3month old silkie - sour crop help

[gabz44]

I believe my 3 month of silkie rooster has sour crop. I took him to the vet and she didn't know what was wrong with him. To be honest she wasn't super knowledgable when it came to chickens. She tested his poop for bacteria which was a negative and now suggested treating him with anti fungal and antibiotics and if that didn't work take a biopsy... I didn't feel very confident in her advice. He has a very swollen mushy crop. I don't believe it smells. He seems fine otherwise.
Today it was so big I put him upside down and massaged it and he threw up a ton of what looked like soft liquidy food and possibly some shavings ??? What can I do next ?? I actually don't want to keep a rooster but want to help the poor guy before I find him a new home....

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi, pending advice from the experts on this topic, here's a link that should help point you in the right direction.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=sour+crop

all the best
CT

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry, somehow I missed you a couple of days on the other thread. I see your little fella is still having trouble.

You quoted
"I would love your advice. So my roosters swollen crop came back. I took him to the vet and they weren't sure. Thought maybe he was eating the sand in the run Bc it felt like sand. They tested his poop for bacteria and all was fine. She now wants to treat him with antibiotics and anti fungal ( nystatin) hoping one of them works but doesn't know the problem. I'd rather just try one. She said either this will work or there is something in his crop or he maybe was born with a descended crop in which case he won't live long. I'm so confused what to do .... I didn't feel like I made much progress by taking him in..."
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1073665/silkie-has-swollen-chest/20#post_16509755

Do you have photo of what it looks like at this time?

Did you ever offer him chick grit? That is crushed granite. He may be eating the sand as a substitute for grit and the sand may not be hard enough for whatever he is eating.

Is he pooping, what does it look like?

If you can, I would bring him in (I know your hubby has allergies) but maybe the garage, in a small kennel or even the container you brooded him in. I would only offer him water all the time and some SMALL pieces bread soaked in olive oil and offer grit and no other foods or treats to see if things move.You can gently massage the crop. Keep him on towels or something similar and no shavings. Take away any food at night and see if the crop has emptied by morning. It may take a couple of days. Then start introducing some scrambled/boiled egg, wet crumbles and/or tuna and see what happens.

The Nystatin the vet suggested is helpful if the crop is sour, but I see you mention that it doesn't smell sour. The breath would smell yeasty like fermented food.

What info I have suggested is a quick snapshot taken from here:
http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/01/crop-issues-html/

 

[gabz44]

@Wyorp Rock
Sorry for the delay I didn't get a notification that you responded. Thank you for all your great advice - you have been able to help me way more than a vet. Here's the update...
- I flushed his crop with baking soda and water and massaged his crop and he threw up a ton. There were big pieces of hay in his crop. After I did that the crop went down to 1/4 of the size it was (that was yesterday)
- this morning I started the antifungal medicine from the vet and by late afternoon his crop was big again
- yes his throw up smells rotten and it's yellowish/beige
- he seems happy otherwise

So question
- yes I should separate him from the others and bring him inside ??
- stop feeding him his food and follow your instructions with olive oil eggs etc ??? He has 10 days of the medicine

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Wyorp Rock
Sorry for the delay I didn't get a notification that you responded. Thank you for all your great advice - you have been able to help me way more than a vet. Here's the update...
- I flushed his crop with baking soda and water and massaged his crop and he threw up a ton. There were big pieces of hay in his crop. After I did that the crop went down to 1/4 of the size it was (that was yesterday)
- this morning I started the antifungal medicine from the vet and by late afternoon his crop was big again
- yes his throw up smells rotten and it's yellowish/beige
- he seems happy otherwise

So question
- yes I should separate him from the others and bring him inside ??
- stop feeding him his food and follow your instructions with olive oil eggs etc ??? He has 10 days of the medicine

I think the medicine will help. The crop may be swelling some from "gases".
Yes, I would still separate him and bring him inside. Since he is eating hay, I would avoid that and put him on towels or something similar.
I would give him access to a little grit and only feed him "wet foods" you could make a mash out of his crumbles. Wet the crumbles with warm water and put it in a little dish for him.
The idea is to get the crop moving, so a small piece of bread or two soaked in olive oil wouldn't hurt. I would avoid any treats , sunflower seeds, fruits, veggies(these are much harder to digest) at this time and just let him have wet feed. You can add probiotics to the water or offer him a little yogurt as well (that can be mixed with his crumbles too).
Then you may want to determine why he is eating so much hay. I am assuming he has access to as much food as he wants. Do you still have lighting inside the coop 24/7? He may be eating continuously and is turning to hay because of boredom? You may have to rethink the bedding in order to avoid it happening again.
Just my opinion, hope he gets better soon

Please keep us updated.

 

[gabz44]

@Wyorp Rock thank you -- you are sooo knowledgable. Thank you for your help will do all tomorrow

 

[gabz44]

@Wyorp Rock and no lamp at all during the day and only only nights that are cold. But he and the other silkies won't walk down to the run I think they are afraid of climbing so they may be bored in the coop all day. Although I do take them out to play but my other chickens (Easter Egger and buff orphingtons) go up and down all day.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Wyorp Rock and no lamp at all during the day and only only nights that are cold. But he and the other silkies won't walk down to the run I think they are afraid of climbing so they may be bored in the coop all day. Although I do take them out to play but my other chickens (Easter Egger and buff orphingtons) go up and down all day.

You are welcome

It's possible the ramp may be too steep for the Silkies. Larger fowl like EE and BO don't seem to have as much trouble with ramps.
You could try putting the end of the ramp up on some blocks or something similar to reduce the angle. More cleats - those little pieces of wood that helps them go up - might help, spaced 3"-4" apart. Also if the ramp is fairly narrow, a wider board with less of an angle and more cleats might do the trick as well.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1075154/coop-ramp
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1053830/teaching-chickens-to-use-their-ramp-tricks/20

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is he doing?

 

[gabz44]

@Wyorp Rock
I took him inside feed him bread in olive oil and mashed his food in water etc - no difference first day but yesterday morning he woke up and his crop was way smaller. My husbands allergies are horrible with him in the house and my garage is oddly drafty and cold so I had to put him outside . Before bed last night his crop was smaller but harder- felt like sand inside like as if you press it and it stays pressed in. I'm wondering if he's eating sand in the run??? He was definitely eating hay before because he threw up hay a few days ago so I removed all the hay. Is it possibly this rooster eats anything he can?? I'm about to go outside and check on him. Fingers crossed he's better today ...