Sick chook, any thoughts?

[gardenergirl]

One of my ex-free range rescue chooks is so sick I think she might be dying. She's been quiet and a bit sleepy for a few days, but still eating and scratching around with the other two. They've been moulting, and I thought she might just be feeling a bit drained from that, but yesterday when I got home she was huddled up sleeping under a bush in the corner of the garden. I went out with some corn for them and she wasn't interested. I waited to see if she perked up and went to bed with the rest, but she stayed huddled against the fence. I took her inside, and noticed how skinny she is (she had a bath a couple of weeks ago and she's lost loads of weight since then).

Her crop feels quite full, but not hard and impacted feeling, and not bloated and squishy like it does with sour crop. Her poo is like a jet of brown runny diarrhoea (no blood), and she's not drinking. I've withheld food today because I want her crop to empty (regular massages). But she's just sat and slept all day and seems extremely weak. I can't feel that there's an egg up there (though I'm not sure I'm doing it right, presumably you'd be able to feel an egg by feeling her stomach?), but she hasn't laid an egg in a couple of months. They were wormed last month. She's about 2 1/2 years old.

I know it's a lot to ask, but any thoughts? I think she might be on the way out :(

[kitla]

oh dear it doesnt sound good. In my experience a full crop can often be secondary to another illness, when their system just isnt working well...or is shutting down. When they are very ill they often go to the food & just pretend to eat, probably to disguise their illness. Unfortunately this means we often dont notice them going downhill until things are very bad. If she's got thin she may have been ill for a while. Rescue chooks are prone to tumours as they are worn out from so much laying.
How does her belly feel, is it atall bloated? (thinking peritonitis)
Does she feel hot underneath & under her wings? (a temperature could mean an infection or virus, you can give her metacam to bring the temp down & make her feel better.)
Could she have eaten any unusual or mouldy food or manky water?(would give her the runs)
If she has diarrhoea but isnt drinking that's not good. If you sit quietly with her & drip water on her beak she should drink it, I usually find that works & may make her feel more comfortable. There's a few things to think on anyway, sometimes when things look really bleak they suddenly perk up & you never find out what was wrong!
fingers crossed for her

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi no bugs .
Tylan ,metcam , and a few others could be used .
Energy drink /food squirt down beak .
It all depends how long she has been ill . Once she gets to a certain point you will be lucky to have her survive. VETS if possible .
Water and simple food quick in the system food with meds .
Lots of love and cuddles .
Hope it all goes well . let us all know please how it goes.
Bob

[gardenergirl]

Well, she's still going, and was standing up when I got home from work and seems a little brighter. I think she's been drinking going by the water level, and the diarrhoea seems to have stopped for the moment. Her crop hasn't emptied however, though it feels squishy now rather than full of food (though I can still feel some food in there). She sounds a bit gurgly, especially when I'm massaging her crop. So it could be sour crop maybe.

It sounds really bad, but I honestly can't afford a weekend call out for the vet just now, so I'm trying to do what I can for the moment. If she's still like this on Monday then I'll take her in. I'm going to keep up the massaging and withhold the food a bit longer (she must be starving though), and just hope that it empties (I'm not very confident with the regurgitating thing, I don't want to choke her). I've read that mashed up boiled egg and natural yoghurt are good, if I can get the crop emptied.

[sandy]

Please dont withold food, if her crop is not emptying she isn't getting any nutrition. Can you syringe egg yolk and sugar water into her? I dont mean give her solids but she needs some nutrition. If she is squishy she may have a blockage, which is what my Violet had which caused damage to her crop muscles so now she is frequently squishy and needs to be tipped but please dont tip your hen as she sounds too weak to withstand that trauma. My Violet is on emeprid when she needs help her with sickness. Of course it may be something different altogether but of her crop is full a good hard massage all over may dislodge any blockage. I do hope she perks up soon

[kitla]

I've not had to deal with serious crop issues myself, especially sour crop, but I believe her breath would smell bad if it was that. Its possible her crop is squishy because she's been drinking alot, check her regularly & see if it goes down a bit. As Sandy suggests it could be a blockage, has she been eating long grass atall? I would think boiled egg would be a good thing to give her. good news that she's perking up a bit anyway, there must be some change happening if she's feeling better.

