I lost another chicken a few weeks ago. She was a young one and probably the most nervous chicken I've ever encountered. That's the thing about chickens. Even though their name is synonymous with being nervous, afraid and scared, most of the chickens I've ever encountered are pretty bold and badass.
Sweetie was neither of those things. She was afraid of everything from the other chickens to her food. She ran away when I threw scratch into the run while all the other chickens ran towards it. She waited patiently while the other chickens ate their fill of whatever treat I put out for them, whether it was grapes or scratch or leftover mashed potatoes, often ending up with nothing. Once I noticed this was happening I started to hand feed Sweetie her snacks to make sure she got some too. On behalf of Sweetie I also gave the other chickens dirty looks.
Every morning it's the same thing with these chickens of mine. As soon as they hear me take the lid off of the can that holds the scratch they all come running out because they know they're going to get fed. The second I throw the food, they all run towards it, except Sweetie who was always running away as though I was hurling hawks and raccoons at her. Every single morning she didn't know WHAT THE HELL was going on, even though every single morning it was the exact same routine. Lid. Scratch. Throw. Eat.
Silly chicken.
Then one morning, about a month ago the routine changed. Everything was the same, except this particular morning Sweetie didn't come running out only to inevitably run away. This usually means the chicken is laying an egg, or the chicken is sick. I checked the nesting box to see if Sweetie had got back to laying eggs after being in egg laying hiatus throughout most of the winter. Sweetie was an Ameraucana who laid perfect, bright blue eggs.
In this case, Sweetie wasn't laying an egg. Sweetie was sick. I opened up the doors to the indoor run and Sweetie was standing still in a dark, back corner with her feathers all puffed out looking slumpy. It wasn't particularly cold out, so I knew if she was puffing her feathers out chances are she had a fever.
I picked Sweetie up and immediately brought her inside. I put her in a sick cage with a towel on the bottom and set the whole thing on my heated kitchen floors and turned the heat up on them. I gave her food and water which she half heartedly pecked at. I felt over her to see if I could somehow find out what was wrong but there wasn't anything obvious. I checked her bones, her vent, the soles of her feet and her crop. It all felt and looked normal. Because I knew she had a fever and may not have had anything to eat or drink for a while I gave her electrolytes and antibiotics to help her feel better. I covered her cage up with towels so she'd feel safe and left her alone.
By that afternoon I still didn't know what was wrong with Sweetie. She slept non stop and was obviously very sick. Finally some time in the evening I felt her crop again and thought something didn't seem right. I could feel some food in there that felt like seeds and corn from scratch, but mainly it felt spongey. It wasn't overly huge like an impacted crop would be but it wasn't right.
I hated to do it because I knew how awful she felt, but I squeezed open her mouth to see if I could smell anything sour coming up from her insides. Sour Crop is a condition where the contents of the crop become sour and rotten because for some reason the contents aren't travelling properly out of the crop and into the chickens gizzard where the food gets "chewed" up.
If you're confused, the image below will help you understand how a chicken digests food.
You know the old phrase "scarce as hen's teeth"? Well that's because chickens don't have teeth. They have a beak and that's it. A chicken eats all of its food whole and it travels down it's throat where it's stored all day in the "crop". The crop is close to the centre of the breast of the chicken as you're looking at it and is basically just a pouch. All day long the chicken eats and all day long the food sits in the crop.
Overnight while the chicken is sleeping, the food in the crop travels to the chicken's gizzard which "chews" the food. It "chews" courtesy of the many little stones the chickens eat that are stored in the gizzard and act as teeth. Once chewed, the food makes its way out of the gizzard and is pooped out of the hen. That is the cycle.
If that cycle is stopped for any reason the chicken will die either of infection or starvation. If the food can't move from the crop to the gizzard for any reason the chicken will die. It's as simple as that. Sour Crop and Impacted crop are two of the most common things that stop that cycle.
Normally sour crop (according to the Internet anyway) is pretty easy to diagnose because your chicken's breath stinks like fermenting food. I kept sticking my nose in Sweetie's beak and it never smelled of anything. But her crop was mushy and she was obviously close to death so I did what you're supposed to do with a chicken who has sour crop.
I turned her completely upside down.
