What to feed broody malnourished, sick and weak hen to strengthen her?

[Skyla]

Cold coconut oil cut into small pieces which most chickens will readily take, can be good to offer each day. Make sure that she is also drinking plenty of water. Then massage her crop several times daily in a downward motion. If she won’t drink, then you can try tube feeding her water. If you don’t have coconut oil, mineral oil can be added to a small portion of her feed mixed with a little water.

I had tried the coconut oil however I was unable to get her to eat it (or force her to eat it). I was told to massage her crop in an upward motion, I'll have to look more into that. Yesterday we tried force feeding her water since she isn't drinking much and I massaged her crop for a bit but the next day I saw no difference. I think I'll try either the mineral oil or stool softener which apparently works good. She is some how getting even skinnier over these last few days, hopefully I can clear it up so she can start putting on weight soon. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Skyla]

Did you already read this info and treat her accordingly?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

I have read it but have yet to treat her, at the moment we are getting the supplies to do so, not sure whether to use the recommended mineral oil or stool softener, do you have any input on which to use?

 

[Ms Clucky]

Try putting a cooked egg in her feed with cabbage, tomato and cucumber. If you have a ninja blender, you can easily blend all of them together. Mine love it.

Hello,
One of my hens recently fell ill after the end of her broodiness which lasted a few weeks. She has progressively gotten worse the last week. Her legs are very weak and she has trouble standing and walking. She also has lost quite a bit of weight and is very lethargic, puffy, and not active . What should I feed her that will help gain her strength and health back? At the moment she is isolated with layer mash. I tried giving her a boiled egg yolk yesterday however she wasn't interested but she has been eating small amounts of her layer feed in the morning and evening. I am unable to give her an electrolyte drink as at the moment as I am treating her (and the rest of the flock) for possible coccidiosis through their water. Any suggestions of what to give her to get her back on track would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[LaFleche]

If her crop is all hard and nothing moves there is no use to add more food as she will not be able to digest it.

She might want to drink some Coca-Cola which helps to keep her circulation from collapsing and could help to dissolve the blockage.

If you don't get any results from lactulose or dulcolax stool softener within 3 days, you should consider crop surgery which is best tolerated when the chickens overall condition is not too bad already.

 

[Skyla]

If her crop is all hard and nothing moves there is no use to add more food as she will not be able to digest it.

She might want to drink some Coca-Cola which helps to keep her circulation from collapsing and could help to dissolve the blockage.

If you don't get any results from lactulose or dulcolax stool softener within 3 days, you should consider crop surgery which is best tolerated when the chickens overall condition is not too bad already.

I have mineral oil which I will try tonight however I noticed it says lubricant laxative on the bottle. In the article the writer mentions that laxatives will cause the chicken cramping in pain in stool softener, does that also apply to the mineral oil?

 

[LaFleche]

The things I used over the years with good results were

• Coca-Cola with grit
• lactulose and grit
• dulcolax tablets and grit
• and lots of careful massaging while holding the chicken upright

So far I have no experience with applying mineral oil.