I'm having an issue with one of my hens. It started as diarrhea and listlessness and has progressed to the point where she won't eat or drink. This has been going on for around 10 days. I figured out along the way that she had a bad mite infestation, so I dusted her (and the rest of the flock) for mites. She was still eating and drinking (and producing normal looking droppings) so I left her in the coop unless it was especially cold. Since she's stopped eating and drinking I'm keeping her inside my house. This has been 3-4 nights.
She does not have sour crop, but her crop is gurgly, it sounds like a person with an empty stomach. I've read several posts about impacted crop or gizzard, so in case this is what I'm dealing with, I've been giving her water with electrolytes and probiotics via an oral syringe. When I get some water into her crop it sounds gurgly again. She's producing watery stools. I've started giving her yogurt via the syringe, and she has some more normal looking stools, watery and green. I took her feed away when I read about impacted crop, but she wasn't eating anyway. She won't eat anything on her own now, not even hard boiled egg.
I've read about massaging the crop, but when I touch this hen's crop, she acts like she's choking. She'll stand up very straight and shake her head, like she's trying to clear something from her throat. I read that I should massage downward, so that's what I'm trying to do, but I still feel like I'm choking her. I don't push very hard. The crop is not huge, and I don't feel anything hard inside, but I'm not sure that I'd be able to detect an abnormality.
I once took a hen with sour crop to an avian vet in Baltimore and it was an awful experience. $175 and my hen died a few hours later anyway. The vet seemed very dismissive, said it's often an internal problem that causes sour crop, and my hen would likely die regardless of treatment. So I'm reluctant to take my current hen to a vet, but if I can find a different avian vet in the area I may try. For now I'm trying to load my chicken up on water and massage her crop, but I don't want to choke her to death. Can anyone give me advice on this?
She does not have sour crop, but her crop is gurgly, it sounds like a person with an empty stomach. I've read several posts about impacted crop or gizzard, so in case this is what I'm dealing with, I've been giving her water with electrolytes and probiotics via an oral syringe. When I get some water into her crop it sounds gurgly again. She's producing watery stools. I've started giving her yogurt via the syringe, and she has some more normal looking stools, watery and green. I took her feed away when I read about impacted crop, but she wasn't eating anyway. She won't eat anything on her own now, not even hard boiled egg.
I've read about massaging the crop, but when I touch this hen's crop, she acts like she's choking. She'll stand up very straight and shake her head, like she's trying to clear something from her throat. I read that I should massage downward, so that's what I'm trying to do, but I still feel like I'm choking her. I don't push very hard. The crop is not huge, and I don't feel anything hard inside, but I'm not sure that I'd be able to detect an abnormality.
I once took a hen with sour crop to an avian vet in Baltimore and it was an awful experience. $175 and my hen died a few hours later anyway. The vet seemed very dismissive, said it's often an internal problem that causes sour crop, and my hen would likely die regardless of treatment. So I'm reluctant to take my current hen to a vet, but if I can find a different avian vet in the area I may try. For now I'm trying to load my chicken up on water and massage her crop, but I don't want to choke her to death. Can anyone give me advice on this?