Doing this allows whatever is in the crop to come right back out of the hen's mouth. You're forcing her to throw up basically, but really you're just draining her crop. You have to be very careful that the chicken doesn't aspirate so only hold your chicken upside down for a few seconds at a time and keep her calm.
THAT is when the stink hit me. Not a lot drained out of Sweetie, but there was enough to let me know things definitely weren't right in her. This is proof that not all diseases present the way they're supposed to. Sweetie's mouth didn't and breath didn't stink at all. That's why I eliminated Sour Crop as the problem right in the morning when I first checked her over. I did this several times until I thought I'd better stop because I didn't want to stress her more than I had to. I was happy that I had probably diagnosed what was wrong with her. By now it was after 2:00 in the morning and Sweetie and I both just wanted to sleep. In the morning I would read everything there was to know about Sour Crop and how best to deal with it.
Around 8:00 a.m. I came down to get a coffee and check on Sweetie. She was sicker than she was the night before and obviously feeling terrible. I gave her some water then went back upstairs to quickly do my Sour Crop research. 15 minutes later, I came downstairs again, armed with the knowledge that if I filled her crop with quite a bit of water by force feeding it to her, the contents of her crop would be more likely to flow out easily.
In those 15 minutes that I was upstairs researching how to save her, Sweetie had died.
It was awful. If I had done the research the night before and implemented it, I might have been able to save her. If I had woken up half an hour earlier I might have been able to save her. If I had noticed she was sick a day earlier I might have been able to save her.
But I didn't.
And I wasn't even exactly sure why she had sour crop or why she got sick. I guessed she had some sort of impaction but her crop really didn't feel full the way it would if she had a big impaction. I started to worry that whatever caused this in Sweetie was contagious and my other chickens might get it.
It was then that I made the decision to necropsy Sweetie. A necropsy is an animal autopsy. I did not want to necropsy Sweetie. But I felt like I had to. I wanted to know what killed her. If she had a crop impaction (where the chicken eats straw and other things that form a knot too big to travel down to the gizzard, essentially blocking anything from moving to the gizzard) then I'd feel confident it wasn't something that was contagious to my other chickens.
So that morning, soon after she died (and I was absolutely positive she was dead), I covered up my kitchen island, put on a mask and medical gloves, and cut open my sweet little chicken.
And I videotaped the entire thing. Next week, for those of you who own chickens I will show that video along with accompanying photos. It will not be a post for the sensitive, but it will be a learning experience for anyone who owns chickens and as such, has been forced to become their own chicken vet. That's just the way it is when you have chickens.
Read the Chicken Necropsy post here to learn how to do a chicken necropsy.
The post will come with ample warnings of graphic content, so don't worry, you won't suddenly have pictures of a dead chicken on your computer or handheld device. I will even link to nicer, more pleasant chicken related posts that day to give those of you who don't want to watch the grim reality of a chicken necropsy.
The chicken necropsy told me exactly what went wrong with Sweetie and hopefully this post and the upcoming one will help some other chicken owner somewhere along the way.
Sondra
Karen, When i had a sick chicken, it was your post about "lash egg" that I found your blog in the first place. it was VERY helpful. Miss Henny Penny became a "house chicken" for about two weeks, being lugged back and forth to work in a cat carrier so that I could dose her with herbs twice a day. HP passed some nasty stuff in the first few days, but she went from not being able to stand to running around with her pals in two weeks. It took two more weeks to get her to go back to the coop, but she is well and raising hell, and laying again. I enjoy your blog so much, and am grateful for your thorough chicken research!
Safetydog
I'm so sorry to hear about Sweetie, and sorry to hear all that you went through. How brave and determined of you to do the necropsy to find the cause of her illness. Beating yourself up with "what ifs" can't change what happened, but maybe you'll be armed with more knowledge for the future.
Mary
Ah - the giant "if". Animal people the world over who've lost their friends ask that "what if I'd...." question over and over. We do the very best we can with the information we have at the time. Like knowing that helps any! :( I know she knew she was loved. I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend. :(
Jennifer
I'm so sorry for your loss, Karen.
Lynn
Sweetie has gone oh no ! So sorry to hear of her untimely passing, she was like the underdog chicken in your coup . Sorry for your loss Karen.
Meg
Very sorry to hear about Sweetie. I had almost the exact same experience with one of my pullets, Boodie. Interested to see your upcoming post.
