Update: crop surgery with graphic photos

[azygous]

Hi this is Waffles, I can home to find her sleeping. I took her out and found that her crop was enlarge. She vomit I’m my kitchen floor (no force). I later went outside to make her puke again and it was foamy and there was a little line in it. I don’t know if it’s worms so I wanted to double check. She’s also shaking and loosing feathers at a rapid pace. I love her and if you have Anya device let me know!!! Should I also treat the other chickens?

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[Sandy2003]

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Thank you!!!

 

[Emilysclukscluks]

@micstrachan Thanks so much for the support! @azygous So no change yet if anything she is starting to look a little bit weaker. I have given her another teaspoon of coconut oil and a massage she is still drinking but not eating. Only water seems to pass her crop. Im feeling worried and a little defeated trying to be positive. She isn't getting any nutrients and its really showing

 

[Emilysclukscluks]

Here she getting massaged feeling so bad for our baby

 

[azygous]

There must be something else going on with Regina. An infection or tumors come to mind, the latter often causing crop issues in the later stages.

I feel your desperation. When I am desperate due to a sick chicken not making progress, I tend to try different treatments on the outside chance something just might make the difference.

Do you have any oral antibiotics on hand? It might be worth it to try one.

 

[Emilysclukscluks]

So hard watching them and not knowing what to do to help them. I think I have some amoxicillin. Other then that I don't think so.

 

[Emilysclukscluks]

@azygous have you ever heard of someone doing this? It sounds intense and painful. I was reading in my chicken health handbook.

 

[azygous]

I wish I was there to feel her crop. Yes, I'm an advocate of crop surgery when all else fails to clear it. However, surgery is for impacted crop, not sour crop. When we resort to surgery for an impacted crop that hasn't responded to oil, stool softener and massage, I can instruct the chicken care giver in performing surgery, and the results usually produce a clog such as you'd find in a shower drain. The surgery is probably not that painful for the chicken since only a small one inch incision is made on the chest wall, then another similar incision is made in the crop wall. Hook a finger inside the crop and pull out the clog. Super glue the incisions and that's about it. Well, there are more details, but not now.

You are the only one that can determine if the crop on our patient is impacted or simply sour. If you check her crop in the morning, it will be easier for you to determine if there's a "shower drain" clog in there. If there is, and you wish to try the surgery, I will give you a video and detailed instructions.

If you wish, we can try the amoxicillin on our little girl. There's no way to know if she has an underlying condition that's treatable with an antibiotic, but at this point, I feel it does no harm to give it a try.

The only downside to using an antibiotic at the same time a chicken is fighting a yeast infection is that the antibiotic can sometimes aggravate the yeast condition. If you give a tablet of probiotic each day, perhaps that can mitigate the effect of the antibiotic on the crop.

 

[micstrachan]

When was the last time she ate? It sounds counterintuitive, but I believe sometimes a little feeding can help get things moving.

 

[Emilysclukscluks]

@micstrachan @azygous Good Morning guys, so this morning has been exactly the same her crop is still full, not rock hard but obviously full of stuff food who knows. The first thing she did when she woke up was drink a whole bunch of water, her sister has been inside with her and unfortunately having her still doesnt seem to help intrigue her to eat. I did Miconazle 3 times yesterday, I massaged last night with oil twice she had 3 teaspoons of coconut oil over the course of the day, 2 at night one early afternoon. By the evening her crop was mushy again feels like a bag of tapioca pudding with grain and stuff mixed in. At this point I don't think she is eating at all. So im really starting to lean toward doing the surgery because I don't know what else to do and I can't give up on her.In the chicken Handbook that I have I was reading under the sour crop section and it also said there that surgically emptying and flushing it was a good option. So maybe It wouldn't hurt to try either way?