Starving chicken: a true mystery

[staceyj]

I'm still thinking...now I'm on the cons column.
Would tune feeding force a potential foreign object further down....?

 

[azygous]

Good points to consider. Let's monitor the crop for now, and as long as she's still willing to eat anything, let's reserve the tube feeding as a last resort. But it's definitely an option to head off starvation. We'll know when it's time as long as we continue to get daily reports.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

We've been feeding her a lot of vet prescribed antibiotics

Antibiotics are hard on the system... maybe contributing to the weight loss.

 

[lisasea]

Hi all - continued thanks. We might be reaching the end here. Poor Noodle is rapidly declining and I'm not sure what I'll find when I come home from work today. Here's what I do know:

• She actually seemed to be eating more over the last few days. Still not enough but certainly more interested in food than she had been. We'd been giving her 1-2ml of NurtiDrench a day + 20% grower feed with oyster shell available if she wanted it. The whole flock has probiotics in their water right now.
• We've been massaging her crop gently over the past few days, feeding her tiny bits of tortilla soaked in olive oil, and keeping track of her crop. It seems to go through the motions of emptying, getting squishy with water, feeling hard, then sludgy.
• She had been pretty active until yesterday evening when she puffed up, put her tail down and put herself in a corner. All the other hens are happy and healthy.
• This morning she kept trying to tuck her head in her wings (pictures below) - a new behavior.
• We moved her back into the house after observing her lethargy this morning. Once inside, she made a move toward food, wobbled a bit, then seemed content to lay down and sleep. She's there now, comfy and warm.

I promise to update everyone later this evening or tomorrow morning.

 

[azygous]

I realize your vet ruled out sour crop in the very beginning, but it sure sounds as if that could be an issue from the description of the state of Noodle's crop. It's a simple treatment, and if yeast is present in the crop, Nystatin or miconazole can make a difference in just a day or two.

Are you game to try it?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Such a pretty girl even in her weakened state.

 

[lisasea]

I realize your vet ruled out sour crop in the very beginning, but it sure sounds as if that could be an issue from the description of the state of Noodle's crop. It's a simple treatment, and if yeast is present in the crop, Nystatin or miconazole can make a difference in just a day or two.

Are you game to try it?

I'm game to try anything at this point. Is Nystatin or Miconazole something I can get over the counter someplace? Our vet only works a few days a week and feed stores in our part of California are subject to intense rules about stocking livestock medication.

If I'm thinking about it, she does seem to feel worse right after she eats a lot. Do we think that could be associated with sour crop? Also excessive drinking and gurgle-y noises on occasion?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Is Nystatin or Miconazole

Most pharmacies it is over the counter yeast infection treatment.

I saw some even say to use the athletes foot cream. Though I'm not suggesting that, just saying it's that type of medication.

 

[lisasea]

Most pharmacies it is over the counter yeast infection treatment.

I saw some even say to use the athletes foot cream. Though I'm not suggesting that, just saying it's that type of medication.

Thank you! Recommendations on dosages or product brand names any one has used with success are greatly appreciated!

 

[azygous]

Just go to Walmart and get the Equate vaginal yeast cream. (Miconazole 7)

The dose is half an inch of cream squirted onto your finger to start. Do it again just before bed.

Continue for a full seven days total, twice a day, a quarter to half an inch.

Yes, all her symptoms could be from sour crop. If your vet hadn't ruled it out, I would have suggested starting there.

There are two possible reasons for her decline. For whatever reason, she is starving to death and has come close to the point of no return. Or she has cancerous tumors throughout her body and she is losing the battle to maintain bodily functions.

If she has a sour crop, she will feel better within just a day or two, and her appetite should start to return. I would start off with chopped hard-boiled egg after she's been on the miconazole for a day.