PeckyBeak Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Lavender my Bluebelle had a bout of diarrhoea like a couple of my other girls had had, and the vet gave her an anti-biotic jab. Since I had read that anti-biotics can upset the gut balance, when she started doing the jerky neck movement I guessed that that had happened and checked her crop and found that she was full of liquid. I treated her for sour crop with the help of the excellant info on the omlet site. However she would pick up after making her sick then be back the same in a few hours. She wasn't eating or drinking much either. This went on for several days, so I took her back to the vets and saw the main man. She had a blockage further down that was causing the sour crop. They tried Liquid Parafin and gave her some gas to put a tube down her throat to try to clear it but it didnt work. The only option was to operate and cut a hole in her crop to remove the blockage. They found a load of dried Blue and Yellow Peas that had grown in size with moisture. These were from the Mixed Corn, that I had bought, specifically for Poultry and Pigeons. She is on water with Avipro in and a very liquidy mash only, for the next few days and Baytril to help her crop hopefully recover. Vets again on Monday but she seems to be getting better. The bag of feed has been binned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 glad you got her the right treatment, am guessing that it could easily have been not noticed by some! Fingers crossed for continued improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneyolktoanother Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 our chook has just had the same op done, she is doing well and has just been gradually weaned back onto normal food and touch wood she has'nt messed with her stitches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeckyBeak Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 hi oneyolk, when did your chook have her op. and how long was it before she got back on to normal dry mash/pellets and seed? is there anything else I should expect or look out for during her recovery? The other problem I have is that she seems hungry, although she has the sloppy mash but when I tried to put some bedding on the makeshift run floor, she started trying to eat it, so she is just on a bare wooden floor and in an eglu without bedding, on her own at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 vet bed is nice and comfy to sleep on, all wet goes through leaving dry on tip (apart from wet in poo course) can she eat chopped grapes melon cucumber etc ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 That's great news, hope that she continues to recover. Nutri-drops are very good for picking them up after a procedure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneyolktoanother Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 hi oneyolk, when did your chook have her op. and how long was it before she got back on to normal dry mash/pellets and seed? is there anything else I should expect or look out for during her recovery?The other problem I have is that she seems hungry, although she has the sloppy mash but when I tried to put some bedding on the makeshift run floor, she started trying to eat it, so she is just on a bare wooden floor and in an eglu without bedding, on her own at night. hi she had her op 3 weeks ago, after 10 days of wet mash we were told to wean her onto dry mash which we would grind up with a blender and then onto pellets and we had to get smaller poultry grit and can only have abit every other day. She will be hungry as she has been blocked, the important key is small amounts of food, i was lucky and was at home so for the first few days i would go out every hour and half with a small amount of wet mash. We were told to watch her eating her bedding (sawdust) but she would have peck but not enough to harm her, generally thats all you have to do really she seems to have made agood recovery so far i am constantly checking her crop just to be sure but my oh says that i am a mad worrier Our vet told us to put her back the day after the op but check keep checking the stitches, which was good the other chooks could'net see them but touchwood she has'nt pecked at them she just gives them a clean and thats it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeckyBeak Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Lavender returned to the vets who was pleased with her. I asked about chopped cucumber, grapes, melon which seemed a great idea, thanks sandyhas3chucks, but he said no, just continue with the sloppy mash for another 14 days which ties in with what your vet said oneyolk2another. I have given her Nutri-drops aswell and avipro. She had her final Baytril last night so it's a wait and see now. I can't put her in with the others, as there is food around which she can't have and vet said to not let her in the garden as she will go for grass, soil etc; she still also tries to eat the easybed so she still has a bare wooden floor, so she will have to remain in her little run with the spare eglu, bored but alive. Just hoping that her crop will recover and that she will return to normal lfe soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneyolktoanother Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Lavender returned to the vets who was pleased with her. I asked about chopped cucumber, grapes, melon which seemed a great idea, thanks sandyhas3chucks, but he said no, just continue with the sloppy mash for another 14 days which ties in with what your vet