Sour crop question - dehydration?

[Cristyloks]

I've made a post about this hen but have a more specific question, so I'm sorry for the multiple posts!

We've been treating a hen for sour crop with clotrimazole cream (keeping in mind it could be slow or impacted crop as well.) Yesterday was very touch and go and the first full day she received the cream. We withheld food (she was so bad off she wasn't interested anyhow) and she had gone off food more or less the afternoon before that. She was VERY interested in water yesterday, drinking often and she had full access to that. She started having loose/watery stools yesterday as well and that's continued into today. As of this afternoon her crop is finally empty! Only problem is, she isn't drinking much of anything. She has very mild interest in food. She started pecking at some old pellets in her quarantine area, so I gave her some fresh chick feed (both moistened and dry.) She's maybe managed eating a handful of tiny granules. She is definitely improved from yesterday in several ways, but still very sleepy and having occasional jerky head movements/crop adjustments and of course the runny stool. Should I be concerned at this stage about the lack of interest in food and water? I've been giving her a little bit of chick electrolytes via syringe every couple hours but we're talking very little (she has energy enough to fight me some and so it's like 30 drops each time that she's getting.) Should I do something more to hydrate her? Is the sleepiness a bad sign of possible dehydration or just par for the course? This is my first time treating this. She is a 3 yo barred rock.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Regular vet prescribed amoxicillin/clavicillin and a de-wormer (can get that drug name if needed.) we started ABX last week and almost immediately her appetite disappeared. Tried to stay the course for 5 days but she was getting worse and worse in the appetite/energy department. She seemed nauseated. I discontinued that about 36 hours ago. She is drinking

Backstory - my 3.5 yo hen was low energy and passing small lash eggs.

We've been treating a hen for sour crop

I took a look at your other thread - I understand your concern.

Yes, you can work on hydration if necessary, but I would put this hen with her flock unless she's getting picked on, let her eat/drink and treat her while she is with her flock. Often they do much better when with their friends.

Your hen has Salpingitis, she's passing lash material. She's in a state of decline.
The Crop Problems are very likely just a symptom of her having Salpingitis.

The antibiotics may help her feel a bit better, they may not, a lot depends on how advanced her condition is. Often lash material is in the abdominal cavity as well and begins to block the digestive system.

If you lose her, have a necropsy performed through your state lab or if you feel up to it, do your own. Doing your own will allow you to see what was happening and better associate symptoms with cause.

 

[Cristyloks]

I took a look at your other thread - I understand your concern.

Yes, you can work on hydration if necessary, but I would put this hen with her flock unless she's getting picked on, let her eat/drink and treat her while she is with her flock. Often they do much better when with their friends.

Your hen has Salpingitis, she's passing lash material. She's in a state of decline.
The Crop Problems are very likely just a symptom of her having Salpingitis.

The antibiotics may help her feel a bit better, they may not, a lot depends on how advanced her condition is. Often lash material is in the abdominal cavity as well and begins to block the digestive system.

If you lose her, have a necropsy performed through your state lab or if you feel up to it, do your own. Doing your own will allow you to see what was happening and better associate symptoms with cause.

I took a look at your other thread - I understand your concern.

Yes, you can work on hydration if necessary, but I would put this hen with her flock unless she's getting picked on, let her eat/drink and treat her while she is with her flock. Often they do much better when with their friends.

Your hen has Salpingitis, she's passing lash material. She's in a state of decline.
The Crop Problems are very likely just a symptom of her having Salpingitis.

The antibiotics may help her feel a bit better, they may not, a lot depends on how advanced her condition is. Often lash material is in the abdominal cavity as well and begins to block the digestive system.

If you lose her, have a necropsy performed through your state lab or if you feel up to it, do your own. Doing your own will allow you to see what was happening and better associate symptoms with cause.

Thanks for the advice! She sadly does not have a flock right now. We lost our other hens to a raccoon attack and she was the last of my original flock. We took another hen off friend with hopes to integrate but didn't get much chance before we this happened so they do not share spaces. We also have baby chicks, but they are still brooder age. This has all transpired in the past month.

I've dealt with reproductive issues with a past hen who lived a year and a half after the start of lash material being passed. Had a good quality of life for all but maybe the past few weeks of that. I realize each can be very different of course. She had no crop issues prior to antibiotics and was immediately showing appetite and behavior changes within 48 hours of her first dose, so I'm treating the crop issues in case they are more related to that than her reproductive issues. Hoping for some quality of life. That said, if I cannot hydrate her she isn't going to make it. Once her crop started to empty, she's had non-stop loose and watery stools and isn't drinking enough to compensate. I'm a (human) nurse, and I can tell she is declining from dehydration right now but have no supplies or means to help besides trying to syringe feed fluid and electrolytes. Her droppings smell strongly of urates. Last night she was peppy and showing interest in usual things and eating scrambled eggs and chick feed. Huge loose stool mess this morning and back to lethargic and weak and refusing to drink (last night she did finally come around to drinking more on her own.)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Oh dear, how sad! I'm sorry to hear that you lost your hens.

Syringing or tubing fluids into her is a good idea.

Since she does seem willing to eat, offer her some wet mash, bits of melon, tomato, cucumber...things that have some moisture, this will help hydrate a little too.

Hopefully she'll perk up. Some do very well when given antibiotics and can quite a while live longer. I've had it go both ways unfortunately.