3yo araucana - I guess "sour crop" sounds right???

[aliris]

Sorry - I have chickens but zero idea what to do or even how to diagnosis when things go wrong. And - y'all are so knowledgeable and prolific I'm actualy finding it a little hard to figure out here where to go for this.

Bottom line - I have a lethargic, miserable little araucana. She's usually sprightly, skitish. Won't really let me pick her up. Lays very regularly but now has not in 6 days at least. When I picked her up maybe 4 days ago she smelled bad. In reading here, I see now maybe that's a "thing" - her beak does smell icky too. Yesterday she threw up a little bit on me.

I tried to feel for an egg in the pouch between her legs - sorry not sure the terminology. But I don't really see anything there. I watched a very slim poop release, watery with about equal white and non-white parts. I see y'all literally want pictures! I don't have any at the moment. Her tail isn't down; it's still upward. But she moves very slowly. Hangs out inside her hutch, won't go out much. Definitely not running, not with the others. I tried to give her some mealworms yesterday - an absolute favorite, but she wasn't much interested; the night before I tempted her with some corn on the cob and even that, the favorite food in the world, was shunned. She goes to bed early. She's clearly feeling icky.

I was going to give her an epsom salts soak and came here to look for instructions, but now reading I'm thinking this is actually "sour crop" not eggbound? OTOH probably a nice slippery soak would do anyone good? And yet, I suppose getting wet from which you have to then dry isn't ideal if unnecessary. Perhaps I should just bring her inside, give lots of fresh water and a bit of food available if she wants it and let her sit?

I don't understand what to feel for in her crop. I did notice it was sort of bigger and longer than usual, but I've never quite gotten that, the emptying overnight thing, etc. I will search for more info on that. And also, I guess, what to actually *so* about sour crop because I guess it does sound like that's what she has?

Please steer me better if I'm offtrack? TYVM!!

 

[aliris]

Just found this - https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[aliris]

I'm quite sure I have some miconazole around here. I will try that. Skip the soak. I don't really understand how to get that stuff inside the chicken though. There are likely instructions in here somewhere about that. Should I massage the crop first? Likely yes - even if you get it in the beak it has to get past the crop so helping to free that a little will be a good plan I presume...? Thanks for links, tricks, encouragement...

 

[aliris]

I found some econazole which is apparently pharmacologically similar to miconazole and 10X stronger than mystatin - but it's a cream so not oral. Is miconazole at the store oral? I thought it was a cream too?

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

you squeeze out a little pea size amount of the cream and put it in her beak for her to eat. The cream is what you use if you don't have the suppository (also given orally)

 

[aliris]

So do you think the econazole squeezed into her beak, even though it's also supposed to be topical, would be ok?

 

[aliris]

OK well, nothing like a little more information. I got her, and felt that crop and now I understand what you mean by "gravvely". Ewwww. The amount of stuff that came out - so nasty. And so bad-smelling. I can barely keep from throwing up myself, and that was outside and 20minutes ago. Held her upside down a bit and helped even more of that come out -- there was a lot. She reeks. Then put her in a tile shower with some plain water which she did drink a bit of. Then checked for an egg: none there. Now shes soaking in an epsom bath. These may not be remedies, but she seems to like it. There's bright yellow poop on her butt feathers, so at the least it seems getting that stuff off is helpful? When I returned to the bathroom approx 10minutes after leaving her there the place just reeks too. She's smelly.

So the only question I have now is whether to give the cream-based econozole or go to the store for cream/jell-based miconazole. Neither is considered edible for humans. Both are apparently approx as efficacious topically. Thoughts please? @azygous ?

 

[azygous]

This has all the information you need. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Judging from the horrible smell you describe, it's possible you're dealing with impacted crop. That's treated in two steps described in detail in my article above. ou first treat the impaction, and then you treat the yeast.

Yes, miconazole cream is safe for chickens to consume. Some will even happily eat it off your finger. You cannot cause overdose. You may give more than a pea size amount. I usually don't skimp. I five half an inch to an inch of cream, and you may give it more than twice a day.

 

[aliris]

Thank you @azygous! Do you think econazole cream is ok like miconazole? I think they're similar antifungals - https://www.drugs.com/drug-class/topical-antifungals.html

 

[aliris]

Also, no coconut oil here but I have some shea butter - I think that would work similarly? - googled it and yes, it's edible so I used this.

However, in massaging the crop the chicken vomited again. Less material this time, and less smelly, maybe.

She liked the shea butter!

So with the crop a bit emptier, I let the goo out, then gave her some econazole, which she also liked. She's more perky now. She's got clean water and some yogurt and mash to choose from. She also took a tiny bit of mash.

Plan is to let her be for an hour, then give her more shea butter and try again to just massage the chunks out and into the chicken. I don't think I tried hard enough to keep that goo inside. Round two might hopefully be better.

Open to plan-change suggestions. Thank you, @azygous !