Fluid-filled crop

[Phospho]

Hello again,

We're at day 3 now... she's still pooping, but only pretty loose stuff (not completely liquid though--she had one that was gelatinous, like a smoothie, for lack of better descriptor).

My chicken-savvy friend came over and felt her belly, and we found a lump that's not symmetrical--wondering if you have thoughts. I found a 3D model of a chicken and circled the exact spot I'm feeling it in relation to her bones. It's slightly squishy, but I can't tell if it's actually squishy or if I'm just pushing it around.

 

[TillyPeeps]

If it's squishy, it's possible she has water belly, which could be caused by reproduction infections based on her symptoms. Hen with internal laying issue or a rotten/broken egg inside her can develop reproduction infections. Unfortunately, water belly are mostly fatal except some infections can be treated with antibiotics. If you are able to bring her to a vet for x-ray and some tests, that would be the best. I don't have any vet seeing birds here, so I could only try antibiotics to see if it works or not. Of course, for me, my hen with water belly had two types of cancers at that time, so antibiotics didn't help at all.

 

[Phospho]

If you are able to bring her to a vet for x-ray and some tests, that would be the best.

What would be the point of an x-ray? That would only show a stuck egg if it were calcified, because it only shows hard things, right? Would it be more appropriate to ask for an ultrasound?

We don't really have a vet for birds, but if I knew exactly what I needed (e.g. "I want an ultrasound," not "what's wrong with my bird?") I might be able to get in for an ok price (I'm a minor with no money, so that's important).

I do have some updates, though:

• Crop is empty this morning. I'm going to keep an eye on it.
• She's been having more substantial poops. Not fully formed, but definitely "normal." No yellow.
• She seemed pretty perky, so I put her out on the lawn to see what she would do, and she acted totally normal.
• I put her in with the rest of the flock, and she picked a fight but won, so I think she's ok

My thoughts based on this:

• I doubt she has a stuck egg. She wouldn't have it in there for this long and be acting this normal.
• @azygous had mentioned that yellow poop means an infection, but she hasn't had more yellow poop, so I'm assuming she's doing better on that front.
• The lump is still concerning. I'm going to try to get in for an ultrasound.
• I'm going to leave her in with the rest of the flock, because I think she'll be a lot happier. The downside of this is that I won't necessarily know if she passes an egg, unless everybody lays the same day and I can count them.

Do these conclusions make sense?

 

[azygous]

Your logic is sound. You are right to place a preponderance of importance on her normal behavior. Behavior is like a weather vane pointing to what you normally might expect.

It's very good that the yellow poop has stopped and she's behaving more like her old self.