What do I do?

[Kellerina]

Hallie, one of my 3 hens hasn't been herself for a week. There weren't any specific symptoms except she was just not being her perky self. Yesterday I finally fixed some treats for her. Lettuce, tomatoes, oats and buttermilk. I noticed after she ate a few bites that when she would lean her head down some liquid would poor out.
I'm no crop expert but it's not hard at all. Spongy and soft.

Tonight she went to bed an hour early and I finally decided to turn her upside down and what to my surprise, out came niagara falls. Tons of brown fowl smelling liquid came pouring out. I did this about 5 times with breaks in between so she wouldn't inhale.

What the heck do I do now. What's wrong. She's obviously not pooping solids cause her back side is all messy. Any advice would be appreciated.

Kelly

 

[karen71]

Where did the liquid come from ? Could it be Cocci ?

 

[chickenhick]

Try to get some olive oil down her throat with an eyedropper...then hold her upside down and massage her crop gently. She will probably vomit some really foul smelling green stuff. You need to get that crop moving again.....

 

[MissPrissy]

Take away all her food and water. Give her a sitz bath and clean up her bottom. If you have to trim her butt fluff do so gently and get all the yuck off her that you can.

Put her in a dim quiet pen in a warm place in your house if you can so you can check on her. You know how when you are sick and a bit feverish normal warm temps still seem cool? If you have to give her a heat lamp do so but make sure she has room to move away from it if she too warm. Try not to use a bright white bulb for the heat.

Withhold her food for 4 hours but give her water to drink - 1 quart of water with 2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar. Check her crop and see how it feels. If there isn't much change withhold the food and continue the water for another 4 hours. Check her again. You see some change in her crop. If it still feels spongey it indicates an impacted crop. If she is not drinking on her own try giving her some with an eye dropper along the side of her beak. The raw ACV will help kill any bacteria, virus or fungus that could be in her crop if that proves to be an issue. It is a good probiotic for her even if her crop isn't the problem.

If the crop empties out during that time you'll need to be more specific in her syptoms so we can help you.


Monitor her during this time and make notes of her behavior, her poops and if she humches up and puffs out and sleeps.

If her crop doesn't empty out we'll move on from there - olive oil soaked bread and acv water only, with a gentle crop massage. Do not force the contents of the crop up, she could asperate and die within a short period of time.

 

[Kellerina]

Karen71 the liquid came out of her mouth.
Missprissy, I bought acv yesterday but it doesn't say "raw". What's the differance. I don't have to withold anything for the next 4 hrs cause it's night time and she's in bed.
Since I just got a ton of liquid out of her should I leave her alone tonight, as far as getting olive oil soaked bread or acv in her? Or should I do that now?
Thanks so much for the quick reply's. She's 5 yrs old and I've never experienced this. Hate starting now.

Kelly

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

first thing is she is 5 yrs old, that is what has happ3ened to her

the raw apple cider vineager is the same as applecider vineager with the "brown mother" floating in the bottom of the jar

I would try the basking soda flush as she needs some clean soda water put in the crop

I know some are not able to do it but it needs done

this is very simple

FLUSHING THE SOUR CROP OR IMPACTED CROP

(1 for sour crop try this
1/2 cup of baking soda in 1 pint of warm water mix good

now take a child's ear syringe and fill with soda water
put syringe clear to back of throat and will not choke her
empty syringe into her crop

(2 now come up under the front of her( pushing easily on the crop) with your fingers

(3 bringing the sour feed out of her crop from her beak
will not choke her,now with that done make sure she has it all out before you quit
then she will breath

(4 take and flush her two more times doing so by forcing the spoiled feed out her beak after each filling with soda water End with flush of clean soda water coming out
the soda will take away the sour food mess caused in the crop

she should have it out
(5 now put her alone in cage. let her rest and DO NOT feed for the rest of the day

(6 provide her with 1 qt of water with 1 tbsp of apple cider vineager
the next day
(7 see if her crop is soft and okay

(8 now only feed her this
1 sliced of bread soaked in milk, add 2 tbsp of plain unflavored yoguart

feed her this twice a day for 5 days

(9 she should get better

(10 I would not feed corn any more as it may have been too big and closed the crop hole

(11 corn is not necessary as the protein is low, In commercial feed the first ingredient is Corn

(12 corn is only 9-10% protein at most

(13 did you feed her granite grit in feeder when feeding the whole corn or any grain?

Hopefully she will get better after you have flushed the crop good

 

[Kellerina]

Wow Glenda, I'm completely overwhelmed. I will attempt this in the morning.
I'm not sure where you got the idea that I was feeding corn. I do not feed corn.
Thank you for posting all of your advice, I really appreciate the help.

 

[MissPrissy]

The ACV with the mother will help kill bacteria, fungus and virus if the crop is impacted and gone sour. You can also give a little bit of mylanta. The baking soda does the same thing as the mylanta, it nutralizes what causes a sour crop. A crop can be impacted without yet going sour. The ACV raw with the mother is far better than the filtered pasturized kind. The raw ACV is probiotic and helps with good floura while eleminating bad the bad stuff.

 

[Kellerina]

Holy cow, I've never heard of the mother. Where do I get this?

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

The fowl smelling crop fluids denotes she does have a sour crop. Thus the baking soda flush will clean it out.
The ACV will help the gut flora
I would put all the hens on 2 tbsp of ACV to gallon of water for five times this wekk then three times there after

I didn't mean any thing by the asking about the corn. I was trying to theorize why she had a sour crop.
some times there are enormous sized corn pieces.
A lot of people do feed corn as a treat
I did not ever feed any corn AFTER
one time that I had R.I.Reds of great breeding large fowl and so was giving them a treat in winter at nite.
threw this handful of whole corn into them and then went to the house
and took eggs up and came back anf the only rooster had kept choaked on a over large kernel of corn

So I finally had to sell my excellent hens to some one who wanted layers as I could not get any rooster this time of yr.

I learned lesson on not ever feeding corn as a treat

hopefully you will get the hen cleaned out good