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lildarlinshine

lildarlinshine

Chirping
Apr 4, 2024
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Acworth Ga.
My 10 month old Carolina Princess hen had a softball size impaction. Hard as a rock. I followed the info here to get it to soften up a lot but barely nothing is moving out. I gave her coconut oil and she ate it like she had been starving, didn't even have to cut it in chunks. I immediately felt the movement of what seems to be small size matter. Maybe seeds. ( we don't feed seeds but it feels like seeds moving, but we did feed cracked corn to the flock during the coldest of days. My other hens and roo are fine. ) This is the 3rd day. I have her in quarantine, she has a soft boiled egg in the morning and at night, for 2 days now. This morning her crop is squishy and full of liquid and the matter is still soft. I bent her over a bit and a ton of sour liquid came out. ( she wasn't in distress ) I can tell though she is getting weaker. I've tried most everything I can read here. I tried to find how the crop exactly works so I know maybe to do something different. I love Sadie and don't want to lose her. I lost her sibling back in August of last year as a young chick to sour crop. She also has a clear liquid when she poops that is sometimes yellow, and she won't eat this morning, I gave her a soft boiled egg. But the crop feels squishy and not as hard.
 

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Hi! If you can, get candidase. It helps break down matter in chickens crops. It cleared a badly impacted crop in my hen, but I found it too late, she was past the point of return. Also, she may have an underlying infection or worm load, after the crop is cleared you'll need to treat her for a primary issue that's causing the slow crop. On the other hand it could be just that she gorged on straw and there are no other issues.
 
Watching her struggle is incredibly difficult, especially when you're doing your best to support her. It must be heartbreaking.

On a positive note, it may be encouraging if her crop feels softer and squishier now. This could indicate that the impaction is starting to ease. While there may still be some fermentation or blockage, the sour liquid suggests that her food is beginning to decompose. You're doing a fantastic job in helping her progress with the soft-boiled egg and coconut oil.

I understand your concern about her not eating. That’s certainly worrying. Her weakness could be due to dehydration, her body still adjusting from everything that happened with her crop, or a lack of food. Keep offering soft foods."
 
I don’t claim to be a crop problem expert. @azygous has a good article to read:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
She uses the chilled coconut oil pieces to help soften the crop contents, followed by massage. With a sour coup that is soft and squishy, you don’t want to massage that, since it can cause vomiting and choking to death. The miconazole yeast cream or Medistatin/nystatin is good to use.

Offering very liquidy food with maybe just a spoonful of crumbles and egg is goo. Electrolytes in water would be good. Plain Greek yogurt with cultures for probiotics, about a spoonful daily is also good. No whole grains or seeds, or foods that require grit. Do you have grit out for her to take as she needs it? What has she been eating before she was sick? Have you wormed her lately? Does she lay eggs? Is her lower belly enlarged under her vent? Check her crop again each morning before she eats or drinks.

I have always wondered if we should try to irrigate the crop with water and a feeding tube inserted into the crop and pulling it back out to empty it. Again I am not an expert on crops, so I will defer to @azygous or others about that. @casportpony may chime in as well. Some other medications that some use are acidified copper sulfate 1/4 tsp per gallon of water for 5 days, if other remedies don’t work. McMurray Hatchery and others sell it online for about $7.
 
Eggcessive said:
I don’t claim to be a crop problem expert. @azygous has a good article to read:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
She uses the chilled coconut oil pieces to help soften the crop contents, followed by massage. With a sour coup that is soft and squishy, you don’t want to massage that, since it can cause vomiting and choking to death. The miconazole yeast cream or Medistatin/nystatin is good to use.

Offering very liquidy food with maybe just a spoonful of crumbles and egg is goo. Electrolytes in water would be good. Plain Greek yogurt with cultures for probiotics, about a spoonful daily is also good. No whole grains or seeds, or foods that require grit. Do you have grit out for her to take as she needs it? What has she been eating before she was sick? Have you wormed her lately? Does she lay eggs? Is her lower belly enlarged under her vent? Check her crop again each morning before she eats or drinks.

I have always wondered if we should try to irrigate the crop with water and a feeding tube inserted into the crop and pulling it back out to empty it. Again I am not an expert on crops, so I will defer to @azygous or others about that. @casportpony may chime in as well. Some other medications that some use are acidified copper sulfate 1/4 tsp per gallon of water for 5 days, if other remedies don’t work. McMurray Hatchery and others sell it online for about $7.
Click to expand...
I started the miconazole this morning. I fed her just laying crumbles 2X daily and worms for a snack once or twice a week. There was wheat straw during the colder months but its gone now. She ate a mouse about 2.5 weeks ago tho, I tried to get it away from her but she ran and wouldn't stop till she ate it whole I think. I have grit in a separate bowl in her holding pin. She is still laying daily. Her crop is squishy when I rub it but goes back to a hard ball after a couple hours. Its easy to massage tho. She does have a sour smell coming from her mouth as of this morning. Her lower belly is fine.
 
You seem to be keeping a close eye on her and administering miconazole treatment effectively. She may have a sour crop, which could have been developing for some time—possibly from the mouse or simply an imbalance in her stomach—given that it is mushy and smells sour. You should make sure that her crop is emptying fully overnight because it is alternating between soft and hard. Before she eats in the morning, check it; if it's still squishy or feels full, the crop probably has a yeast infection. In addition to the miconazole, you might want to reduce solid food intake for a while and offer water with probiotics or a very diluted amount of apple cider vinegar to help bring everything back into balance. It can also help to gently massage the crop many times a day. Since she’s still laying regularly and her lower tummy is fine, that's a good sign she’s not egg-bound or coping with a major reproductive issue. It would be more alarming if she stopped drinking or became lethargic, so keep a check on her energy levels and hydration. She may require a crop flush or a trip to the veterinarian if the foul smell gets worse or if her crop remains full overnight despite treatment.
 
FowlProtector said:
You seem to be keeping a close eye on her and administering miconazole treatment effectively. She may have a sour crop, which could have been developing for some time—possibly from the mouse or simply an imbalance in her stomach—given that it is mushy and smells sour. You should make sure that her crop is emptying fully overnight because it is alternating between soft and hard. Before she eats in the morning, check it; if it's still squishy or feels full, the crop probably has a yeast infection. In addition to the miconazole, you might want to reduce solid food intake for a while and offer water with probiotics or a very diluted amount of apple cider vinegar to help bring everything back into balance. It can also help to gently massage the crop many times a day. Since she’s still laying regularly and her lower tummy is fine, that's a good sign she’s not egg-bound or coping with a major reproductive issue. It would be more alarming if she stopped drinking or became lethargic, so keep a check on her energy levels and hydration. She may require a crop flush or a trip to the veterinarian if the foul smell gets worse or if her crop remains full overnight despite treatment.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I am using apple cider vinegar as well, in her water. I gave her yogurt for dinner, thats all, she loved it. Her crop tonight is full of watery stuff I can hear it slosh. Her poop is better, its not all watery substance. She is drinking a lot of water. For breaky I will give her scrambled eggs with yogurt mixed in and continue with the miconazole. She eats it on her on. No issues there. She knows I think that I am trying to make her better. I took her out today and let her see her sisters, she has 2 who are very protective of one another. I don't want them to think she just disappeared.
 

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