Crop issue

[Pookster8]

That’s a great idea, I’ll give her regular crop massages. It makes sense when you look at the anatomy that if a crop is stretched out and the food is hanging lower than the opening it needs to go in, well, it doesn’t go in. Hopefully that helps. I may also try to start soaking the food for everyone and pulling it a few hours before bedtime.

Thanks

 

[lightm]

That’s a great idea, I’ll give her regular crop massages. It makes sense when you look at the anatomy that if a crop is stretched out and the food is hanging lower than the opening it needs to go in, well, it doesn’t go in. Hopefully that helps. I may also try to start soaking the food for everyone and pulling it a few hours before bedtime.

Thanks

Here is something that has been helpful to use. I wrote an article about it: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/another-remedy-for-slow-impact-crop-problems.79871

 

[Pookster8]

thank you lightm! I will definitely give the slippery elm a try. I hadn’t come across this yet in my research, so I appreciate you bringing it to my attention hopefully it helps get things moving a bit

 

[Pookster8]

So it’s been a rough week. Big Bird developed sour crop again, which is getting better as I’ve got her back in the miconazole. But I’m not sure what the underlying problem is. Her crop is still slow. I’d like to deworm her, but none of the vets in my area sell chicken dewormer, and the feed stores only have one kind, that only treats round worms, and I don’t think they have round worms as I’ve been looking closely at a lot of poop lately and haven’t seen any.

She seemed close to dying for a few days, but she’s come back around as the sour crop has cleared. Her comb was starting to get a dark purple in spots, but it’s back to red now. Her belly feels normal. Her poops are small and diarrhea like. Her eyes look normal. She’s often puffed up with her tail low, but is roosting again.

She still isn’t very interested in any food and I am giving her the miconazole and slippery elm with a syringe twice a day. I have been syringing some oil in her as well, and have ACV in her water as always. I think next I’ll try some natural dewormers like garlic, if I can get that in the syringe.

What do you all do for deworming? I’ve never chemically dewormed the ladies..

 

[alinas2010]

So it’s been a rough week. Big Bird developed sour crop again, which is getting better as I’ve got her back in the miconazole. But I’m not sure what the underlying problem is. Her crop is still slow. I’d like to deworm her, but none of the vets in my area sell chicken dewormer, and the feed stores only have one kind, that only treats round worms, and I don’t think they have round worms as I’ve been looking closely at a lot of poop lately and haven’t seen any.

She seemed close to dying for a few days, but she’s come back around as the sour crop has cleared. Her comb was starting to get a dark purple in spots, but it’s back to red now. Her belly feels normal. Her poops are small and diarrhea like. Her eyes look normal. She’s often puffed up with her tail low, but is roosting again.

She still isn’t very interested in any food and I am giving her the miconazole and slippery elm with a syringe twice a day. I have been syringing some oil in her as well, and have ACV in her water as always. I think next I’ll try some natural dewormers like garlic, if I can get that in the syringe.

What do you all do for deworming? I’ve never chemically dewormed the ladies..

I’m so sorry to hear about Big Bird’s decline. If I’m being completely honest with you I haven’t even dewormed my birds because I’ve never seen worms in their droppings. I know some people do anyways seasonally, and I’ve considered it but never have. I do have Valbazen on hand to deworm if I decide to because it’s the quickest and seemingly simplest dewormer to use. I’d have to look up the dosage and whatnot if you’re interested.

How long has it been since she has laid an egg? Unfortunately crop issues do often come with reproductive disorders and sometimes other things such as cancers along the digestive or reproductive tract can cause the issues. Everything is all connected and an issue at one end can sometimes affect the other end, too. I know you said her belly feels okay, so many it isn’t necessarily ascites or a build up of fluid in her abdomen, but has she ever laid wonky eggs?

 

[Pookster8]

I think the last egg she layed was at the beginning of all this, a few days after we discovered her sour crop, although I can’t be sure she didn’t lay one when in with the other ladies, but I don’t think so. And no wonky eggs. I kind of assumed that it’s because she’s been sick and not getting enough bough calories, but you’re right, I could be part of the problem..

We let them all free in the yard yesterday (which we haven’t done since last fall when a bobcat snatched one right in front of us!) and they were stoked. Big bird kept up with everyone and you almost couldn’t tell she was sick. Her crop had a good amount in it after and was mostly gone in the morning. Maybe she knows what she needs- I’ll try and I let them out more. They do have a good sized outdoor run, but unfortunately no vegetation left in there, haha. I feel like all that movement might be good to get things moving also.

Anyways, I’ll do what I can, fingers crossed.

Thank you

 

[alinas2010]

I think the last egg she layed was at the beginning of all this, a few days after we discovered her sour crop, although I can’t be sure she didn’t lay one when in with the other ladies, but I don’t think so. And no wonky eggs. I kind of assumed that it’s because she’s been sick and not getting enough bough calories, but you’re right, I could be part of the problem..

We let them all free in the yard yesterday (which we haven’t done since last fall when a bobcat snatched one right in front of us!) and they were stoked. Big bird kept up with everyone and you almost couldn’t tell she was sick. Her crop had a good amount in it after and was mostly gone in the morning. Maybe she knows what she needs- I’ll try and I let them out more. They do have a good sized outdoor run, but unfortunately no vegetation left in there, haha. I feel like all that movement might be good to get things moving also.

Anyways, I’ll do what I can, fingers crossed.

Thank you

Keep us updated. I hope she improves and turns around. Sometimes these things are up and down. I had a hen go through similar issues for several months with a reproductive infection and crop issues. It was touch and go for a while, but she got a few months of great health and good days still. Hopefully this is not Big Bird’s issue and it’s because she had crop issues that she hasn’t been laying. I hope she just improves I’m glad she got a great day of foraging, sounds like just what the doctor ordered.