How long does it take to empty crop?

tulie13

Songster
10 Years
Feb 12, 2009
641
12
143
NW Florida
I've been posting about my poor chickie with the crop that keeps filling up, looks like sour or impacted, then she seems to "recover" and then it fills up again, etc. What I need to know is how to best try to get some nutrition/calories down her.

I tried feeding her about every 2 hours yesterday, some bread with olive oil. Not much, about a teaspoon each time. After the third feeding I left the house for a couple of hours. When I got back, her crop was all blown up like a water balloon and she was puking water/liquid. My question is this - if she successfully eats some bread with olive oil, how long should it take for this to go from her crop into her stomach so she can actually digest it? I would think I should wait at least this long before feeding her another small meal, correct?

When her crop has blown up, I don't give her any food until it goes down, which is usually 6-8 hours or overnight.

She's up and relatively perky right now, and I fed her about an hour ago, small amount of bread crumbs/olive oil. She snarfed it up. I don't want to "overfeed" her with her crop problems, just as many small meals as her crop can handle to get food into her stomach. THANKS for any advice on this!
 
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Does your chick hold her head back kinda and open her beak somewhat? I am having some problems with one of my chicks that has a big bump on her crop, puffy like. seems to have gone down since last night but I am so worried about her, don't know anything I should do. I hope your little chickie will be ok!
 
I am seeing a lot of crop problems in here, wonder why this keeps happening with so many. I have to wonder if it isnt the chick food or layer pellets that isnt healthy enough for them. People say dog food is healthy until they see their dog end up with allergies and health issues. I just have to wonder.
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Lots of threads on full crops, some do the oil thing, one said give vit e and vit b, some end up doing home surgery or take them to the vet for surgery. Good luck.
 
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Thanks alot! Was that a vitamin E pill that you cut open and squeeze some in chicks mouth, about what kind of B and how on earth would you do a surgery on your chick? Thankyou again, I'm just keeping a close eye on the little sweety.
 
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Does your chick hold her head back kinda and open her beak somewhat? I am having some problems with one of my chicks that has a big bump on her crop, puffy like. seems to have gone down since last night but I am so worried about her, don't know anything I should do. I hope your little chickie will be ok!

Mostly she just sits puffed up and miserable, and sometimes falls over forward. When she lands on her chest, she pukes up some liquid. That's when her crop is bubbled up full of liquid, which seems to happen once a day these days. Then it eventually goes down, and we start over the next day. Look around on here for posts on "sour crop" and try some of the cures they mention, first and mildest being adding a little Apple Cider Vinegar to her water.

She's just so weak now, but she keeps "fooling me" and bouncing back when I think she's on the brink of death. I think if she survives this ordeal, I have several potential names for her - Pukey, Barfy, Jester, Phoenix (rising again?) She's just so sweet, I hope she makes it.

I just realized that with what I had tried to feed her previously including yogurt and chick starter, and her crop blowing up again, I had moved away from everything except bread with olive oil. It has been several days since she has had any PROTEIN!!!
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I just boiled some eggs and gave her some yolk. She picked at it a little bit...
 
i believe they said they just let it drip on the beak and they get it that way, not sure on the b vitamins as i think its a hard pill and not liquid like the vit e is.
 
we had americauna hen, vet showed us how to empty crop twice a day - she felt so much better!
turn upside down and massage stuff out, let her come up for air and do it again till its cleaned out, offer only cooled cooked oatmeal and water with electolytes so she doesnt dehydrate (a bit of mosassis or molassis based horse vitamin, even liquid baby vitamin, nutri drench should help in a few days)
 
I just read not to use the apple cider vinegar in their water with a sour crop, to use 1 tbsp. baking soda to 1 gallon water, but that is just what I read, I am dealing with a hen with a sour crop as well so reading as much as possible on solutions to this
 

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