Molasses "flush" Urgent update post #7 Canker Question!

[ChicNmom]

I mentioned my hen "Pearl" in another thread that seemed similar to my issue.
She is still not doing great but also not worse.

She is a 8 month Red Star. I took her to the vet with a mushy crop that also seemed filled with air after I tried my usual things to treat that issue.

The vet wouldn't do an x-ray. She said she thought it was reproductive disease because she felt something doughy in her abdomen. She gave me ABX and anti inflammatory. Pearl is half way through the treatment. Because of the mushy crop I started the "zole'' Treatment I found here and it has improved. she had a couple decent days of eating but has mostly stopped. Drinking plenty of water. Still has energy to fight me when I'm giving meds.

Her abdomen is not feeling hard at all. She just feels thin. Some diarrhea and tiny bits of poop are coming through.

I really think she has a blockage. She seems to be pecking and fussing with her underside. I was thinking of trying the molasses flush. I tried a few days ago but she would not drink the water. She will fight me if I try to put the solution down her with a syringe and I don't want her to aspirate on it.

My question is can I just give her a dropper or 2 of straight molasses since she's drinking enough water?
My concern is if there is a blockage will this force it through and cause her to rupture something?

I tried to search for that specifically but either didn't word it right or the search function just homed in on "molasses.

 

[Eggcessive]

If she is not pooping normally and her crop is not emptying, it would be safer to give her a tsp of chilled coconut oil cut into tiny pieces for her to peck and eat. Mineral oil can also be used, but only by putting it into a little food. Those can lubricate her droppings. Can you post any pictures of your pullet and her poops? You also may want to check inside her vent with a clean or gloved finger to check for an egg or blockage of stool. Does she normally lay eggs?

 

[ChicNmom]

If she is not pooping normally and her crop is not emptying, it would be safer to give her a tsp of chilled coconut oil cut into tiny pieces for her to peck and eat. Mineral oil can also be used, but only by putting it into a little food. Those can lubricate her droppings. Can you post any pictures of your pullet and her poops? You also may want to check inside her vent with a clean or gloved finger to check for an egg or blockage of stool. Does she normally lay eggs?

She had started to lay around the first of Nov. Initially it looked like egg material coming out of her vent but that has stopped. Forgot to mention the vet said she tested high for lead. I gave her most of the injections but her muscle has gone down to a degree that I don't feel comfortable giving her the last 4. Will get some pics and try the oil.

I decided against that since she didn't seem impacted but more like sour crop. But that may be easier on her if there is something stuck inside.

This girl and her 3 sisters will go after anything and try to eat it. I've never had hens that do that before.

 

[Eggcessive]

Egg like material coming out of the vent could be from internal laying and E.coli infection. Hens suffering from reproductive disorders can suffer from constipation, slow crop, and other digestive problems due to pressure inside the abdomen. Sometimes this is due to caseous material (lash egg) inside the abdomen which resembles large masses of scrambled egg.

 

[ChicNmom]

Egg like material coming out of the vent could be from internal laying and E.coli infection. Hens suffering from reproductive disorders can suffer from constipation, slow crop, and other digestive problems due to pressure inside the abdomen. Sometimes this is due to caseous material (lash egg) inside the abdomen which resembles large masses of scrambled egg.

I had an older hen that had that and had to be put down. Her abdomen was so swollen towards the end that she wouldn't sit and was panting for air. She felt obviously swollen where Pearl does not. She just feels thin. Nothing hard or squishy aside from her crop. Unless it's a small area deep inside her. I've been cleaning and drying her backside every few days due to the messy poop. Also trimmed her feathers to keep the mess down. I will try to glove up with some lube and feel inside. She is going to hate that.

Pics were slow to load. Going to try and add them next.

 

[ChicNmom]

The poop is from yesterday so not the newest. I've been changing out the newspaper and the newer stuff was on a colored background so you couln't see it well or was on a part where she dumped something I was trying to get her to eat.


The good news is she is eating some spaghetti squash again. I made some a few days ago and she liked it and ate some but then refused it. Apparently her majesty requires freshly cooked squash.

 

[ChicNmom]

I may have figured it out though not sure. I have a small rooster that I brought in yesterday because he was having some congestion. While checking him out tonight I noticed a good sized yellowish mass back in his throat. It does look cheesy. One of my other reds has also been having mushy crop but I started her on the zole treatment and it has been better.

I also have an older hen who is a notoriously picky eater who hasn't been eating as much.

I am now wondering if they all have canker that I have been reading about here. It seems to fit some of the symptoms and if that is what Steve (rooster) has then they likely all have it in some form. That could be what is blocking up Pearl.

Has anyone had to scrape a canker out of a chickens throat? Do I use a Q-tip or something more firm? I feel like I should do that for Steve first thing in the morning and then hope the aquarium store has what I need or I can take him to the vet. But if they all have it then I'll need to be able to treat everyone.

 

[Eggcessive]

The older hen with the enlarged bottom who was put down may have been suffering from ascites (water belly) which can be caused by heart failure, liver disease caused by egg yolk peritonitis, internal laying, or cancer.

I have not dealt with canker (histomonosis) before. It invades the crop to affect digestion, and can obstruct the esophagus and throat, as well as breathing. I would use the anti-protozoan drugs or cull birds with canker. Here is some reading:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/trichomonosis/trichomonosis

 

[ChicNmom]

It's likely all the birds have been exposed. Working on getting meds to see who survives since we are not going to cull the whole group.

The link was interesting. We have a bird feeder and for the first time had mourning doves here which are carriers as well as song birds. We had water out and all kinds of small animals were coming in to drink as well as birds due to the bad drought this summer.

 

[ChicNmom]

Went to the vet and Steve is on an antifungal (Nystatin) although the vet also thinks it could look like wet pox. Either way could be bad news for my group.

I had Pearl put down. Sweet girl only 8 months old. She did initially test high for lead levels. Second vet also thought it felt like a reproductive issue but hard to know.
I'm going to take her in for a necropsy so I can determine what happened. Especially if there is something going on.

It's so stressful. We feel like we do better than average for all of our pets and it hurts to think we failed somehow or missed something we should have caught.