My Bella, golden laced polish, is sick. She is very thin, you can feel almost every bone in her body and her crop bulges out all the time. She barely every clucks anymore when she used to be the loudest of the flock. I can fit my hands around her. Is there any diets a chicken can go on to make them fatten up? She is my baby and will be devastated if she dies. Please help me! I also believe she has lice so if that has anything to do with it, or not, is there anything I can do for that?
It sounds like her crop is impacted or she has sour crop. She might even have both... I don't have any experience treating either. You best bet would be to find an avian vet, but I know that's not an option for most chicken owners.
Her neck is slightly crooked as well, which I noticed about a week ago but forgot about. Could she have flown into something? The impacted crop seems likely but I don't have mineral water, and I will NOT cut open her crop as it says to do in this link!! No sir-y! http://www.poultryhelp.com/impactedcrop.html
Update: I am quite sure it is an impacted crop now. Her crop bulges outward and is hard, it would explain why she is so thin and why when she eats her neck & head twitch. Does anyone have experience with impacted crops? What causes it??
Search on the forums here for 'impacted crop' and read about the remedies people have used. You might be able to soften it with liquid and massage. Read what other people have done as a starting point.
I just got mineral oil which is a laxitive and i've heard it's been used with a massage Fingers crossed!!
Make sure she does not aspirate it. Lungs cannot deal with mineral oil and if aspirated, I believe it will eventually kill her. http://www.google.com/search?source...0l4.0.0.0.15130...........0.qURGIAM1Kek&pbx=1
It means that the mineral oil will go into her lungs not her crop. You have to drip it into her mouth with an eye dropper or something like it and let her swallow so it goes into her crop. Them massage her crop. You need to do this with massage until you clear the obstruction and her crop empties.
