Bad case of sour crop - please help

[N8Yoder]

3 weeks ago we had a buff who we thought had worms, potentially mites and sour crop all at the same time. We brought Mello Yellow inside and put her in our "hospital". It's a small cardboard box with pine shavings. We withheld both food and water for 12 hours. Her crop was flat but a bit squishy.

The next day we started her on ACV with water and after another 12 hours we added yogurt. She was on a yogurt diet for 2 days. She got tired of yogurt but seemed to be doing better. We put her back outside at this time with the rest of the flock and she did well for several days.

We wormed our flock 10 days ago with Valbezen due to the fact that one of our other girls had worms. I was told to give one dose immediately and then a 2nd dose 10 days later (today). We put all the chickens on a butter milk drench for 4 or 5 days to help build up the good bacteria. During this time she perked up and was much more of an active participant in the flock (she's our lead bird). During this entire time she had pretty solid stools but still appeared to be losing weight.

We brought Mellow Yellow back into the house and started her on an antibiotic (tylosin water) 5 days after the first dose of Valbezen because she also had respiratory issues. Since we also thought she might have mites we coated her legs with vaseline. We put Mello back out into the pen. After 4 days we removed the medicated water in the coop and replaced the water with ACV water. The rest of the birds have done fine but Mello seemed listless and was not with the flock today.

I am holding off giving the 2nd dose of Valbezine as I am concerned that the first treatment followed by antibiotic water and initial dose of Valbenzen may have been too much for her system.

Today we noticed that her rear end was completely covered in dark brown/black feces. She is no longer having solid stools and her feces are almost complete water. She also stinks from both ends. We bathed her which she likes and thoroughly cleaned her rear feathers. She preened some after her bath.

Tonight she was staying away from the flock and I could tell she was again not feeling well so I brought her back inside to our hospital again inside the house. I am providing ACV water and clean bedding but that is all. I am attaching pics.

Sorry for the long post - How do we fight off a sour crop that is starting to thicken her crop walls (if that is even possible)? Is there anything we can do to stop this?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

3 weeks ago we had a buff who we thought had worms, potentially mites and sour crop all at the same time.

We put all the chickens on a butter milk drench for 4 or 5 days to help build up the good bacteria. During this time she perked up and was much more of an active participant in the flock (she's our lead bird). During this entire time she had pretty solid stools but still appeared to be losing weight.

We brought Mellow Yellow back into the house and started her on an antibiotic (tylosin water) 5 days after the first dose of Valbezen because she also had respiratory issues. Since we also thought she might have mites we coated her legs with vaseline.

The rest of the birds have done fine but Mello seemed listless and was not with the flock today.

Today we noticed that her rear end was completely covered in dark brown/black feces. She is no longer having solid stools and her feces are almost complete water. She also stinks from both ends.

How old is she?
When did she last lay an egg?
You mention that she was having respiratory issues - symptoms? Coughing, sneezing, mucous, watery eyes? You gave her Tylosin - was that powder or the injectable?
Has she been eating any of her normal feed at all?

I don't see anything that would indicate Scaly Leg Mites on the legs. Have you checked the rest of her body for lice and poultry mites?

If you think she has sour crop, then I would follow one the treatments outlined in either one of these articles linked below.
If you think she has worms, then I would finish the course of treatment for the Valbazen.

Crop issue are often a symptom of an underlying condition - worms, coccidiosis, reproductive issues and infection.
I would feel the abdomen for any bloat/swelling or feeling of fluid. It's hard to see her comb in the photos, but it looks like she is quite pale, so I'm going to assume she is not laying eggs?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

 

[N8Yoder]

How old is she?
When did she last lay an egg?
You mention that she was having respiratory issues - symptoms? Coughing, sneezing, mucous, watery eyes? You gave her Tylosin - was that powder or the injectable?
Has she been eating any of her normal feed at all?

I don't see anything that would indicate Scaly Leg Mites on the legs. Have you checked the rest of her body for lice and poultry mites?

If you think she has sour crop, then I would follow one the treatments outlined in either one of these articles linked below.
If you think she has worms, then I would finish the course of treatment for the Valbazen.

Crop issue are often a symptom of an underlying condition - worms, coccidiosis, reproductive issues and infection.
I would feel the abdomen for any bloat/swelling or feeling of fluid. It's hard to see her comb in the photos, but it looks like she is quite pale, so I'm going to assume she is not laying eggs?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

Thank you so much for your reply. It's much appreciated. I will answer your questions below.

We give all our chickens their normal food and then some spinach as a treat in the AM. We also provide them scratch and meal worms each day. She loved to eat the spinach but stayed away from the dry food. She did eat a bit of a drench I prepared for the flock previously but prefers the spinach and lettuce.

Her comb is very pale as is her waddle. Even her legs appear to be pale. She has white spots on her comb and waddle. She hasnt laid (as far as we know in 3 weeks). She wasn't egg bound (that we could tell) She hasnt had fluid or swelling in her belly. We checked her for that again last night. Thank you for thinking of that.

We have given her the Tylosin powder in water and she, and our other chickens, had access to it for 4 days.

As mentioned previously - we kept her inside overnight. While weak, she was standing up this morning and drinking ACV water when we pulled the cover off the top of her cage. Her crop was flat this morning after feeling doughy and gassy last night and she clucked at me a couple of times. When we put her out in the yard to poop she pecked at the grass but didnt scratch but did look for bugs so I think she may be hungry. She also didnt poop outside and we brought her back in to the hospital area. She must only weigh 2 - 3 pounds now. Her breast bone sticks out dramatically but you can not tell that from the pics.

We administered the 2nd dose of Valbazen this morning. We also provided her with a yogurt and water drench over her normal food. Thus far she shows no interest. She appears to have white marks/dots on her comb.

