Treating for Diarrhea and Lethargy for > Week - What's Next Step?

[Lora C]

1) What type of bird , age and weight. 6 MONTH OLD LIGHT BRAHMA PULLET, NOT SURE OF WEIGHT, BUT JUST SKIN AND BONES
2) What is the behavior, exactly. INITIALY NOTICED ABOUT A WEEK AGO THAT SHE WAS ISOLATING HERSELF AND LAYING UNDER BUSHES - WE'VE BEEN EXPECTING HER TO LAY ANY DAY, SO WE THOUGHT SHE WAS JUST FEELING HER FIRST EGG COMING. THEN WE NOTICED SHE WAS HAVING WHITE/PALE YELLOW DIARRHEA. THAT'S WHEN WE BROUGHT HER INSIDE TO ISOLATE AND WATCH HER. FIRST THOUGHT WAS THAT HER FIRST EGG MAY HAVE BROKEN INSIDE HER OR WAS STUCK. BUT HER BELLY WAS NOT SWOLLEN. AFTER SPENDING FIRST NIGHT IN ISOLATION, NOTICED THAT CROP WAS VERY LARGE, GRITTY FEELING AND GASSEY WHEN MASSAGED. SOUR OR IMPACTED CROP?
3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. NO
4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. UNKNOWN
5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. WAS FREE RANGE, WITH ACCESS TO GROWER/LAYER MIX, OCCASIONAL KITCHEN SCRAPS, AND CRACKED CORN
6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. VERY RUNNY, PALE YELLOW/WHITE WITH OCCASIONAL SMALL GREEN BITS
7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? ISOLATED HER TO GARAGE, ATTEMPTING TO FEED YOGURT, MASHED EGG YOLK, ELECTROLYTES, POLY-VI-SOL - NOT EATING ON HER OWN, FEEDING WITH SYRINGE- MASSAGING CROP FREQUENTLY
8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? WE’LL TREAT HER OURSELVES
9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
10) Describe the housing/bedding in use – SHE WAS IN A COOP WITH 7 OTHER HENS/PULLETS – PINE SHAVINGS WITH DE MIXED IN

As above we've been watching her closely and treating her since Tuesday, but with no improvement of symptoms. Her crop continues to feel like it is full of some kind of large grit - the crop is not hard, but squishy and sometimes gassey- massaging it makes her burp up gas, but no fluid comes up or anything. She is losing weight rapidly - there is no meat on her breast at all! There is no Vet around here that will see a Chicken so my husband and I are willing to try crop surgery if we think that would help her.

PLEASE ADVICE ON WHAT OUR NEXT STEP WOULD BE - continue with current treatment for a few more days or surgery?

 

[Lora C]

anyone?

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Part of her symptoms sound like peritonitis, but she isn't swollen. Still, the color of the poo might be that. That would mean antiobiotics.

But, she also has crop symptoms. Have you tried bread soaked in olive oil, and massage?

I suggest PMing Sammi. She has much more experience than me, and has helped me a lot.

 

[ranchhand]

It sounds like impacted crop. The poo color may be because she isn't getting any food in. Try a search here for "impacted crop" and see if any of the threads help. I was going to post a link, but there are a bunch. The bread soaked in olive oil is a good place to start.

Good luck,

 

[OrpingtonManor]

I was also wondering if you should be giving her ACV in her water, since that gassy, burpy thing could mean fermentation, which you definitely want to avoid.

 

[Lora C]

I have definitely found lots of information on this forum regarding sour and impacted crops – seems to be a common problem. I have been following the all the suggestions from previous posts (yogurt, oil, ACV, massage, etc.), but I don’t seem to be making any progress in clearing her crop or getting any nutrition into her. I’m a little nervous about trying the crop flushing or surgery, but will use it as a last resort if I feel like she’s not going to make it. Going to a Vet is not an option unfortunately.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

You probably have already found Ruth's thread on crop surgery, but here's the link, just in case.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=229796&p=1

 

[Lora C]

Yes, ive been reading and re-reading the posts of the brave souls that have taken it upon themselves to save their pets. It really is unfortunate that we have to take these tasks upon ourselves because so few vets will see Chickens - its a good thing these are tolarent and tough birds! But thankfully there is a resourse of this BYC community to rely on when we need it. Update on my girl: still hanging in there, no better - no worse it seems. Just gave her a treatment of the yogurt/egg/wet mash slurry and electroyle fluid - she sits patiently on my lap while i gently squirt in into her beak drop by drop. she lets me get about 2 tsp in and then hops down - at least she still has strength for that. I watched for several more mintues to see if i could see what her poops look like (imagine....watching for poo?) to see if the diarrhea was improving or not - she must be dehydrated because not much came out and it was just liquid

So i am gathering supplies as well as courage just in case we decide to perform the crop surgery.....

 

[Kittymomma]

Does she have a buddy that you could bring in with her? It won't do anything to help with the crop problem, but I've found that mine get depressed when they're isolated for more than a day or two so a buddy could help with the will to live and eat issues. Good luck with her!

 

[wxdude99]

Any update? Whatever happened with her? I'm having a very similar problem with one of mine. Thanks.