How to treat sour crop and impacted crop and how to know which one you're dealing with

Wow, I have been very lucky. I have not dealt with any crop issues. I have two 8 year old hens, I will watch for any problems.
I thought I was somewhat knowledgeable, but I wasn’t even aware of impacted or sour crop.
Thank you for explaining everything in enough detail that even I could feel confident treating a hen. The pictures are amazing.

Hi this has been so helpful. I have one of my ladies inside with sour crop and I just started her on the nystatin. Just one question, do you keep food to just yogurt and boiled egg for the whole 7 days? I’m worried about withholding feed from my hen as she is severely emaciated already.

Super informative..Great walk through. Saved in my bookmarks for emergency purposes..

THANK YOU!!
Dealing with this issue for the first time today! Happy to find this very helpful article!! Another reason why I love being a part of BYC!!!!

savior of chickens!!!

Thank you! I have a hen that may have impacted crop. You didn't mention what color their poop will be but my hen's poop is YELLOW for whatever reason.
Any way her crop is big and hard so I think it is impacted crop. I will try your suggestions. Initially, I was treating for coccidiosis.

Thank you so much for writing this article. I have used the info in the past, and I just pulled it up again. So glad it is here.

Currently have an ill hen with a possible impacted crop. Very helpful in explaining the differences between Sour and Impacted crops and the common treatments. Thank you!

Thank you for sharing your experience and expertise and taking the time to write this article. I will remember the triaging points and bookmark this article to get the details if/when I need them.

Thank you for posting this great info on treating sour/impacted crop. I will try the yeast medicine next. I’m treating an elderly Cochin hen for severe vitamin E deficiency. As a long time chicken parent, I wanted to add that sometimes sour/ pendulous crop occurs due to vitamin E deficiency. I am retired microbiologist; I learned about this deficiency while working as a research scientist (specifically poultry). When chicks inherit vitamin E deficiency from parent stock they hatch out lethargic, have difficulty learning to drink or eat on their own, and may have seizures due to encephalopathy, or swelling in the brain. Brain damage can occur if not caught; If caught quickly chicks can be treated orally w/ vitamin/probiotic solution for at least 3 weeks, 6 times per day. Many poultry vitamins exist out there for preparation of oral solutions for chicks. It’s a life long issue though. Broccoli and sunflower seeds are great sources of vit E for chickens to be proactive.
For deficient adult hens- one or two vit E capsules (meant for humans) may be cut open and mixed w/2 tbs warm water + 1 tsp olive oil to turn into an oral solution. (max 900IU per daily dose). Administer using oral syringe. For use as suppository, cut 1 capsule open and insert open end into cloaca to release liquid Vit E if hen is unable to swallow due to bloated crop, to encourage absorption through GI tract. Scrambled eggs contain selenium which help w/absorption of vit E, so I also cook up eggs from younger sisters and mix vit E into that meal. Good luck to all keeping those old hens going!

I absolutely love this forum, everyone is so helpful and every day I learn more and more about chickens. Thank you all!!

Thank you so much for this article.
One of mine had been withdrawn, not surprisingly as she was moulting and had lost most of the feathers on her back, but as the feathers were growing back nicely, she started to sit all hunched-up and wouldn't talk to me. There was clearly a problem. Usually she's the feisty one.
I'd not liked to handle her whilst the feathers were forming - I've read that it can be painful for them - so I wasn't sure what to do but when she stopped doing chicken things, I did pick her up and found a hard lump. The article confirmed that this was an impacted crop.
I read the instructions in the article and sat down with chicken in one arm, syringe of oil in the other, realised I hadn't a clue how to get the oil into the chicken and was interrupted by the cat walking in and dripping blood from her rear end! Isn't life just like that! Anyway my partner grabbed the cat and took her out of sight. Fortunately Ginger seemed to like sunflower oil and massage and something moved in the crop. However, we got messy from the runny oil.
I read about solid coconut oil, which I don't have, but the ingredients in my partners anti-cholesterol olive spread seemed ok for chickens and that was much easier to give. I put a dollop on the lid of a yoghurt put and Ginger stuffed her beak into it eagerly, scattering grease all over. I put the next dollop into the inverted rim of the lid, which made a beak-sized trough, and that was much less messy.
I massaged upwards as instructed. I was perturbed that several other articles on the internet said to stroke downwards. I checked on chicken anatomy and stroking downwards seems to me to be dangerous and probably very painful.
After that session the lump was flatter, but still not right, so I put her back in the coop for the night and repeated the olive spread treatment next morning. The crop didn't clear completely but she seemed much brighter so I put her back in the run. She gradually perked up and is now back to her usual feisty, chattery self.
If the article hadn't been there I'm not sure where I'd have got sound advice. Thank you very much for it.

Excellent detail and coverage. Very helpful and empowering. I hope I don't need it, but if I do, I will feel (more) like I know how to treat the poor chicken. thank you so much!

Thank you for this info! Checking on my gal in the morning to see what we’re dealing with here. Her crop felt squishy before bed, but also like there was grass or something in it.
As far as treatment for impacted crop, when you are massaging upwards towards “drain”, does that mean you would be making them vomit? Or what am I expecting to see happen with the massages? Thank you in advance for your help!

I always search to see if you have info when there’s a problem. Your article about a prolapsed vent immediately saved my hen, thank you, again!
I have a 16wk old EE, there is fowl pox going through some of my younger ones and perhaps her. Her comb looks crusty on the edges but no true blisters. She is leaking clear fluid out of her beak to the point her beard is saturated, moving a bit slow, eating but hanging in there. I read it could be sour crop which is what brought me here but I don’t see where you say that is a symptom. I’m stumped. Any ideas? Her crop is super mushy not firm this evening.

Thank you for this invaluable, clear and easy to understand advice. I have been following it for 3 weeks. My hen had; sour crop, an impaction and a pendulous crop all at once. I practiced all your suggestions in order, and this morning ,finally, her crop is 100% empty! It has taken 3 weeks but it has worked. I will continue to monitor her, but because of this page I now understand what I am dealing with. Many thanks.

Thank you so much for this article! Next time you have to address an impacted crop, I would LOVE a video!

This article saved my butt so many times! it's well detailed and easy to understand. I appreciate this article so much, thank you!!!!!!1

very informative, my chickens will love you for it.

Thank you for this article! it was very helpful when one of my hens had impacted crop.