ailments-such

Sour Crop: the hard facts

The Chook Doctor explains:

[Sour Crop] is a common problem with hens, especially if they are allowed to graze on grass when they are first released. These birds are not used to eating such natural foods, so they tend not to know how to do it properly. Long strands of grass in the crops of such birds often are unable to pass through the digestive system, [so they] bind in the crop and ferment.

A quick method of telling whether a chicken has Sour Crop or not is to gently squeeze it and sniff the air that’s expelled from its mouth. If the bird has Sour Crop then the air will smell awful, if not… well, I don’t suppose a chicken smells very nice anyway, but apparently la différence d’odeur is marked. (Of course, sniffing chickens is also one of the eight sure-fire ways of being marked down as a looney, but we’ll put that aside for the moment.)

Fear not, help is at hand (If you were a chicken)

Luckily for you my mother has a cure for Sour Crop. First she grabs you (this isn’t hard because you’re just lying there burping), then she sticks a tube down your throat, and pours a mixture of yogurt and olive oil into you.

That done, she takes hold of your feet, hangs you upside down, and massages your stomach and crop until lots of green and white muck comes pouring out of you.

Finally she flips you the right way up, pats you on the head, and puts you down. You ruffle your feathers, squawk a bit, ruffle your feathers some more, and then walk off in as dignified a manner as you can muster.

It’s a tough life, being a chicken.

My chick is "Star Gazing" and I suspect a Thiamine Deficiency. 

I am going to add to this information a little at a time. For now though I wanted to get a high thiamine diet posted in case someone needs it. The common vit. drops work ok but I think this diet in addition works much better. So here is the diet which makes about enough for a day depending on the age and size of chick:

1/2 cup of flock raiser crumbles or non medicated chick starter

1 tbsp Marmite

2 tbsp whole seseme seeds (roasted or not)

2 tbsp shelled sunflower seeds

1 tsp dried coriander leaves

The marmite has a butter like consistancy and so needs to be mixed well in the feed and refrigerated.