It Ain't Always Fun and Games....

 Warning: Some nasty, poopy pictures...

Yesterday morning (Monday) when I let the chickens out, one was missing. Evil Ethel was still in the coop. I shooed her out into the pen. I noticed that during the day she was just not her nasty old self. She was being very quiet. In the evening when I let them run around in the yard for an hour or so, she didn't join the rest but went back into the coop. OK, she's having an off day I thought.

This morning when I let them out she was missing again. Opened the door to the coop and she was just sitting there. Ding-ding-ding! Stupid, stupid me - she's in trouble! Run back to the house and get a box and fill it with hay. Up on the deck we go and as I pick her up, notice that her crop is like a water filled balloon. Crop bound! It can be fatal if the junk can't  pass through or be thrown up.
                                                         

Poor Ethel - see  how swollen her crop is?

          
I fill a small cup with water add add olive oil to it. Grab a towel and an eyedropper. Ethel is wrapped in the towel so she can't try to get away. I turn her on her side and massage the crop to see if anything comes up. Nope. I spread her beak open and give her a couple good squirts of the water and olive oil mix and work it into the crop. She starts to throw up all over me, but this is good because what ever was stuck in there is starting to come out. The smell is awful.
                                                            

Had two piles of this - yuck!

 I let her drink just some plain water and massage the crop again. Nothing comes out. Another dose of the oil and water, some more massage and she upchucks again. The crop bulge is getting smaller. While I am holding and petting her, I check her over and notice her vent is clogged with a crust of yellow/brown gunk. I slowly clean it away and out shoots a liquid of yellow/brown gunk. That smelled horrible, too. Poor thing was plugged up at both ends!

At least that end is is finally working

                                                               
 Another dose of water/oil is given again. She throws up but passes out and goes limp. I thought she died. She really IS my favorite and I just can't let that happen, so I blow into her beak and she comes to. (It is NOT disgusting. I want to save her). She takes a sip of water and falls asleep while I am holding her. I place her in the box and she stays there for about l5 minutes.
When she wakes up and gets out and starts walking, she lets go of another runny mess that includes the oil. This means her plumbing is working again! Right now she is resting on the deck,  pecking at some yogurt and drinking plain water. Will update later. Gotta go and disinfect the deck. Again.