Sick Chicken, sour crop?

[VTChicky]

We've got a sick 1.5 year old RIR. She's not eating anything, but she's drinking a lot of water. Her crop is full in the morning, very balloon like, so I at first thought sour crop and made her "vomit" yesterday. I didn't notice a bad smell or anything. She also is having some pretty yuck,runny poops, yellowish/white and watery. She seems to be alert and will respond to me, just very lethargic and thirsty.

Should I keep emptying her crop and giving her fresh, treated water? She's got some soft foods available and I treated the water for Cocci just as a precaution. I have electrolytes on hand as well as probiotics just in case. Not really sure what to do here, its our first fairly sick chicken. The rest of the flock seems totally fine, but I did treat their water just in case. Anyone experience this or have some tips?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. I would not make her vomit again because she could choke to death. Some hens may have something else going on where their crop may not empty normally. But she might be developing sour crop, and it might not be advanced where her crop contents smell bad. The only hens I have seen with crop problems had reprodctive problems that caused pressure on the organs leading to the crop or gizzard not working. I have also seen some puffy or boggy crops in broody hens who were not eating well.

Here are some good articles written by two people who are well respected:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

 

[VTChicky]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, she ended up passing in the night. It was very fast, she only started showing symptoms on Sunday evening. We're going to probably get a necropsy so we can make sure the rest of the flock is safe.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. The necropsy would be best, so keep the body cold. It can be driven in to the state vets office today through Friday, or it needs to be shipped overnight via Fedex or UPS to arrive M-F with a shipping label that the state vet has sent you.

You can also open the abdomen and remove the organs to look for a cause of death yourself. Those are not very conclusive, but some obvious illnesses may be easy to spot. Take pictures of the organs if you do that, and post them here.