Chicken is still suffering from sour crop after more than a week of home remedies

[DeeZ4]

Not much improvement in the crop this morning even though she had pretty big poop overnight. Poop is still watery with little black pebbles.

She woke up hungry and poked around but found very little that appealed to her. Tried some new food that was suggested like chopped soft boiled egg and crumbled mealworms. First one was a nope but the crumbled worms worked. I also chopped up some lentil sprouts and got her to eat some of that.

Don't know how she's surviving on so little nourishment.

Will definitely try the tomato juice if she's not better after the Miconazole.

Thank you everyone for your help! We're not giving up...

 

[DeeZ4]

Update on Moxie: Finally finished with the Miconazole! Her crop is almost completely empty, there is just a very small amount of the squishy stuff left in the bottom.

She's pooping more and the last few days and it's become firmer which is encouraging.

She's eating a little more feed but she mostly likes the chopped lentil sprouts, cilantro, parsley, kale, etc.

Unfortunately, her breath still smells sour. Not near as strong as it was but it's still there.

Will this last little bit resolve itself or should I try another remedy?

As much as I hate to keep forcing things down the poor girl's throat, I can try tomato juice as suggested in the last post. Is it okay to use low sodium? I can't seem to find sodium free. I guess I could make it myself if necessary.

As usual, any and all suggestions and/or advice is welcome.

Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Update on Moxie: Finally finished with the Miconazole! Her crop is almost completely empty, there is just a very small amount of the squishy stuff left in the bottom.

She's pooping more and the last few days and it's become firmer which is encouraging.

She's eating a little more feed but she mostly likes the chopped lentil sprouts, cilantro, parsley, kale, etc.

Unfortunately, her breath still smells sour. Not near as strong as it was but it's still there.

Will this last little bit resolve itself or should I try another remedy?

As much as I hate to keep forcing things down the poor girl's throat, I can try tomato juice as suggested in the last post. Is it okay to use low sodium? I can't seem to find sodium free. I guess I could make it myself if necessary.

As usual, any and all suggestions and/or advice is welcome.

Thank you!

Yes, I would try the tomato juice, especially if her breath still smells sour. Low sodium should be fine.

Do provide her with grit (crushed granite) if you giving her all those weedy type things. Try to encourage her to eat her normal feed.

 

[hayley3]

i don't know if anyone has mentioned this but you could try holding her upside-down and pressing on her crop to get her to throw up all of the clear liquid in her crop but I would only recommend this as a very much a last result as it is very easy for her to become aspirated and die

I killed a hen that way and I was very careful.

 

[DeeZ4]

Yes, I would try the tomato juice, especially if her breath still smells sour. Low sodium should be fine.

Do provide her with grit (crushed granite) if you giving her all those weedy type things. Try to encourage her to eat her normal feed.

Ok, I'm going to give her the day off and tomorrow I'll give that a try. I got her to eat a couple bites of a tomato but that's it.

nel is covered in a good layer of course sand. I sprinkle bits of food and stuff on it to get her forage. I also keep a small tray of crushed oyster shell in the pen.

I've been trying so many things to get her to eat feed. She used to love softened feed when she was moulting but not now. I've tried softened plain, softened with yogurt, softened with a drizzle of molasses, softened sprinkled with crushed mealworms, softened with milk, etc.

This might sound weird, but my girls love dried finely crushed flowers/leaves. I use a combination of catnip, mint, chamomile, lavender, rose petals, and calendula and after I clean their pen I sprinkle some (not much, just a little) around on the ground and they go nuts for it. With that said...about the only way I can get her to eat some feed is to do a very light sprinkle of this mixture on her feed. I also sprinkle a bit on the sand.

Appreciate the advice...

 

[DeeZ4]

Ok, I'm going to give her the day off and tomorrow I'll give that a try. I got her to eat a couple bites of a tomato but that's it.

nel is covered in a good layer of course sand. I sprinkle bits of food and stuff on it to get her forage. I also keep a small tray of crushed oyster shell in the pen.

I've been trying so many things to get her to eat feed. She used to love softened feed when she was moulting but not now. I've tried softened plain, softened with yogurt, softened with a drizzle of molasses, softened sprinkled with crushed mealworms, softened with milk, etc.

This might sound weird, but my girls love dried finely crushed flowers/leaves. I use a combination of catnip, mint, chamomile, lavender, rose petals, and calendula and after I clean their pen I sprinkle some (not much, just a little) around on the ground and they go nuts for it. With that said...about the only way I can get her to eat some feed is to do a very light sprinkle of this mixture on her feed. I also sprinkle a bit on the sand.

Appreciate the advice...

Tomato Juice seems to be doing the trick. And she drinks it herself!

This morning the sour breath was barely detectable.

If the it goes completely away would it be okay to put her back outside with the other girls?

 

[DeeZ4]

We are going through this same thing presently. The impaction took a good 3 weeks to fully clear! After no more undigested grass and 3 mornings of empty crop she went gradually back on her feed and outside. Now a week later the sour crop, back in she came, now slowly improving. Like you I've dealt with this before, but every chicken sure is different. Hang in there.

Since it went on so long, we focused on trying to keep her weight up. The soft things that won't feed yeast go thru faster than grains, so no feed (or fruit) til things are moving. Her go-to's were soft boiled egg, yolk especially, dried meal worm crumbs, fine diced cucumber, earthworms from the bait shop. She won't touch yogurt (?). I'd heard not to do acv with active sour crop, better as a preventative. We are on day 4 of miconazole, my first time - always yogurt or kefir worked before.

Still not sure what caused mine? She has been wormed, has laid normally (1.5yrs old), eats poultry grit, does not act seriously ill. The impaction both times was undigested grass. How long til the gut biome recovers? Pretty hard to withhold grass until then, especially when she turns on the sad beak.

Please keep us posted on how Moxie is doing, and if she has found any soft foods irresistible and if her spirits are up.

Sorry, I've been caught up in my own drama that I forgot to ask how your girl is doing. Is she better?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Tomato Juice seems to be doing the trick. And she drinks it herself!

This morning the sour breath was barely detectable.

If the it goes completely away would it be okay to put her back outside with the other girls?

That's great!

If she's able to eat/drink on her own and you feel she's fit, then starting the re-integration process is a good idea.

 

[DeeZ4]

That's great!

If she's able to eat/drink on her own and you feel she's fit, then starting the re-integration process is a good idea.

She's doing pretty well eating and drinking now and I think she's REALLY ready to leave the kennel.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[chickens4pet]

She's doing pretty well eating and drinking now and I think she's REALLY ready to leave the kennel.

Thanks again for the help!

Wow! That is such great news! It sure can feel sometimes like it will never end. But it did! So happy for you.

Mine is doing ok, still feel like I haven't gotten to the root cause. WyorpRock's list was helpful. Question: is there a worm that Valbazen will not kill?

She eats chick grit (tiny) by the beakful, like she is trying to fix something. (She eats a normal amount of poultry grit.) Sometimes is tentative with her food (hesitates, eats less). Her poop is watery, kind of mucousy sometimes, and all over the map.

Anyway, I keep a close eye on her so if her crop issues recur we can catch them early.

Glad Moxie is out of the woods, and hope she keeps it up!