Baby chick with Sour crop?

[Me&Chooks]

Hi everyone, hope your having a nice day/evening.

I'm posting this thread for some advice on what to do with my one my little chicks who we hatched in a incubator.
She is around 3-4 weeks old, I'm just presuming she is a she also! Anyway she's always been slightly quieter than the rest but still jumps around chirping like they do. Yesterday however she was very quiet and closing her eyes a lot and taken less interest in everything. By evening she was doing that neck jolt thing what they seem to do when they choke, and sometimes gurgling up water in her mouth. After a quick search on the internet we believe she has sour crop since her crop was VERY swollen by this point but not hard, felt like it was full of water. We read to tip her upside down in small intervals gently squeezing her crop to bring up her crop contents. We did this and after bringing up some yellow liquid, she suddenly started chirping loudly and I believe she hadn't made any noises previously that day.

Setting her back in the brooder she quietly talked to herself constantly, I believe it's the noise they make to a Mother Hen when they want to go under her. After a few hours she perked up, able to stand without wobbling and drinking by herself. She survived the night but however her crop still feels very full of water yet she is acting like normal today. We haven't fed her anything today in case it worsens her crop condition.

So my question is what should we do now? Should we make her be sick more in order to bring up more? Or is it too risky to do it more and leave her? And should we let her feed?

Thanks for your time!

EDIT/ Also thought I should add, she is asking for food this morning despite her full crop, We separated from the others while they ate and then removed the food and put her back in, she went round picking up any crumbs she could find.

 

[Nicole01]

The choking motion they make is when they are ill.

Poly vi sol vitamins and probiotics(probios) would really help your chick. I may or may not give antibiotics. I knew mine had brooder pnemounia, so I treated the whole flock with everything, including amoxicillian. I keep all 3 alway on hand for emergencies.

For sour crop, it's when their crop doesn't empty in the morning. I had one chick actually get sour crop and as an adult, she just had it again. Luckily she didn't have it long before I noticed. Usually with sour crop, they are acting normal. I still treated with antibiotics, probios and a little apple cider vinegar in water. Be very careful if you make them throw up, they can very easily aspirate if you don't do it right.

Poly vi sol without iron works wonders in baby chicks.

Good luck.

 

[Me&Chooks]

Thanks for your reply Nicole.

I see, she certainly looked ill when she made the choking motion last night.

I'm afraid I don't have any Poly vi sol vitamins or probiotics on hand at this time and I doubt where we live we will even be able to go out and get any since we are currently on a semi-Closed road for 2 weeks..Looks like something I will have to order online.

I'm glad your girl managed to get over her sour crop! I do believe I have apple cider vinegar so I will go put some in their water now, thanks! I will also not make her throw up for now, especially since she seems quite well, last night however I think she was slowly choking.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Nicole01]

Probiotics are so much cheaper at the store then online, the probios. It's a wonderful product and I give the vitamins and probiotics to all my chicks the first 3 months. The vitamins are sold at many stores. I buy mine at Walmart, it's the cheapest there.

I'm a stickler when it comes to nutrition with all of us. I go as far as sprouting alfalfa, beans, and sunflower during the snowy winter months, so my hens have the extra vitamins. My girls do look great, my neighbor across the street has s flock and she always comments how different my hens look then hers.

My one year old, I did make her throw up, but not when she was a baby. Olive oil in small amounts works as well for impacted and sour crop. I'm assuming she will be prone to this condition. When my hen was growing up, she'd always throw up. It was strange, but I thought nothing of it since she acted fine.

If your giving treats, hold off until they are a little older. That will help from things lodging in their crops. I gave mine grit and sand to eat as well.

I keep on hand the vitamins, probios(in freezer) and antibiotics with a few other emergency items. The antibiotics I use are fish mox and fish flex which both are human grade antibiotics. I found that out when I opened the bottle and it was the same exact pill I was given for strep.

 

[Me&Chooks]

We are going to the local chemist this afternoon to see what we can get, unfortunately we don't have Walmart here.. Or much else at that.

That's a really good idea with sunflower seeds in winter months, used to feed them to my old ex battery hens, used to love them

Strangely I also have a hen that sometimes throws up, bought her as a pullet she is a very sickly hen that we technically got as freebie since the man miscounted how many hens we bought, she is often ill on wet and cold days yet normal on sunny days, occasionally I see her throw up some clear liquid that she then tries to eat, bit odd. However she has been fine for a weeks now, even laying a couple of eggs.

