NEED HELP chickens crop will not empty, beginning of sour crop

[guest226]

Don't be in a hurry to use antibiotics. Unless we are reasonably sure she has an infection, they will do more harm than good.

Green poop means she is not getting enough to eat. Do three things. Offer her favorite foods frequently. Also give her an probiotic every day. Be sure she is getting grit, as well.

Keep an eye on her poop and report on it with a photo. It helps to place paper towels under her to catch the poop so the poop will not be obscured by whatever is under it. We need to see it clearly.

Her crop is emptying a bit better than before, the vet said her crop felt smaller than the day she went in before. But dispite my efforts her crop isn’t going down very productively. I massage it twice a day.

I’ll try to catch pictures of her fresh poop. Her butt feathers are a little dirty with greenish poop.

 

[azygous]

Has this hen ever been wormed? Did the vet happen to do a fecal test with her poop to check for parasites? If not, collect a fresh poop sample, place in a fresh plastic sandwich bag and run it over to the vet and request a fecal float test. The results will come back before the end of the day.

If the hen has worms, it would explain her slow crop, wanting to drink water, and lethargy. Coupled with molt, she's getting doubly hammered if she has worms. And no, you don't have to see worms in her poop for her to have them.

 

[guest226]

Has this hen ever been wormed? Did the vet happen to do a fecal test with her poop to check for parasites? If not, collect a fresh poop sample, place in a fresh plastic sandwich bag and run it over to the vet and request a fecal float test. The results will come back before the end of the day.

If the hen has worms, it would explain her slow crop, wanting to drink water, and lethargy. Coupled with molt, she's getting doubly hammered if she has worms. And no, you don't have to see worms in her poop for her to have them.

She was wormed a while ago, but I didn’t do it thoroughly. I have safeguard dewormer, should I do it just in case? Sending the poop sample to the vet would be pretty hard at my current circumstances.

I’m just concerned about medication doses because her crop doesn’t empty fast enough and she would likely still have dewormer in her crop the next day.

 

[azygous]

A fecal float test is very inexpensive. It should be around $25-$30. It can tell what kind of worms so the correct wormer can be used. Safeguard doesn't kill all types of worms. It will also let us know if it's a heavy load, and if so, we can take steps to safeguard her from shock and know to expect she would likely need flushing if the load is heavy.

Wormers usually work to sedate the worms so they let go of their grip in the intestines. It's not a medicine in the sense an antibiotic is.

 

[guest226]

A fecal float test is very inexpensive. It should be around $25-$30. It can tell what kind of worms so the correct wormer can be used. Safeguard doesn't kill all types of worms. It will also let us know if it's a heavy load, and if so, we can take steps to safeguard her from shock and know to expect she would likely need flushing if the load is heavy.

Wormers usually work to sedate the worms so they let go of their grip in the intestines. It's not a medicine in the sense an antibiotic is.

Unfortunately the vet takes a very long time to drive to and my parents are unwilling unless there is an emergency checkup. i can try to convince them but there is not promises.

Is there a type of dewormer that kills more types of worms that I can safely give her?

 

[azygous]

Yes, Safeguard kills most of the most common worms. Go ahead a worm her then. Keep her on the electrolyte solution during and after worming. What type of Safeguard do you have? Let's be sure about the proper dose.

 

[guest226]

Yes, Safeguard kills most of the most common worms. Go ahead a worm her then. Keep her on the electrolyte solution during and after worming. What type of Safeguard do you have? Let's be sure about the proper dose.

I’m feeling her stomach and I feel a lump that seems to have suddenly appeared. When I squeeze it a bit she seems uncomfortable like it hurts. It seems to have appeared over the duration of her molt. What is this??


I think it might be gas or related to her slow crop?

 

[azygous]

Go back to post #7 and look at the diagram. Pick out the organ nearest where you feel the lump and tell us what it is. The organ closest to an actual "stomach" is the proventriculus.

You may mean the abdominal area which is located between the legs and just in front of the legs and behind the legs below the vent (cloaca). Also try to be accurate about the size of the lump. (walnut size, tennis ball size, etc) and if it's rock hard or soft and spongy.

 

[guest226]

Go back to post #7 and look at the diagram. Pick out the organ nearest where you feel the lump and tell us what it is. The organ closest to an actual "stomach" is the proventriculus.

You may mean the abdominal area which is located between the legs and just in front of the legs and behind the legs below the vent (cloaca). Also try to be accurate about the size of the lump. (walnut size, tennis ball size, etc) and if it's rock hard or soft and spongy.

It seems to be behind her legs. It’s not overly squishy and not hard at all. It’s not too raised but it is a change from before. If i cup my hand over it feels like the size of a BIG half straberry.

I think it is gas because she usually loves massages, but when i gently massage her abdomen she seems very uncomfortable.

It goes from under her vent to bought 2 inches into the abdomen.

The vet told me to give antibiotics but I don’t want to make any digestive upset worse.

 

[azygous]

I the lump fixed or floating? Does it feel like something deep in the tissue or just under the outer skin?

What did the vet tell you the antibiotic was supposed to treat? What is the antibiotic?