Continued Sour Crop

[suzychappstick]

Hi all!
Looking for further recommendations. Noticing the full crop in the morning earlier this week, I separated my chicken (6 month old black maran) from the others to start to treat sour crop. She literally had liquid just come from her mouth. I was able to get a good amount out, being careful not to over do it and give her plenty of breaks so she can breath. Earlier in the week it felt very much like ther was a bunch of grit in her crop. I took food away for 24 hours and water for 12 hours and it was still full, but better. I read one post suggesting coconut oil. She loved that and ate it up. I did that twice one day and massaged crop after. But her crop did not really feel like it had an obstruction. After the 24 hour fasting, I gave her yogurt and hard boiled egg with some baby probiotic drops. Next morning still full crop, gritty. I brought her out to yard, massaged crop, and more liquid, grass, hard boiled eggs and what not came out. I started her micronazole, about 3/4 inch, mixed into 1/2 scrambled and some meal worms. She still has full access to water (with ACV and probiotics in it) at this point. The grittiness has disappeared, just feels more like a full water balloon. I took her out to the yard to massage her crop and nothing came out like the other times. She has been on the micronazole for about 4 days (3/4 inch twice a day mixed into meal worms and wet chicken feed) with a little scrambled egg on the side. How long does it take the micronazole to work, if it is going to? How quickly should her crop go down? Eventually will it just be over night or over time? Am I giving a right dosage of micronazole? How much food and water should I being giving her while working through this? Am I giving her too much, too little? Could a chicken this young get pendulous crop? Should I be doing anything different? Feeding her any other food? Thanks for any suggestions!!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you post some photos of what she looks like standing?

@azygous is great with crop issues, hopefully she will be along soon.
A couple of questions:
Is your pullet pooping?
You mention when you vomited her, there was grass - was there a lot of grass?

 

[azygous]

You have a lot of questions. Perhaps a quick ready of my article on crop disorders will answer some of them. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Sour crop and impacted crop are two different crop disorders and the treatment is also different. However, it's possible for a chicken to have both going on at the same time. When that happens, I treat the impaction first with coconut oil. If the crop doesn't empty, remains full and squishy when checked first thing in the morning, then I treat for sour crop.

You are using an adequate amount of miconazole. I use about an inch of cream, but your dose is also okay. It's very important to give two doses each day, not just a single dose. And the treatment must extend over a full seven day period.

I do not recommend making a chicken vomit. It's way too risky getting even a little sour liquid into the lungs or having a chicken choke and die while you're doing it.

 

[Kiki]

Can you collect some fresh poop and take it to a vet to have it tested for worms and coccdia?

 

[suzychappstick]

Great article @azygous. I won't induce vomiting anymore. It makes me nervous too. The liquid was just kind of coming out when I would massage her crop. Yes, she is pooping. Did a nice one right in front me this morning. I will grab it, in case I can send off for testing. I posted some pics below. Her crop doesn't look too bad in the pics. But it does hang quite low when she bends over to eat. There was just a little grass in her vomit. When I first put her in the cage she did a nice big dry poop. So maybe that was part of an impaction if there was one first. Maybe I just need to give the treatment a little more time to work? She's eating a drinking great. Seems really active. She doesn't really like me massaging her crop, but should I anyhow multiple times a day?

 

[azygous]

For sour crop, no need to massage. In fact, it can be dangerous to do so.

When I have people say their chicken isn't responding to miconazole treatment, especially after it's been going on for four days or more, I suggest the crop bra at night to help the crop to empty.

A pendulous crop prevents the complete emptying of the crop overnight, leaving the contents to keep fermenting and the miconazole is having to do an uphill job, barely keeping up with the yeast growth. A bra gives the crop a chance to dispose of the contents so the miconazole can overrun the yeast. You might want to give it a try.

 

[suzychappstick]

Interesting, I didn't know that about massaging the crop. She doesn't like me touching it, so I'll just leave her be. I'll look into making or buying a crop bra. Thanks for all your help!

 

[Zissura Akadata S]

Am having a sour crop prob with my newly acquired RIR cockerel. He was fine when he arrived, he drank and ate right away.

But he started to eat less the next day and he did not poop yesterday. I know this because I keep him quarantined from his arrival. Took the food out, but provide him with water. He started to poop today... And poop even more starting this afternoon. His tool is somehow very thin, mostly liquid. Is it a good sign that he started to poop?

 

[suzychappstick]

I'm not sure on the consistancy of the stool. I successfully treated our BCM. Azygous posted a great article on sour crop above. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/ Our BCM's crop just was not emptying. So I did another 24hr of withholding food after a couple days of feeding her mealworms, scrambled eggs and Micronazole to treat the yeast infection. I also made sure to get the Micronazole that was 4% vs 2% and gave her an inch morning and night mixed in with mealworms. She ate that right up. I ordered a crop bra, but didn't need it. It resolved itself before it arrived. I also gave freshwater with some apple cider vinegar and probios mixed in. You are sure it is sour crop and not impacted crop?

 

[azygous]

Am having a sour crop prob with my newly acquired RIR cockerel. He was fine when he arrived, he drank and ate right away.

But he started to eat less the next day and he did not poop yesterday. I know this because I keep him quarantined from his arrival. Took the food out, but provide him with water. He started to poop today... And poop even more starting this afternoon. His tool is somehow very thin, mostly liquid. Is it a good sign that he started to poop?

I suggest you read through this short article https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/ and check his crop first thing in the morning. If the crop is full before you give him anything to eat or drink, he may have a crop disorder. Then you can either follow the instructions I give in my article, or start your own thread to ask for further help dealing with this rooster.