No treats have been given to them this past week yet, will be sure to hold them off now! They are currently just on chick crumbs, but the sour crop chick we are giving some small amounts of yoghurts since she is going crazy in the brooder looking for food. We are put a few drops of apple cider vinegar in their water, she had quite a few gulps of that!

Interesting, I will have to stock up on these, especially as right at this moment we have a bunch of new chicks hatching in the incubator! Raising chicks seems much simpler when you leave it to a mother hen, this our first batch of chicks from an incubator since are broodies are not consistent in sitting if the weather is hot.

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

Could she be eating the shavings? If that is possible then try putting her on paper towels for a bit.

Krill Oil or Fish Oil works well for sour crop. You can cut open a capsule and soak it on a piece of bread or on warm scrambled eggs (since she wants to eat). If she won't eat it you can gently syringe it into her beak. Try gently massaging the crop afterwards. Do this a couple times a day until she is better.

Keep giving the Apple Cider Vinegar (organic w/ mother if possible). 1 tablespoon per gallon of water. It is good to always use ACV- even for healthy birds.

Offer grit for chicks- it will help her break down the food. Keep up the yogurt- that will also help.

Good Luck!


Trish

 

[Me&Chooks]

We actually don't have our chicks on shavings, just newspaper that we change regularly, so luckily it's not that. But now that you mention it, the chicks have been going outside in their little runs since the weather has been so hot, perhaps she has eaten something large outside that has obstructed her crop?

Alright thanks! My brother actually takes them everyday with his breakfast, shall have to ask for one!
Currently massaging her crop frequently as well, it is still very swollen and just feels like it's full of water, poor girl.

Will go get the grit bag now..We use oyster shell grit, I was always worried about giving it to the chicks at this age since the pieces can be quite large? I will just make sure to pick out the small pieces now!

Thank you!

 

[Amb3r]

I have a 2 month old chick (Pintu), which I rescued. He is very pampered being the only bird in the house. Last Saturday, he developed a sour crop like condition. The morning I had fed him and locked him up so I could go to the University. When I came back, I noticed a problem with his gait and he wasn't acting his self. I was very depressed, and he wasn't given the shots, so I thought he's got some flu. Browsing for gait issues in BYC threw a lot of pages about some disease. I was cross with the big JC, haha. The next day, i.e, the Sunday, the bird was in a very bad situation, and I felt her crop and it was full and soft, so I assumed that he had developed a Sour Crop, thanks to BYC forum again, I should'nt have known other wise. I went to the Church and when I came back, I used a small squirt bottle and filled it with sunflower oil and squirted the oil into her throat area and I held the bird upside down and massaging the crop, it didn't do any good, she did vomit a dark liquid, but I was traumatized mentally doing that. The crop was now hard, it was more like an impacted crop. I prayed again and went to bed angry and upset. Monday came, the bird was definitely on death bed. However, my Dad, old schooled as he is, fed the bird with crushed beetal leaves, papaya leaves, and onion. They supposedly help with the indigestion, my Dad wouldn't agree with the oil. Now the crop was not gushy as it was before, so after everyone retired to bed, I took a squirt bottle, filled it with Coconut oil this time, and squirted the oil (1 tbsp) into the throat area of the lil' bird holding the beak open. I massaged the crop, said a small prayer, and placed him in his coop. You wouldn't believe, I got up the next day (Tuesday) ran to the coop and my father had already opened his coop for him to forage, no more impacted crop!! Hallelujah!! Every time I see him he fills me with Joy! I hope your lil' one pulls through and make you happy like me! XOXO

 

[Me&Chooks]

Wow that is an amazing story! I'm really glad your little one pulled through!
I shall have to try what you said you did I think, for I've just been down and see my poor girl doing the choking motion again and her crop has enlarged again ):

 

[Amb3r]

My Guy did poo, even when having the sour/impacted crop. How about your girl? If the crop is not gushy but solid, try the oil and massage, it really works!! If it is gushy, you should give her some water and make her vomit by inverting her (It is like washing the crop area!). As for probiotics, you can give her some grains coated with curd, once she gets alright. Warm wishes for both of you!! XOXO