Elderly hen with firm crop and watery green diarrhea- please help!!

[Mdavchicks]

Update:
Hi everyone! Twixie is grooming but seems to like to sit quietly- I actually think part of that is the arthritis as her legs seem to be bothering her a bit. I dosed her with the coconut oil, Albon, probiotic drench, & pain meds (although I think more got on the front of her than inside her!) and gave her a crop massage. She definitely seemed to feel tender around the crop- I am not sure of the real difference between what a doughy versus impacted crop feels like! It was definitely full and not emptying, but it didn't feel rock hard and I could manipulate the contents to a degree. I'm racking my brains as to how I should treat her. If it really is cancer, as suggested, I'm afraid I can't do much for her other than TLC and supportive care, and I certainly don't want to stress her out during her last days by shoving a ton of meds down her throat. If it's an impacted crop, she may need surgery and I can't get to the vet! My other options on that are continue with the coconut oil + crop massage and possibly add in Dulceolax, although I am concerned to because she already has diarrhea I don't want to make worse. I will likely keep going with the oil & massage though because I don't see how that could really harm her. Speaking of the diarrhea, though- I also can't figure out, is it green because of an infection or simply because food is not passing through her system? There hasn't been any blood in it, which makes it not quite sound like coccidiosis or cancer. I am giving her Albon, but if that doesn't sound like the best choice I could try a dose of Clavamox (amoxicillin) and see how she responds. While there is still no sour crop smell, I have read that they can have bacterial sour crop (not a yeast infection) that does not smell. I'm not sure if I should continue with my current treatment or switch things up and try a different antibiotic! Sorry for the ramblings but I am very nervous about what best to do!

I would keep it simple for now. Her main problem is the impacted crop. What you are describing sounds like how the impacted crops that I treated feel like. I would not start antibiotics yet. Continue dosing her with coconut oil every hour or two (I know it's a pain but it will help get things moving) and massaging/breaking up the impaction. Giving her a probiotic is helpful to hopefully warrant off sour crop but keep an eye on it. Her poop looking that way could be from her not digesting anything. Having an impacted crop makes them feel pretty yucky/lethargic too so that could be why she is laying low.

The main thing is that you know your chicken best, if your gut is telling you that this is something more, then listen and try to get into the vet asap. If she is still alert, then the coconut oil will not hurt. It will give her loose stool but once the impaction gets moving that should resolve by itself, as long as nothing else is causing it.

(also with the clavamox- it would take more than one dose, you would want to do a full course as to not create resistance )

 

[gardengal22]

Thanks for the guidance! Yesterday I spent the day giving her coconut oil, probiotics in water and her arthritis meds. I think the arthritis may actually be part of why she is not moving around more. One time when massaging her crop, I did actually hear her tummy rumble like something was moving and later she pooped poops with a little solid matter!! Yay!! Nothing solid since then though.. her crop was still full this morning. Should I see it going down in size if my treatments are effectual/massage it till it is smaller? The other thing I noticed today it that it is noticeably warm to the touch which concerns me greatly... I am doing my best to get fluids into Twix as she is still not eating or drinking, but seems alert and is talking with me. I haven't repeated the antibiotic as I don't want to encourage sour crop.

 

[Mdavchicks]

Thanks for the guidance! Yesterday I spent the day giving her coconut oil, probiotics in water and her arthritis meds. I think the arthritis may actually be part of why she is not moving around more. One time when massaging her crop, I did actually hear her tummy rumble like something was moving and later she pooped poops with a little solid matter!! Yay!! Nothing solid since then though.. her crop was still full this morning. Should I see it going down in size if my treatments are effectual/massage it till it is smaller? The other thing I noticed today it that it is noticeably warm to the touch which concerns me greatly... I am doing my best to get fluids into Twix as she is still not eating or drinking, but seems alert and is talking with me. I haven't repeated the antibiotic as I don't want to encourage sour crop.

Poops are great!! In my experience it usually takes 24-48 hours for it to clear. I wouldn’t offer food until it is completely empty.

As far as the heat goes, is there a smell coming from her mouth?

You can give her more water for hydration if you are worried about that. And always good to put some electrolyte, probiotics in with the water.

 

[gardengal22]

Poops are great!! In my experience it usually takes 24-48 hours for it to clear. I wouldn’t offer food until it is completely empty.

As far as the heat goes, is there a smell coming from her mouth?

You can give her more water for hydration if you are worried about that. And always good to put some electrolyte, probiotics in with the water.

Still no smell, fortunately! Earlier when massaging her crop, I realized it was stiffer in one part and was able to actually move around what feels like a lump of grass! I guess we really do need to mow more often... I had no idea chickens would do this though, it's never been a problem for us before! I'm wondering if it's time to try stool softener or not, as I discovered she was sick day before yesterday, making this the 48 hour point. Would it help the bundle of grass pass? I am concerned because her crop is not getting any smaller. On the other hand since my last update, she did pass feces with quite a bit more solid matter than last time! I'm definitely keeping on syringing her water + probiotics because as far as I can tell she is still not drinking, which worries me to no end.

 

[Mdavchicks]

Still no smell, fortunately! Earlier when massaging her crop, I realized it was stiffer in one part and was able to actually move around what feels like a lump of grass! I guess we really do need to mow more often... I had no idea chickens would do this though, it's never been a problem for us before! I'm wondering if it's time to try stool softener or not, as I discovered she was sick day before yesterday, making this the 48 hour point. Would it help the bundle of grass pass? I am concerned because her crop is not getting any smaller. On the other hand since my last update, she did pass feces with quite a bit more solid matter than last time! I'm definitely keeping on syringing her water + probiotics because as far as I can tell she is still not drinking, which worries me to no end.

How is she doing??