[gardenergirl]

Well she continued to improve, and by the next morning seemed well enough to go out for a scratch about with her pals. I was hoping to avoid and nasty re-introductions, and they evidently remembered her! Lots of little grooming pecks and snuggling up in the sun. She gobbled up the egg and yoghurt I gave her, and have been taking some out for the others too as they all like it. She was acting normally by the end of the day and went to bed with the others, so I left her go in with them. She seems totally fine now as if nothing ever happened!

From death's door to running around again in a couple of days. I will never understand chickens!

[kitla]

that's good news!

[bikesandbirdsbob]

Hi , They are amazing . She is having a second maybe a third new life as hybrid rescue girl. Hope she stays healthy for long time to come. They have had a hard life and it does take its toll on them .
Well done.
Bob

[sandy]

Thank goodness for that

[gardenergirl]

*sigh*, she's sick again :(. I really don't know what's up with her! She's back to being sleepy and lethargic, though she can still get up and walk around. She still has an interest in food, but seems to have a problem eating her pellets. She can pick them up, but they just sort of fall out of her beak . Her crop feels ballooned up again (it feels quite big on both sides of her breast bone), but I can't feel any food in there. She did just have some porridge though, so she can eat. I'm really confused.

Another of my chooks died a couple of days ago, though she was quite old and she didn't have any crop problems before it happened, so I don't think it's a related illness or anything. It was horrible how it happened though. I found her huddled up in the garden on Sunday and when I picked her up she was really listless and quite thin (crop completely empty). I took her in the house and put her in the cage in the back room with a dish of water, and left her to snuggle in for a little while before going to get her some food. I heard a clunk or two on the bars, but just thought she was having a peck about. When I went in a few minutes later the room was a terrible mess, sawdust and water everywhere, and she'd drowned in the bowl of water . I don't know if maybe her head went in it and she wasn't strong enough to lift it out again (though I wouldn't have thought she was that weak), or if maybe she had a fit or something and just ended up with her head in the bowl. It was really horrible, and I wish I'd just left her out in the sunshine so she could have gone with her pals around her .

[gardenergirl]

Oh, and sicky-chook also has wet neck feathers under her beak, even though she doesn't have any discharge or anything coming from her beak or eyes or anything. Does that mean anything to anyone here?

[KarenE]

Hi

Sorry to hear you lost a girl. I doubt very much if she drowned, don't beat yourself up. It's more likely she fitted or dropped into the bowl, if there's a mess she may have had a little convulsion - they go like that sometimes. It's very sad & upsetting to see

Now about your sick girl - they are very good at pretending to eat and it sounds like this is what she is doing. Perhaps try her on sloppy mash instead of pellets (mix pellets with water) as it might be easier to get down. If her crop is squishy like a balloon she has sour crop, which usually has a horrible smell coming from the beak. I wonder if the damp on her feathers is liquid leaking from her crop if she bends down? If it is sour crop it needs emptying which you can do (google for videos) but be careful as it can be very dangerous due to risk of choking. If in doubt take her to the vets as she may have an underlying condition.

[gardenergirl]

Ok, it's definitely sour crop. That stuff is rank. I've had a go at emptying it, and got a fair amount out (there was some long grass in there, so I've mowed it right back, that might be the source of the problem). But there's still loads in her crop, and she's got no energy left. That last lot made her sound gurgly and I'm scared she might have inhaled some of it. I'm going to ring the vet in a minute, this is beyond me.

[ChickenCarol]

Oh dear! I do feel for you. Don't give up yet. The vet may be able to empty her crop. Let us know how you get on.