time or what (his group tend to be a little slow getting started in the morning before 7am lol), but he just seems to be refusing to wake up. Normally he will perk right up and get up and eat. I've had him with me all day yesterday and all night last night.

Oh and he has that tiny lump of food in his crop this morning again.

 

[MadChickenMama]

I went to get Corid today but TCS didn't have any and when I asked someone (whom I have seen working there for several months) she said they don't carry it. The website shows they do. The other nearest TCS was a 30 mins drive away and the nearest local feed store said that "they" took Corid off the shelves on Jan 1st. No idea what is going on.

I'm going to call in a bit and ask someone else if TCS has it.

He seems to be doing a lot better today, though. Right now he is wandering around on the table next to me peeping away. He had a HUGE poop, think it was cecal as it smelled just awful and was a different consistency. Still having diarrhea but there is more solid bits in it. His crop also doesn't feel as puffy as it did the past few days.

His appetite when with me hasn't diminished. He still eats quite a bit and if he sees what I'm eating he tries his best to get it, lol.

I managed to find something that sounds like what he's going through. All the symptoms are the same. Someone said it was some sort of bacterial infection. I am going to try the treatment they suggested in their post tomorrow.

Oh! And yesterday he was favoring one leg and hobbling around. He was a bit like that this morning and sometimes has held the one leg up still, but he is getting around a lot better, doesn't seem as wobbly.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I managed to find something that sounds like what he's going through. All the symptoms are the same. Someone said it was some sort of bacterial infection. I am going to try the treatment they suggested in their post tomorrow.

What did you find that sounds like he has - can you share the link?

Corid is in the cattle section of Tractor Supply. It is not an antibiotic, it's a Coccidiostat. It is not a medication that would have been included in the Jan1,2017 ban.

How soon can you move them outdoors? It sounds like they need fresh air and sunshine.

 

[MadChickenMama]

What did you find that sounds like he has - can you share the link?

Corid is in the cattle section of Tractor Supply. It is not an antibiotic, it's a Coccidiostat. It is not a medication that would have been included in the Jan1,2017 ban.

How soon can you move them outdoors? It sounds like they need fresh air and sunshine.

I'll have to get the link off my computer.

And, well, I was thinking Pumpkin was doing better, his poop was less and less like diarrhea and he was mote alert. But last night he started to get more quiet, wasn't much caring whether he could see me or not (which is very different from how he's been), and now, this morning, he's having trouble standing and is very lethargic again.

I'm going to go back to TCS and see if they have corid. I had checked the cattle/goat area for it and didn't see it the other day.