Treating 9 week old chick for sour crop but no change

[SBChickenGal]

I have three chicks that have been outside in the coop for 3 weeks now on a dirt run. They have access to chick starter feed, grit and water. About 2 weeks ago, my gold sex link chick started doing a strange bobbing of her head and had a very full crop of what felt like chick feed and grit. A couple days later, it turned squishy like a firm water balloon and was not empty any morning I checked. Through all of this, she has stayed active, and still wanting to eat and drink normally. She is pooping normally and regularly. After reading every post on here about sour crop, I decided to separate her and treat her with miconazale suppositories. She is on day 6 of the treatment and has only been getting scrambled eggs and plain Greek yogurt for food all week. My concern is that her crop feels the same as it did 6 days ago. We do not have the option to go to a vet, so I'm trying to solve this on my own. My intent is to get the crop to empty overnight, but that does not seem to be happening on the current plan. The other 2 chicks seem fine and their crops empty overnight. Any suggestions?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would not attempt to empty her crop since that could make her choke to death. Instead I would really try to determine that she has sour crop. Does it smell rotten or sour when you gently press on the crop? They can make neck movements like that when they adjust their crops or have something they are trying to get down. Is she still doing that, or is it only occasionally? I have never had a chicken so young and active have a crop problem. I would probably try her back on her usual chicken feed, and perhaps moisten it at first. Do you remove all of the food when they go to roost in the evening, and then check her crop before she eats or drinks in morning? Not every chicken is completely empty in mornings, but keep checking it.

 

[SBChickenGal]

I would not attempt to empty her crop since that could make her choke to death. Instead I would really try to determine that she has sour crop. Does it smell rotten or sour when you gently press on the crop? They can make neck movements like that when they adjust their crops or have something they are trying to get down. Is she still doing that, or is it only occasionally? I have never had a chicken so young and active have a crop problem. I would probably try her back on her usual chicken feed, and perhaps moisten it at first. Do you remove all of the food when they go to roost in the evening, and then check her crop before she eats or drinks in morning? Not every chicken is completely empty in mornings, but keep checking it.

She does not have a sour smell coming from her mouth and I've been massaging her crop every day. The only time she was making that neck movement was when the crop was extremely full and hard, about the size of a golf ball. She hasn't been doing the head movement since I took her off her feed. She has zero access to feed and water at night and in the morning before I check her. This past week, her crop has been softer in the morning, but still inflated and squishy.

 

[SBChickenGal]

This is her crop this morning after about 1/2 an egg and some yogurt. Just balloons right up.

 

[SBChickenGal]

I finished the miconazale and let her back with her two coop mates. She has access to water and chick starter feed at all times. There hasn't been any change with her crop, if anything, it's gotten bigger. It still feels like a water balloon with some grit rolling around the bottom. She is pooping normally. Not sure how much she is eating and drinking but her energy is totally normal. What, if anything, should I try next?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC by the way.I’m going to tag @azygous in case she has more advice. She wrote this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[ChickNanny13]

This is her crop this morning after about 1/2 an egg and some yogurt. Just balloons right up.

Her crop "balloons" back up cause she ate.
Sour crop usually has a sour smell (mouth), haven't heard of crop issues in chicks and you have Chick Grit available for them. As @Eggcessive said not all empty out their crop completely overbite. I got a hen that's a Her crop gets full and rarely empties out like the other two. Since yours is active and fine; eating its chick starter, drinking & pooping I wouldn't be overly concerned.

 

[azygous]

When a sour crop fails to improve with treatment, I increase the dosage and frequency. I use the cream since it's more economical and it's easy to increase if needed. You may give up to a teaspoon of miconazole and increase frequency to three times a day instead of just twice a day. It must be given for a full seven days.

For a very young chicken to get sour crop, it's rare. What usually causes sour crop in older chickens is an underlying health issue. But a young chick can get it from eating moldy fruit or picking up mold in the substrate in the run or consuming things found in leaf mold. This source of sour crop can be even worse than a sour crop that is in stasis as mold has a toxic effect on the nervous system. Therefore, please check very carefully for any possible sources of mold exposure.

 

[SBChickenGal]

When a sour crop fails to improve with treatment, I increase the dosage and frequency. I use the cream since it's more economical and it's easy to increase if needed. You may give up to a teaspoon of miconazole and increase frequency to three times a day instead of just twice a day. It must be given for a full seven days.

For a very young chicken to get sour crop, it's rare. What usually causes sour crop in older chickens is an underlying health issue. But a young chick can get it from eating moldy fruit or picking up mold in the substrate in the run or consuming things found in leaf mold. This source of sour crop can be even worse than a sour crop that is in stasis as mold has a toxic effect on the nervous system. Therefore, please check very carefully for any possible sources of mold exposure.

Thank you for the reply and info. My chick continues to have the large balloon-like crop with no improvement. She is still eating, drinking, pooping and acting normally. Her crop is still fluid filled and not emptying overnight. Today, I put my nose right up to her mouth and massaged her crop and still could not smell anything sour.

Could a huge fluid filled crop be something other than a sour crop? The three chicks have been getting nothing moldy and their coop/run is clean and dry. Would it hurt to do the miconazole again and give her 1 tsp three times a day for a week if it isn't sour crop?

 

[azygous]

No, it won't hurt to give her an increased dosage of miconazole to see it it will make a difference. I'm honestly at a loss as to what this could be, other than perhaps a blockage down lower. If that's the case, coconut oil would also help.