Sour Crop Recovery Complications

[canesisters]

I'm so sorry.

 

[chickenzoo]

Sorry about your hen DP

I can tell you how to tube feed her. I buy parrot handfeeding formula and a.goat tube feeding kit. Its a long tube and a.60cc syringe. You can make your own out of soft tubing from a hardware store about half the width of a pencil and a syringe that the tube will fit on.
then put tube on. You can wipe 1/2 the tube with.a little veggie oil to help it slide.

Prepare formula to a thin milk shake consistency. Suck up about 20cc in syringe w/o tube.

Hold chicken wrapped in a towl... in your lap while sitting on floor. with your left hand reach around and hold chickens wattles or head..hold body down with elbow.
Take finger and pry open beak if needed and leave.finger in to hold open.
With other hand take tube and aim towards corner of mouth. Pass tube over the tounge...
AVOID HOLE RIGHT BEHIND TONGUE....THAT IS THE AIRWAY......
Avoid airways and pass tube into the back of mouth down into the crop. You will see the tube slide down. If you wiggle the tube you should see the skin move. If you feel the crop you should feel the tube.
Empty the syringe into the crop until you see the crop start to fill. Feel it with your hand. Do not over fill or it will back up and possibility aspirant. do small amounts....
It takes some practice.....
Remove tube in one quick pull after holding head upward.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I'm really sorry about your hen. /hugs

 

[KarliRae]

Thank you to everyone who tried to help. We lost our most beautiful and most personable chicken. She died last night. We are taking her today to have her necropsied. We are pretty sure that whatever was wrong has not affected the other 5, who have been fine since we separated the sick one Sunday noon. Thank you all for taking the time to try to help.

Did you figure out what happened?

 

[Doctor Pammie]

Thank you, everyone. We had her necropsied at our state lab in Virginia. She had a severe fungal infection--aspergilliosis (sp?). Apparently, it's a fungus both people and birds carry in their system, but the vet who examined her body said that something else would have been stressing her for the infection to take hold. She told us that once this fungus gets going, there's really nothing you can do. She also told us that the bird had not aspirated, which was what we were worried about--we thought that giving her some of the liquid by dropper that maybe we'd compromised her, but that wasn't the case. Still doesn't bring her back, but at least we know we didn't cause it. So, we are going to boost the probiotics and the protein in our other pullets after determining that maybe they are a bit underweight. Here we were worried about them getting too big too fast with all the debate about when to switch to layer food, and it turns out they might actually be underweight. She said if we could pinch the keel, they were too thin. We're first timers so we were surprised since they have access to all the food they want and since they otherwise look so healthy. Anyhow, we are learning a lot. But it's still so hard to look out at them and keep wondering where the 6th bird is. She was both my and my husband's favorite. *sigh* Didn't think I'd get so attached in just 2 months! Oh well, reading this board it's obvious I'm not alone in that regard!

 

[nic noc]

I am so sorry to hear about your chick.My daughter just lost a little black silkie so I know how heartbreaking it can be. Who knew one could get so attached to a chicken ?!