I have read the articles you recommended. They were helpful and I appreciate you recommending them. If she improves over the next 3 - 5 days I would like to know if I can put her back outside and then put the entire flock on a butter milk drench with their food in a large flat tin feed bowl. Thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We give all our chickens their normal food and then some spinach as a treat in the AM. We also provide them scratch and meal worms each day.

She hasnt laid (as far as we know in 3 weeks). She wasn't egg bound (that we could tell) She hasnt had fluid or swelling in her belly.

I would cut out the spinach and just offer her a wet mash of feed.
Since she is losing weight, she may be laying internally or have some other reproductive disorder like cancer, tumors or Egg Yolk Peritonitis. Crop issues are often a symptom of something else going on.
What exactly is the buttermilk drench? Buttermilk with a little white rice can help if a hen has diarrhea and as far as I know a little buttermilk will not hurt anything. Normal feed and water should be supplied at all times.

 

[cottagecheese]

After carefully reading your first post, it was obvious that her immediate problem is a systemic fungal infection: sour crop and vent gleet together. But in your second post, you say that her crop was flat this morning, good for her, Mellow Yellow is a fighter! The yeast was encouraged by the antibiotic I'll explain what to do about the vent gleet (the fungus = yeast = Candida) in a moment, but let's try to understand why her immune system is failing. Back to first post, you mention she perked up after the de-wormer, so that probably helped. Did the antibiotic get rid of the respiratory infection? In your second post, you mention TWICE the white spots. Could you post a picture (close-up) of her head? Did these white dots appear overnight and were not there yesterday, because they appear in the second post for the first time. As far as I know, white spots mean fowl pox or favus.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/fowl-pox
https://thepoultrysite.com/disease-guide/favus

You didn't mention her age... A lot of times, something goes wrong with the egg laying apparatus and they slowly decline. Could be something like that...What started the sour crop three weeks ago?

To summarize: She's easy prey to lots of pathogens who want to mess with her, respiratory, fowl pox or favus. The vent gleet is because of the antibiotic imo. Something sinister could be happening in the background. But she is a real fighter and miracles can happen all the time, especially if we allow them to. The feed covers macronutrients and micronutrients well, but in terms of phytonutrients there is nothing there 'to write home about'. Mello wants to live and knows what's good for her better than anyone else. Spinach contains beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, flavonoids galore and an impressive list of other goodies. It's true that it has rather high oxalic acid but that shouldn't be of concern right now since she's not laying.

https://draxe.com/spinach-nutrition/

Lettuce - very good for her too, you get the picture.

What I recommend: Menu- fresh veggies available, whatever she wants, no fruits right now because of the yeast, boiled egg, plain yogurt with live cultures, feed in moderation and only if the sour crop is gone for good. Cleaning the vent area daily and applying miconazole locally, inside and around the vent. I don't have first hand experience with fowl pox, but being viral, it's a 'wait it out' thing. Favus is fungal so miconazole locally too. Waiting on the pics so people more familiar with fowl pox or favus can opine.

 

[cottagecheese]

Didn't want to let me edit the darn' thing, but I finally got it under control. Sorry.

 

[N8Yoder]

Didn't want to let me edit the darn' thing, but I finally got it under control. Sorry.

Thank you very much!

 

[N8Yoder]

I would cut out the spinach and just offer her a wet mash of feed.
Since she is losing weight, she may be laying internally or have some other reproductive disorder like cancer, tumors or Egg Yolk Peritonitis. Crop issues are often a symptom of something else going on.
What exactly is the buttermilk drench? Buttermilk with a little white rice can help if a hen has diarrhea and as far as I know a little buttermilk will not hurt anything. Normal feed and water should be supplied at all times.

My apologies for not responding sooner - the buttermilk drench we used was buttermilk applied directly to their normal food in the hopes of providing some good probiotics.

 

[N8Yoder]

Hi All - quick update. The cause of the sour crop is the fact that she has laid two eggs internally. One normal sized egg and another peanut shaped egg. The vet suggested operating for $400. I cant see spending that at this time. I have heard that giving an internal laying hen oil and calcium may work. Thoughts on that?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi All - quick update. The cause of the sour crop is the fact that she has laid two eggs internally. One normal sized egg and another peanut shaped egg. The vet suggested operating for $400. I cant see spending that at this time. I have heard that giving an internal laying hen oil and calcium may work. Thoughts on that?

I'm glad you were able to seek vet care. Did they perform an x-ray? Do you happen to have an image of that you wish to share so we can all learn from it?

Can you clarify what you mean by the oil and calcium - those might work?

If she is "Internally Laying" - this means that fully and/or partially formed egg(s) have dropped into the abdominal cavity. Once in the abdominal cavity they cannot come out unless surgery is performed - that is pricey as you found out and it's very risky as well. Some hens can recover well from surgery, but in order to keep that from happening again (laying internally), you would also want to stop her from ovulating (producing eggs) - this can be accomplished with Suprelorin Implants - the vet would adminster this every 3-4months or you could have the ovaries removed - major surgery.

A lot of times it's hard to know - there is also Salpingitis which an inflammation of the oviduct - this produces "lash eggs" this is a layered coagulated caseous ball of pus that is a lot of times shaped like an egg -these can be laid like a normal egg (through the oviduct) or sometimes these will reach the abdomen by reverse peristalsis of the oviduct - the same way hard/soft shelled eggs reach the abdomen.
Either way - eggs in the abdomen - not much can be done but to keep them comfortable or have surgery. Antibiotics may help with any secondary infection and prolong life.

If you happen to lose her, having a necropsy to see exactly what is in there would be a good idea - it can be educational. I know that sounds morbid to some, but I've found that by actually seeing it, gives closure, helps you to know there was nothing more that could be done and it's surprisingly interesting.