Sour Crop and Apple Cider Vinegar

[speckledhen]

If it is impacted, it will usually be large and very hard, full of stuff that cannot pass. Sour crop feels like a half filled water balloon to me, sort of gassy. One of mine died, but she had a bit of a pendulous crop most of the time, plus she was in a fierce molt. The other one recovered beautifully with the treatment I described. The one who died was being taken to the house to assess her when she died in our arms.

 

[BarkerChickens]

I am definitely not a vet, but based on the descriptions given, I am voting for sour crop. It is not hard at all and is definitely more like a gassy water balloon. She refused to eat the oil and bread or the yogurt, but she loved the scrambled egg. We'll see how she is in the morning. It is smaller than before, but at this moment it is hard to say how much 'cause she just ate. I am hoping the ACV works.

 

[BarkerChickens]

She still has a gassy and bloated crop! I am sure it is not impacted because it is definitely emptying out for the most part (not 100%, but pretty darn close). Plus she had a solid poop this morning. It was slightly watery, but that is to be expected with her temporary diet right now. It is not getting any bigger and she is still active, but this seems to be taking a bit longer than other forums have reported. I gave her 1/2 a syringe full of ACV water (1/3 ACV, 2/3 water). I am terrified of drowning her, so I put drops on her beak and she would swallow most of what I gave her. It made her really gassy and she still has those nasty silent burps. I massaged a lot of the gas bubbles out as best I could.

Am I doing something wrong or is she just taking her time?

 

[speckledhen]

My girl who recovered took maybe three or four days to get on the upswing. You need to massage the crop a bit daily after she ingests the oil, but it sounds like you are doing okay. Some probably take longer than others. If you have a syringe without a needle, use that to get oil into her. You can even syringe oily yogurt from one of those. I think there is a drug called Reglan someone suggested to me, but I cant remember if it's for sour crops or impacted crops.

 

[Jenski]

There are already great suggestions here for the treatment of two different crop issues, but I would also add that every day the crop stays distended makes it harder for it to return to normal ~ both due to the stretching and to the danger of food poisoning from the fermenting food that does not exit the crop.

My own experience with this last year with an adult Australorp hen was a non-emptying crop that turned out to be caused by a yeast infection that affected her upper GI tract, rather similar to what toddlers can get. The vet suctioned her crop to empty it completely (not fun at all, but it probably saved her from poisoning), then we went on soft foods and 2x/day, 10-day treatment with Nystatin liquid (again, the same antifungal used for toddlers). I am very fortunate to have a good Avian vet nearby!

I am not offering a diagnosis of your hen here, but I hope this information helps. Please keep us posted on how she does.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Jenski, thank you! Her crop is emptying (of food) for the most part and seems to be bloated from the gas produced by the yeast infection. I know food is going through her system because she does have occasional solid stools (most are just watery because she isn't eating much). However, I understand your point and if it does not get better, our vet will see chickens (and all birds, lizards, goats, pigs and probably a horse if someone asked her too), so I can go to her and see about that Nystatin Liquid you mentioned! Dots crop is larger than normal, but far from the size that speckledhen described of one her hens (pendulous crop).

Thank you again! I will definitely keep that in mind and take her into our vet if doesn't improve very soon!

 

[Jenski]

Good luck, BarkerChickens. If you find it was a yeast infection, and you do obtain the Nystatin, you may find it comes in a thick, fruit-flavored liquid. If she won't take the liquid straight, you might add it to some other liquid-based thing she likes. I ended up mixing it into a small amount of oatmeal or liquefied mash to get her to take it.

Keep us posted!

 

[BarkerChickens]

I thought this was so cute (well...considering the circumstances) that I have to share it.

She isn't drinking or eating much (probably uncomfortable for her!), so I have been giving her diluted ACV in the irrigation syringe...a few drips on the beak at a time. After she gets a little, I massage her crop, which gets really gassy with the ACV, then go back to drops, etc. Well...apparently, Dot has realized that the ACV makes her feel better. So, this evening, I gave her a much stronger diluted ACV in the syringe and after each massage, I'd give her a few drops on her beak and she'd tilt her head back and open her beak for me pour more in! I wish treating chickens was always this easy! Hopefully the stronger solution (2/3 ACV, 1/3 water in the syringe) will make her feel much better by morning.

 

[PamW]

I know this thread is several years old, but the information is still relevant so I am writing here hoping to learn more. I have a hen with sour crop and tried the different treatments recommended here and she is improving but still not well 4 days later. Her crop seems to be emptying and not mushy anymore, but there is a hard lump that seems like it could be impacted. It feels like it could be grain from hen scratch. Does anyone know how to treat that?

Also, I wanted to mention that when I made her throw-up, two different times small feathers came up. Others in this thread mentioned that their hens were molting. I wonder if feathers could have been the culprit?

 

[chickens really]

I know this thread is several years old, but the information is still relevant so I am writing here hoping to learn more. I have a hen with sour crop and tried the different treatments recommended here and she is improving but still not well 4 days later. Her crop seems to be emptying and not mushy anymore, but there is a hard lump that seems like it could be impacted. It feels like it could be grain from hen scratch. Does anyone know how to treat that?

Also, I wanted to mention that when I made her throw-up, two different times small feathers came up. Others in this thread mentioned that their hens were molting. I wonder if feathers could have been the culprit?

Best advise is to start your own threads.........

You will get more attention that way.........


Cheers!