Trying to feed my chicken the lemon/cayenne mixture. How do you get it in the chicken?

[mbishop]

Hello,

I’m doing my best to follow the advice listed in “Sour Crop, Impacted Crop, Doughy Crop - Prevention and Treatments of Crop disorders”. I’m fairly certain that our chicken has a doughy crop. It’s full first thing in the morning and feels like it’s full of thick paste. And she shows signs of lethargy.

I’ve made the lemon/cayenne mixture and put it in a syringe that one would use to administer medicine to a baby.

My problem is that my chicken won’t open her mouth and when she tastes some of it, she freaks out. I can hold her firmly and try and squirt it in, but she seems to hate it and I can’t seem to get it in. She struggles right out. And then afterward her mouth remains open (maybe it’s too hot?)

How do people hold a chicken to do this kind of feeding? Or do most people just directly crop feed.

It’s breaking my heart the way she’s struggling with this and frankly, I wouldn’t want it either. Is there a way to do it that involves less trauma?

I realize that there are likely simple answers to these questions and that I’m likely really messing this up. I’m just trying to to the right thing. This is our favorite chicken in the flock.

I’m grateful to hear about any one else’s experience with this.

 

[coach723]

The herbal mixture I use for doughy crop is:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
squirt of lemon juice
2 Tbsp of water
Give it 1/2 ml at a time and let her swallow, until all is given, and do that 3 times a day. Do crop massage often while giving it. The extra water can be helpful if there is dehydration going on.
Hold the bird in your lap (sit comfortably since it can take a bit of time to get all of that down) and wrap her in a towel like a burrito if necessary to help hold her wings. I'm right handed so I place my left arm around her and kind of over top and put my left hand around the back of her head. You can either pull down on the wattles to open the beak, or you can put the left thumb and forefinger at the corners of the mouth and open the beak with your right hand, then your finger and thumb will hold it open. Then you give the 1/2 ml and release and let her swallow. Some birds will relax after a bit when they realize you aren't doing anything horrible. It gets easier with practice. Just be patient and take your time, I usually massage after each 1/2 ml, you will begin to feel the fluid as you get more in.
If you don't feel you can do it safely, then you can tube it instead. I've done it many times, no issues.
A doughy crop can be a sign of things slowing down, so the other causes in the article you have, need to be considered. How old is she? Do you know when she last laid? Has she ever been wormed or had a fecal done to check for internal parasites?

 

[mbishop]

The herbal mixture I use for doughy crop is:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
squirt of lemon juice
2 Tbsp of water
Give it 1/2 ml at a time and let her swallow, until all is given, and do that 3 times a day. Do crop massage often while giving it. The extra water can be helpful if there is dehydration going on.
Hold the bird in your lap (sit comfortably since it can take a bit of time to get all of that down) and wrap her in a towel like a burrito if necessary to help hold her wings. I'm right handed so I place my left arm around her and kind of over top and put my left hand around the back of her head. You can either pull down on the wattles to open the beak, or you can put the left thumb and forefinger at the corners of the mouth and open the beak with your right hand, then your finger and thumb will hold it open. Then you give the 1/2 ml and release and let her swallow. Some birds will relax after a bit when they realize you aren't doing anything horrible. It gets easier with practice. Just be patient and take your time, I usually massage after each 1/2 ml, you will begin to feel the fluid as you get more in.
If you don't feel you can do it safely, then you can tube it instead. I've done it many times, no issues.
A doughy crop can be a sign of things slowing down, so the other causes in the article you have, need to be considered. How old is she? Do you know when she last laid? Has she ever been wormed or had a fecal done to check for internal parasites?

Thank you for the updated recipe and detailed technique. I will try that for next time. I especially like the idea of the towel. That will help a lot.

She is only 1 year old (the whole flock is). She last laid about 1 week ago. She does continue to walk around, but has more idle time just standing with her eyes closed.

The whole flock (6 hens) have slowed down their laying a lot. We used to get 5 eggs a day, but in the last week, it’s down to maybe 2-3. We also went through a period where some of them were pretty broody and had to wait for them to snap out of it.

I have never wormed them or had them checked for internal parasites. They did go for a day with little water because I put out a new type of water feeder (the kind with the buttons that they press to dispense water) and I don’t think they knew how to use it.
I’ll take a look at the parasite page a little more closely.

 

[mbishop]

I haven’t seen any worms in her feces, but I’ll look a little more closely. Her breath doesn’t smell bad either, which is a good sign. She just wakes up with that full, pasty crop and sometimes idles with her eyes closed. She definitely isn’t as sprightly and curious as usual.

 

[coach723]

Not seeing worms in droppings does not mean that they are not there. Most will live their entire lives inside the chicken and be digested when they die, so you will never see them. They can still do a lot of damage to a digestive tract. I would highly recommend a fecal if you can get one done. The fecal looks for the worm eggs, which are microscopic and shed in droppings. Depending on where you are in the world, parasite loads in the environment can vary. For chickens, some of them (roundworm in particular) can be very easy to pick up. If you can't get a fecal done I would be inclined to worm her to see if it helps. You can use Valbazen or Safeguard (either liquid goat wormer or horse paste) to get most common worms. In my flock roundworm is a recurring issue, I will often see dirty vent feathers and or slow crops as a symptom. I've had a couple of really backed up birds that were really impacted, that cleared up after worming. Despite cautions about worming a sick bird, I have yet to lose one to worming.

 

[mbishop]

The herbal mixture I use for doughy crop is:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
squirt of lemon juice
2 Tbsp of water
Give it 1/2 ml at a time and let her swallow, until all is given, and do that 3 times a day. Do crop massage often while giving it. The extra water can be helpful if there is dehydration going on.

One quick question: Is it really 1/2 ml at a time? That ends up being about 32 repetitions. Just wanted to double check.

 

[Cazook]

One quick question: Is it really 1/2 ml at a time? That ends up being about 32 repetitions. Just wanted to double check.

You must do small amounts when feeding with the dropper, to allow her to swallow. Feeding by dropper can very easily aspirate the chicken if you are hasty. It's just a couple second pause while she swallows. You get into a good rhythm with practice. Doesn't take more than a few minutes really.

 

[coach723]

The 1/2 ml is to mimimize the chance of aspirating. It gets easier, and quicker with practice, and with a cooperative bird. Putting more in the beak at one time increases the risk that she will aspirate some of it.

 

[mbishop]

The 1/2 ml is to mimimize the chance of aspirating. It gets easier, and quicker with practice, and with a cooperative bird. Putting more in the beak at one time increases the risk that she will aspirate some of it.

Ok, thanks for the confirmation. I think I was definitely trying to put too much in at once!

 

[mbishop]

So, this morning, her crop was smaller (still has some pasty feeling) and she has more energy than usual. I’m still getting used to giving her the “medicine”, but in smaller doses, she’s having an easier time with it. It seems to be working, but it seems that she’s not out of the woods yet. Thank you for your advice.