Urgent Help needed, 7 week old chicken has grass impacted

[Di Warren]

My 7 week old chicken has grass hanging out her bum. We gently removed what we could (strand by strand) but there are several pieces that are stuck. If we gently pull them they stretch her bum out and we do not want to pull any organs out, if it is tangled up inside her.

She is not hanging out with her flockmates, is just standing off by herself and is all puffed out.

How can I help her?

 

[motherhen2013]

Maybe give her something that will flush her out? I don't know maybe sugar water. This is just an idea I've never heard of anything like this

 

[Di Warren]

Thank you, we'll try that. We soaked her in warm water and gently kept working the fibres out, consistently dipping her and twisting it. The poor thing was helping us try to push it out. We got out a huge amount, and have placed her in her house with food and water (she has no desire to eat or drink). We are going to leave her be for an hour or so then check on her again.

 

[welasharon]

make sure it doesn't get dehydrated. You may have to trickle some water into the edge of the beak to get fluid in it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is there any way you can get a vet to see her tomorrow morning? How does her crop feel? She could have grass impacting her crop down to the gizzard. Water is the best thing to give--some say oil just gunks up an impaction more. I don't have experience in dealing with this. If her crop is impacted, you might try to empty it and force feed her water. If there is blockage all the way down, it may be harder to help. I would consider giving a laxative such as some molasses in water, or a tiny amount of mineral oil to flush the grass out, but you would want to replace the fluid and electrolytes lost in diarrhea by adding SaveAChick or other electrolytes to the water, and dropper feeding it. Here are some links to read if they might help:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/830408/impacted-gizzard-preventable-treatable/10
http://academy.fwi.co.uk/Courses/Li...ry-farm-management/Crop-and-gizzard-impaction
http://birdhealth.com.au/flockbirds/poultry/diseases/crop_gizzard.html

 

[Di Warren]

thank you so much for this info...after reading everything I definitely feel it is an impacted gizzard. We were able to clear it from her bum today, but the poor little girl is still just standing all puffed up.