Sam Kerwood
aww bless poor Sweetie. WE lost all our chickens a few years by the ghastly fox digging an underground tunnel to get to them... i wowed never to have chickens again as it scarred me for life! albeit i do miss proper fresh eggs. My husband now keeps bees! no comparison but none the less
Deirdre
Condolences and thank you. For being brave and willing to show us what to do. I am anxiously waiting for my property to have my own chickens. Sometimes with our own animals we have to do what is right even if it unpleasant. So thank you again Karen
Kathy
Teared up for your efforts and pain. Hand feeding her treats was heartwarming.
Shirley Walker
OH NO! So very sorry. I am a chicken owner and I know how fast things can go bad. I had to make one of my hens vomit once and it was not fun. She died later that year anyway. Maybe something was off with Sweetie right from the start. She was so beautiful :( We never know what is going to happen. Don't beat yourself up over it!
Karin in NC
So sorry about Sweetie.
I am now absolutely positive I'm not going to have chickens. You are way more badass than me.
Bella
I just had a chick die yesterday and I’m crying
ronda
so very sad to read about Sweetie. condolences.
E Wilcox
Good that you had the strength to examine your bird. You are a smart woman and you love your animals. Thank you for offering to share what you learned. You are an awesome lady.
Alena
Sorry to hear about Sweetie. My dog is just like her, you could not describe it any better. She, too, would wait patiently in the corner if there is anything left for her to eat, she would never fight for herself. A sweetie just like your Sweetie.
Her eggs were beautiful.
R.I.P., Sweetie!
marilyn meagher
So sorry Karen xo
Amy in KC
Karen, I'm so sorry to hear about Sweetie. What a beautiful chicken with beautiful eggs! As many have said already, you are an excellent chicken mom and gave her a fabulous life while she was here on Earth. You are also so brave and dedicated to do the necropsy and research to figure out what happened to help other chicken owners.
I have never had chickens (although I come from a farming family), but I LOVE your chicken posts—the good, the bad...they are so educational and fascinating. Thanks for all you do to give your readers engaging, informative posts.
joanne
Oh, Karen, I am so sorry to read about Sweetie's passing, and I am in awe that you thought to do a necropsy to figure out what happened. You make the world a better place with posts like this, and I hope that someone else with chickens will read, view and remember ifthis ever happens to one of their girls.
Meredith
Sorry for your loss. I always feel like I should have done more when one of my ladies dies. And then the whole "should I rush this chicken to the vet like I would my cats or dogs" internal conflict.
I've turned many a chicken upside down to drain their crops. I'm interested in the video. One of my favorite hen breeds is Speckled Sussex. The ones I had always seemed to be a little bit on the piggy side and they were always getting sour crop. And I would do the whole tilt chicken, feed yogurt and water etc. to get them well again. I wonder if some breeds are more prone to it than others?
Karen
Probably. The way some breeds are more prone to broodiness. :/ ~ karen!
Charlene
I am crying so hard right now I can hardly see my keyboard. My sweet speckled Sussex is going through her second round of crop issues. She is 11 months old. Two months ago our first sour crop. No vet so crash course of me. It took a week of confinement and treatment (monostate for the yeast infection) but we were well again until last Thursday. This time it seems a bit different and I am beginning to think the impacting is farther down. Only watery poo and now she won't even eat a cooked egg - her favorite treat. This morning she won't walk. I am out of ideas and not sure I can help her over the bridge. Although I have thought about if she passes that I should find out why. Karen, your timing........And Merideth I too think breeds may be more susceptible. I ordered two SS last year and one died within a day of arrival and this one had pasty butt - so intestinal problems from the beginning. I wondered last time if it was genetic.
If anyone had told me last year that I would be vomiting a chicken and crying my eyes out, I would have ..... probably bought them anyway. I wouldn't have believed them.
Lori
What a beautiful feather baby! I am so sorry.....you are truly a trooper. I don't know if I could do it.
Gretchen Sexton
So very sorry! She was a sweetie--even if she never got on the same schedule as all your other chickies...
Points to you (whatever they're worth) for bravery in performing the necropsy/autopsy!-And for puzzling it out. So hard when you think you're on the right track, but just not getting to the point quick enough.
{{hug}}