Special sour crop situation

[AWa3785]

Thought I would pop back through with an update:

She’s still with us. Originally while treating the sour crop problem I had her in a crate in the coop with her family. However, she seemed to do better without the crate. Seemed more open to eating as we made progress in resolving the sour crop issue. In my last reply I noted blood upon one last check for an egg and still runny poop. I now think that that was simply trauma to the vent after all she’s gone through and my checking(lubed of course). She started picking up on her eating which was encouraging and poops had firmed up. Unfortunately though- I have a pretty hyper roo right now and her being loose with them is a risk after I came home to her sprawled out in the run with wings spread. I thought she was dead. Nope she’s on life 8 of 9. I’ve opted to control the scene for her by taking her out completely and giving her the controlled environment she needs to make a recovery. I honestly didn’t think she was going to make it through the night- alas she was still here. The challenge now is that we’ve gone backwards in her diet it feels like. Not as eager to eat frequently. She doesn’t seem to have a desire to drink so I’m syringing water and the some rooster booster once a day again. She gets the best nutrition when I let her free range though so I brought her out yesterday to pick around in the yard. For over a week you never saw her lay down because she would corner herself in a nest box since she couldn’t get up on the roost. I assumed it was due to pain from her very emaciated state and how it felt with her keel bone sticking out. However, as of yesterday she’s been laying down a bit more. Seems maybe more comfortable with a heat source closer to her than the heat source in a large coop.

My reflection on her current situation is that she’s eager to eat more after I give her crop a good massage. So I’ve been trying to do that more frequently. Which I was doing that during her morning and evening treatment and then when I let her go I’d see her eat. So maybe the assumption she went backwards was because i hadn’t massaged her crop as frequently that last 24-48 hours since completing her crop and antibiotic treatment.

The question- could this increased appetite after crop massage be due to no muscle tone and she simply isn’t able to empty it appropriately and she feels better? It doesn’t seem like it’s pendelous crop status. So maybe it’s best I continue to massage her crop frequently throughout the day until she starts to regain her strength… just looking for a little validation on my perceived observation.

 

[azygous]

Your hen most likely has tumors or some sort of reproductive issue that are behind her crop issue, slowing it down. This causes poor appetite because, like our stomachs, when it's full, she isn't hungry. By massaging the crop, it causes it to empty, and her appetite is then triggered.

Have you tried a bra? It may not help, but it might be worth a try. I had a hen like yours. She was very old, and she had reproductive issues out the wazoo. Her crop was slow, and I massaged it often throughout the day. I made her a bra to wear, but it only helped minimally. This helped her hang on another year, but all the extra care was taxing. In the end, she got too sick to continue, so I ended it for her.

 

[AWa3785]

It really is very taxing. I’ve found myself in a lot of supportive situations in my 3 years of being a chicken tender. When things are good- they’re good but when they’re bad- oh the stress. I appreciate you always coming in to answer my questions @azygous . I ask so I can better analyze the situation for her quality of life and mine. I know others would have culled already but she is a gal from my original flock so it’s hard to just let go. These are more than egg layers- they’re my pets. I’ve really struggled with this breed. The blue Plymouth Rocks have brought me so many reproductive issues. And the environment needs to be just right in order for things to not go haywire it seems. I’m wondering if anyone else has recognized this with this breed as they are marketed as winter/cold weather producers. So obviously they are breed for this level of production. I’d take a chicken who can take a winter break any day over this trouble and heartbreak.

 

[AWa3785]

I thought I’d take a moment to update this:

This girl is still with us. Lives in the barn right now. Has her good days and bad and having trouble trying to wrap my head around what could impact her on those bad days. When I say bad days this is in reference to going out to see her in the morning and her having a relatively baggy crop with some food substance in it. This comes after she’s had a day out free ranging. So she’s eating all sorts of things. I’m not sure if there is something(grass) that could be causing a repeat impaction? I haven’t let her out to free range in a few days to remedy the morning full crop. I don’t leave much out for her to graze on in her hospital pen so it doesn’t make a ton of sense that there is much in her crop in the mornings. This morning it felt much flatter but it still felt slightly baggy but definitely not as big. She could have obviously just drank some water. I’ve been trying to feed her a a raw egg in the morning and evening. I tried cooking them but she won’t eat it unless it’s raw. However, her general appetite has been good. I would just love to get some more mass on already.

I’m on her 10th day of the Medistatin treatment. It’s been hard to give this to her on a fairly empty stomach the last 4-5 days due to the full crop so I’m unsure if it’s been able to work it’s full magic. I’ve also continued to treat her with vagisil cream once a day. She stinks but I can’t tell if it’s her rear or her crop. I won’t bathe her due to it still being pretty cold outside(40°) and her being so thin still. I know it’s a long road getting her back up and running again. I have hope!