What's wrong with Lil' Red? 😭

[Sunrise Yolks]

My poor little hen has been sick over the past week. She's lethargic, just stands around in the run, not interested in things that she loves. She will drink water but eats hardly any food. She's stopped laying over the past couple months. Her last few eggs had no shells, just the membrane. I've always made sure she has crushed oyster shell available. I figured she's just past the age of laying, as she's 4 years old.

I only have her and one other chicken. I brought Lil' Red onto the sunporch and set up a crate for her, with a box filled with shavings, water, a little bit of fermented seeds, and some of the things she really likes, such as lettuce, mealworms, and a little piece of homemade biscuit.

She's been shaking her head a lot. I checked for mites but didn't see any. She has a dirt bath available in the run, to which I've always added some diatomaceous earth. I also put it in the coop.

Originally I thought she might be egg bound, so I brought her in the house and let her sit in warm water for about 20 minutes, but no egg.

I noticed that her poop looked like cooked scrambled eggs color, but since I've brought her in, they look pretty normal. I've been giving her 911 rescue stuff for chickens. It's worked well in the past when she's seemed like she's feeling a little poorly or is stressed out, but it's not helping now.

I have dewormer but I've never used it, because I only have the 2 chickens and the dose is based on the bodyweight of a whole flock of chickens and the container says there isn't a safe dose for the smaller bodyweight of my hens.

I'm so sad, she's starving to death right in front of my eyes and I can't help her.

 

[CCsGarden]

How does her crop feel? Is her crop is full, she may have impacted crop or sourcrop.

 

[Sunrise Yolks]

How does her crop feel? Is her crop is full, she may have impacted crop or sourcrop.

I just thought of that tonight. She was in her crate and I was looking in at her, and it seemed as though her crop was full, even though she hasn't eaten hardly anything. I'm going to check her crop in the morning and see if it's full. If it is, I'm going to try and soften the contents and see if I can get it out. Thank you so much!

 

[Sunrise Yolks]

How does her crop feel? Is her crop is full, she may have impacted crop or sourcrop.

This morning I felt her crop and it is impacted. I've been able to soften it up quite a bit. She is still pooping, which I'm thinking might be a good sign. My question now is...if it's softened enough will she be able to digest the contents? I've withheld food today and been massaging. What now? I want to keep working on it tomorrow if needed, but she so malnourished I don't know if she'll make it through the night if I don't give her something. Would it be okay if I gave her a tablespoon of canned pure pumpkin? I'm grateful for any help you can give me. Thank you. P.S. the veterinarians here don't take chicken patients.

 

[CCsGarden]

This morning I felt her crop and it is impacted. I've been able to soften it up quite a bit. She is still pooping, which I'm thinking might be a good sign. My question now is...if it's softened enough will she be able to digest the contents? I've withheld food today and been massaging. What now? I want to keep working on it tomorrow if needed, but she so malnourished I don't know if she'll make it through the night if I don't give her something. Would it be okay if I gave her a tablespoon of canned pure pumpkin? I'm grateful for any help you can give me. Thank you. P.S. the veterinarians here don't take chicken patients.

Okay, good to know. Give some coconut oil to loosen up the stuff. Let it sit in her crop for about an hour, then give her some epsom salt water ( 1 cup water - 1tsp of epsom salt). After the epsom salt water, If you can carefully make her vomit by tipping her and massaging the crop so the stuff comes up.
After this, give her some electrolytes then a cooked cooled egg for protein. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[coach723]

Pumpkin won't hurt anything. At 4 years old, and with the soft shelled eggs before stopping, it's possible that there is some kind of reproductive problem going on, that will often affect digestion and cause crop problems. Is she showing any signs of molt? I would continue to try to see if you can get the crop to empty. If not, then it may be something that can't be identified without necropsy. Reproductive problems are not uncommon in hens over the age of 2.
I personally don't vomit birds, it's very risky and they can aspirate crop contents, which can be fatal in some cases. Usually if you can't get it to clear, there is something going on farther down and the crop is just a symptom. An epsom salt flush can be given, it works like a laxative, and if anything is going to move, it can help. It's also very dehydrating, so if you do that, make sure to give plenty of fluids after.

 

[Sunrise Yolks]

Okay, good to know. Give some coconut oil to loosen up the stuff. Let it sit in her crop for about an hour, then give her some epsom salt water ( 1 cup water - 1tsp of epsom salt). After the epsom salt water, If you can carefully make her vomit by tipping her and massaging the crop so the stuff comes up.
After this, give her some electrolytes then a cooked cooled egg for protein. Let me know if you have any other questions.

This morning I felt her crop, and it felt much better, very little contents. I still massaged for a while, gave some coconut oil in warm water down her throat. She looks better, more alert, and interested in food more than she has been. After massaging the crop I gave her the pumpkin & Greek yogurt with some coconut oil. I saw in her poop some food that I fed her about 4 days ago. Does that mean she's finally emptying the crop? I took a picture of the watery part of poop. I'm going to try to attach it. Thanks

 

[coach723]

It means things are moving, which is good. I would continue as you are, continue to monitor and massage as needed. Try giving her a small dish of moistened feed (just mix with a little water to make a mash) and see if that will pass through. Don't give too much. See how it goes. Don't remember if it's been asked, before this happened has she had access to grit all the time?

 

[Sunrise Yolks]

Yes, she has had access to grits in her run and when I let her out. Thank you for your help. I'll keep you posted.