said oneyolk2another. I have given her Nutri-drops aswell and avipro.She had her final Baytril last night so it's a wait and see now. I can't put her in with the others, as there is food around which she can't have and vet said to not let her in the garden as she will go for grass, soil etc; she still also tries to eat the easybed so she still has a bare wooden floor, so she will have to remain in her little run with the spare eglu, bored but alive. Just hoping that her crop will recover and that she will return to normal lfe soon. i'm glad she is doing well we let ours out as we have no grass but she was kept in her run seperate so she could'net eat anything and everything im sure lavender will be able to return to a normal life like pip, i was so worried sge would always be on sloppy mash but she is doing great on normal food now let me know how she gets on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Glad that it went well. A blocked crop is usually caused by one of two options - a blockage further down the digestive tract (usually a tumour), or eating far too much or stringy stuff that the crop can't expel. Thankfully the former is rare. If the hen has formed a habit for eating unsuitable foodstuff then the situation might happen again after the operation, as the crop doesn't have any muscles or elasticity, it will over-fill again and you're back to stage one. Keep an eye (if you can) on what she eats as it may be necessary to remove something from her environment. A friend's hen used to steal hay through the mesh of the rabbit hutch and it blocked her crop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeckyBeak Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hi Claret, It was the hard dried blue and yellow peas from the mixed corn (advertised for poultry) that caused the blockage, the vet found an enormous amount in her and it had swollen up. The chooks will no longer have that type of corn. I note your advice that the crop may have been weakend and will watch out for what she is having. Thanks One of my other girls has a habit of eating masses of feathers, since she is the only one, I presume it isn't a diet problem? We keep having to massage her, but so far we have kept it in check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 They often get obsessed with eating certain things - a common one is for pecking grit out of a coop cup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneyolktoanother Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 They often get obsessed with eating certain things - a common one is for pecking grit out of a coop cup ass our vet could'net find the actually blockage we thought it could be the grit as it was quite large so we have changed it to a smaller girt and only giving her some every other day, and also limiting the corn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 Grit is a difficult one really - too small and it passes through, too big and it can block their crop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammapajama Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 This thread was very helpful to me and gave me the confidence to ask my friend, a cat/dog vet, to operate on Abrahen. She did great, and a HUGE wad of hay was removed. HUGE! If I'd known more about chicken anatomy I would have caught this weeks ago and it would have saved me a worthless trip to another vet who failed to diagnose the problem. Thanks for the details on your vet's feeding recommendations as my friend knows nothing about chickens. One farm animal vet I spoke to said not to feed wet mash as it gets gluey, but if it has worked for you I think I will try it as I don't really know what else to feed her that is nutritious and soft. She doesn't care for applesauce. She is also trying to eat anything in sight. One thing of note is that what I first noticed about her was her missing feathers on neck and breast. Turns out I think she was plucking them in distress over the crop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Ready brek made with water is good pure oats no lumps.and regular maggots will help too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeckyBeak Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 One farm animal vet I spoke to said not to feed wet mash as it gets gluey, Just make sure to stir it well so it is fairly runny. Glad that you have managed to get proper help, hope your chook recovers soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 One farm animal vet I spoke to said not to feed wet mash as it gets gluey, Just make sure to stir it well so it is fairly runny. Glad that you have managed to get proper help, hope your chook recovers soon. Porridge made with pellets or mash is fine so long as it is wet enough. Avoid anything with gluten in though as that will block the crop. Make sure that they have constant access to grit and just keep an eye on the crop to ensure that it is emptying. When some vets do the crop emptying op, they do a bit of a tuck and make it smaller at the same time - the crop has no muscles and can easily lose elasticity when it is overfilled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeckyBeak Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Make sure that they have constant access to grit and just keep an eye on the crop to ensure that it is emptying. Might be best to check this as after her op. my vet said to not let her have any grit for 14 days until he has checked her over again, hence one of the reasons for the sloppy mash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
