tinkkletoes Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 evening all the below post has already been put in the nest box uk, so I am now putting it in chickens to see if anyone in chickens can help. afternoon all. I have 5 rescued battery hens. one is giving me concern. I've had her 10 months. in last few weeks she has come lethargic keeping to herself and not laying I believe. then just as I was thinking this was going to be her end, she picked up and normality was restored. now she's back to being withdrawn, just standing around and closing her eyes. a few days ago I picked her up & she sloshed. water & some food in her crop. I had a quick read and it suggested turning her upside down and massaging her crop to make her sick to empty it. this I did. she picked up a little a day later and there seems not to be anymore blockage in the crop. but she's still very lethargic, just standing there, eyes closed hiding under a bush in the run. she is drinking water of which I would say was more than normal. and only eating some dried meal worms. if she's anything else I haven't seen her. she still comes out of the coop in the morning, but with a little help which is not like her. she has so far taken herself back to the coop in the evening. her droppings are very watery. I have given her a little white rice mixed with Mineral powder & crushed grit. also the water has tonic in it. the other 4 hens are all ok and laying most days. they all sleep in the same coop which since it was new has always been dusted with mite powder. does anyone have any ideas to pick my sick lady up or do I have to be ready for her to pass away ps. just picked her up and she's a little lighter than normal. and when I put her down on the ground she lost her balance a bit. like she was top heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Hi Tinkkletoes I am no expert but if you think it's sour crop I would do a search on here and maybe try maggots as recommended.If not the problem maybe some nutri drops would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimnpaula Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I'm afraid to say it but prepare for the worst. Hens are very good at hiding illness so this may be the reason for her apparent earlier recovery, and ex commercial birds (and hybrids in general) live a hard and fast life. On the other hand, if she's not eating then of course she won't have any energy. I've found that all girls respond to a bit of attention and hand feeding - I bring them into the kitchen (easy to clean floor) and try them with mealworms, corn or small amounts of bread, bananas, apple - anything they usually enjoy eating and something is better than nothing. I found small cubes of bread are the only reliable way to get nutri-drops into them. When was she last wormed with Flubenvet, and have you checked for lice/mites? Paula Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 It sounds like a case of sour crop Tinkkletoes. Does her crop feel warm? In which case feed her absolutely nothing except water, because anything she eats will rot in her crop. Massage crop regularly. After 24-48 hours, when the crop feels empty and cool, she can go back onto feed. It helps if you give probiotic yoghurt a few days later. We have had two cases of this in the last month. Just for clarification, maggots can be used to break up an impacted crop but carry the risk of Botulism, which is a toxin resulting in almost total muscle paralysis and which is most often fatal. So you need to be sure the maggots are free of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkkletoes Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 the crop has cooled and only let to have water. now she's on pro biotic yogurt with a raw egg, shell and all mixed in ( read it on anther chicken web site and thought I would give it a go.) she's wanted to eat it. she's been on it for two days. only one bowl a day and I have been massaging the crop lightly . her crop is a little warm and I think just a little bigger, or maybe i'm imagining it and worrying ? she's still quite lethargic, but with just a little more movement . but I guess that's just because she's low on energy. now waiting for the nutri drops to arrive in the post. does anyone have any other ideas to bring her back to full heath ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
