Impacted crop, impacted gizard, sour crop.....differences in each?

What are the differing symptoms of each?

What is the timeline progression?

Are these the only three stages?

What are possible cures for each?


I was just reading of these three different stages (I never realized there WERE three stages!). Now I am curious about the answer to the above questions .

crop and gizzard impaction will produce hardened crop, bird will refuse food and look slugish... for crop impaction you can put a bit of oil into the bird, massage the crop and hope whatever blocked the crop will break away and pass through, withhold food during treatment until crop is cleared. Oil and a lot of luck is the only treatment for gizzard impaction.

Sour crop can be the side effect of the first 2 problem, food in the crop starting to ferment and turn sour.... this comes with a ripe smell coming out of the chicken. Withhold pellet/ hard food, feed yoghurt and water, for myself I "rinse" the chicken by pumping water into the crop, hold the bird upside down and squeeze the water out (repeat 3-4 times).

What is the average time frame for treatment for crop impaction? As you mention withholding food during treatment.......how long can a chicken go without food?

You mention feeding yoghurt and water only for treating sour crop. How many days would you do this before offering mash again?

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Treatment duration depends on how bad the blockage is. If caught early, you can get things moving within an hour. If left to ferment, it may take a few days. If the bird is healthy and well fleshed, he can go safely for about one week without food. After that things start to go downhill. Always offer water though.

This may help...
http://sites.google.com/site/moodysbantams/poultry-health-1/crop-impaction

Thanks MoodyChicken.....all very informative.

Quote:
Until the crop is empty, no point in feeding them.

the yoghurt and water, first couple of days then mix with their regular feed.

Thanks nzpouter!

Thank you for detailing the signs and symptoms of an impacted crop! I was trying to figure out why my hen has lost a lot of weight. Since her crop doesn't feel hard or smell sour, then I assume impaction isn't the cause. However, I was wondering how long it should take for a full crop to become empty? I am force feeding her parrot mash (with Nutri-drench) and she sometimes eats a bit of crumbled egg yolk on her own. Her crop is definately getting emptier in between feedings, but I was wondering if it is getting completely emptied...

What should an empty crop feel like? (What size is the organ itself?) I have given her some olive oil and massaged the crop, just to make sure everything is moving smoothly. At it's smallest, her crop has been about the size of a golf ball... only soft and squishy. Is that normal? After a feeding session, it gets filled to about the size of a plumb or tennis ball. We tried to judge by feeling another hen and rooster of the same breed to see how much they naturally filled their crops, after a day of foraging.

How often should a chicken fill their crop in a day? I'm trying to put weight on this hen, because her breatbone is very apparant. She must have been losing her appetite gradually, but never acted noticeably lethargic. Finally, we realized something was wrong when her comb got all limp and fell over to one side of her face. (She has a large comb for a hen because she's a Blue Andalusian.) Are there any other ways to put weight on a sick bird? She's obviously stressed because she pants almost all the time, even though she's been in the house since yesterday.

I'm bumping this one. I've got a chicken with a dense, golf ball sized crop who has been acting sluggish and not eating much.

I have a young Ameraucana that had an extended crop... looked so big. I caught her and massaged the crop... felt soft, so I thought it was ok. I was thinking if it was hard, then that was bad. But a friend told me it was probably sour crop since it was liquidy. I read and read on here last night into the early morning hours. I decided to give her vinegar water and yogurt and oil and massage the crop. I was not going to try to get her to vomit it up because I feared she could drown. Well, I massaged and then I thought I saw something on her neck, so I was pushing the feathers up which just tilted her head downward a bit (she was sitting in my lap) and she started vomiting up liquid. It wasn't a terrible smell... hardly anything solid, just mostly liquids. I gave more oil and yogurt, and massaged, more vomiting. I repeated several times. The last time she did not vomit. I felt what I think is the impacted part in there now. I am not sure... I am just guessing. I massaged it really well, tried to massage in the center of it and press different ways in the hopes of breaking it up. I am going to feed yogurt, applesauce mix for awhile and give vinegar water. Will also give a bit of liquid vitamins on a small piece of bread and see if the crop continues to go down and not get bigger again. I will continue to massage everyday, as often as possible.

Is there anything else I should do? I heard that Nystatin might be helpful?