The Dogmother Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Some swear by a little liquid paraffin as a lubricant, but TBH the blockage could be a symptom of a stasis further down her gut. I would add some ACV to the water on a regular basis and make sure there is a pot of mixed grit in their run to keep her gizzard grinding everything up. Just check it regularly so that you can act quickly if there is a problem again. Also, remove anything 'stringy' from the vicinity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claireabella Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 TBH the blockage could be a symptom of a stasis further down her gut I'm starting to think the same thing; I would have expected things to start working properly again once her crop had been completely empty. They have ACV in the water and a grub feeder full of grit and oyster shell but I could also try liquid paraffin as an alternative to oil. How would you know if a gizzard is impacted? Can it be felt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 No, it is right down inside the abdomen and the gizzard has really thick muscular walls so it's hard to feel anything inside. Is she pooing? If you haven't already, i would keep her off solids for 36 hrs, plenty of water with Nutridrops or poultry tonic in it, then reintroduce pellets and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claireabella Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 Yes, she is pooing but still quite loose. Sometimes green, but most of the time black and white but as I say, loose. I tried taking her off food but only lasted for about half a day - she looked a bit wobbly on her feet and I gave in and fed her some watery layers mash. I'm a soft touch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Give her Nutridrops - and water - they are brilliant and should sustain her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claireabella Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 Thank you I'm going to get some nutri-drops and give it a go. I think I've exhausted all other options and with a bit of luck this may kickstart her digestive system to start working properly again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 This clearly isn't a simple case of crop impaction Claireabella. The reasons go deeper than that to a blockage further down, perhaps the gizzard. Fortunately it's only a partial blockage which should clear with plenty of water, crop massage and plenty of exercise. A major cause of gizzard impaction is cigarette ends, so Gale Damerow says in her book 'Raising Chickens' (a must read). We have an Orpington hen with similar symptoms and in our case this is what I think happened. The worming was far too late. The cherries fell and being a piggy Orpington she ate them whole. A stone blocked her digestive system because it couldn't pass the worms. She then ate grass to try and clear it herself and this impacted the system further. In the end she stopped laying which is when we noticed how light she was. We put her on wormer and water but after 48 hours it was obvious things were not clearing properly and her crop was getting rancid. We sucked out her crop and flushed with water. This seems to have disturbed something. The next poo was green slime and a large cherry stone,which I take to be dissolved worms. She started to pick up and we have kept massaging, giving her water and a small amount of food and kept her moving. After a week of this she did her first 'normal' looking poo this morning, so hopefully the last of the ground up cherry stones and grass plugs will clear today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claireabella Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 Thanks Beantree, I hope your girl has improved, it is such a worry. I think I have been fortunate that Fleur's crop hasn't turned sour throughout this. I kept her off solids yesterday in the hope that this may help. Around 5.30pm her poo was almost just water so I assumed that she was all cleaned out but her crop still wasn't completely empty this morning, although whatever it was, it was fairly soft. I agree that this is likely to be a blockage further down her digestive system since her crop seems to be functioning ok and apart from the small bits, it is almost empty in a morning.The worrying thing is that although she eats and the majority seems to digest, she is still losing weight and is very light now. I'm really down about the whole situation to be honest because I know that she can't carry on like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 I'm sorry to hear that Claireabella; I think that you summed up the situation very well in your last sentence. I would give her NutriDrops to get nutrients into her for now, but I think you know that the hardest decision will have to be made soon. At a guess, she either has a blocked/impacted gizzard, or a blockage, such as a tumour, further down her digestive system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Our Orpington is now pooing undigested grain Claireabella, in small quantities, mixed with partially dissolved feathers and vegetation. So her gizzard isn't grinding stuff up and she still has a partial blockage. My guess now is a foreign object of some kind has been found and eaten, like a piece of plastic or metal, which is jammed in the gizzard. At this stage an X-ray would be useful. We certainly don't want to give her grit because it will just sit in the crop. Her weight might still be dropping as she is now quite active with the sourness in her crop gone. Problem is she hasn't the energy. We are feeding her ground up rearer pellets made into soggy balls plus 50mL water a day. Basically she gets as much as her crop will take without it going sour. She shows no interest in eating pellets and won't drink enough to keep her crop soggy. We still can't get it completely empty either, so we're in exactly the same position as you really, getting rather frustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claireabella Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 We said our final goodbye to Fleur today. The vet agreed it was time. I thought I could be quite objective about it but I've still had a good cry. It's a sad night in our house tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I'm sorry to hear that, but you made the right decision. If it's any consolation, it doesn't get a lot easier over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claireabella Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Thank you Dogmother, that is a real comfort. I think it was the right time to let her go but still incredibly hard. She was a strong-willed little hen but it was obvious that she had endured enough. Beantree, I meant to say, I really hope that your girl shows improvement soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 You did everything you could. It's hard for you but for Fleur it was just going to sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
