Crop problem please help

[Pugator]

Hello, i need an advice.
( I am sorry for my english, I am not native speaker, obviously )
Today I noticed that one of my hens has enlarged crop. To be honest it was shock for me because it´s huge! She is one year old.
Her comb is normal, she is not lethargic. Her crop does not feel hard to touch. It’s more like liquidy/doughy?
I empted a little bit her crop with massage and she vomited.
It didn’t smell bad, it was just a bit liquidy. The rest seemed more like food because my mother gave the chickens soaked bread in milk ( I know ). But i saw another chicken with the same problem. Her crop is not that large, It was ,,doughy/liquidy” I helped her too.
She didn’t vomit any liquid, and her vomit didn’t smell bad either.





I separated the hens from the rest of the chickens, took away their food, and left only water.





Unfortunately, I saw the same issue in some other chickens, but I don’t know how many. Most of them are between 1 and 4 years old. Sadly, it was already evening, and I couldn’t see them well. I want to check on them tomorrow. I took away their food and left only water.
All the chickens are behaving normally, they are not lethargic, but I know they have this problem. I’ve already read a lot of advice on this website, but I feel completely confused. For example, I can’t give them any medication that is available in your country. I can’t buy it here, and I can’t even get it from a vet. The only thing I can get is clotrimazole vaginal cream.


I don’t know what to do. When I read forums or watch videos, some people say vinegar is good, others say oil. I can’t even buy any deworming medication in my country without a prescription.

In my town, there is only one vet who specializes in poultry, but he is very busy.

I’m sending a photo and a video of the hen that is in the worst condition.



https://streamable.com/6ygyv3

 

[Lady of McCamley]

What you are talking about is sour crop, squishy balloon like crop of fermented food from fungal overgrowth vs impacted crop, hard ball, blockage.

I'm dealing with sour crop at the moment too. (Oddly the first time in 15 years of chicken ownership). I'm blaming it on some kale I gave them...only my rooster seems affected. He came from the coast, and I suspect the environment change and feed change threw his biome off. I wondered about the kale sizes, and I think he was teetering on congested crop and it tipped him over.

Obviously avoid giving them anything which will block or cause fermentation in the crop. I think the culprit likely is the milk soaked bread.

First...are you making grit available to them to help them grind food in their crop. If not, get some crushed gravel (not oyster shell). It should not be finely ground like sand but more the size of aquarium gravel with sharp edges.

Secondly, put Apple Cider Vinegar (raw with mother) in their water. I just pour a "plop" in my gallon water bowl. If you can find some probiotics, even crushing your own tablets, place that in the water too. It also helps if you can get some electrolytes (vitamins) in. Try that for a few days.

What you are doing is good...you should gently massage the crop while the bird is tipped downward until they regurgitate. Doing this for only about 15 seconds as you don't want to choke them. Repeat a couple of times then wait and repeat later in the day. (Currently I'm doing it in the morning and evening...it seems to be helping him).

If that isn't helping, after a couple of days, then I've been advised to progress through the following:

• Epsom salts (detoxifies the crop)- dissolve 1 tsp. into 1 c. of water, administer 2-3 times a day for 2-3 days
• Tomato juice (restores normal crop pH levels)- administer a 1-2 ml serving 2-3 times a day for no more than 24 hours
• Blackstrap Molasses (acts as a crop flush)- dissolve 1 pint of blackstrap molasses per 5 gallons of water, provide the molasses water as the main source of water for no longer than 8 hours, WARNING: will cause diarrhea as a natural reaction to the flushing properties of molasses
• Copper sulfate (detoxifies fungus from the crop)- add ½ tsp. per gallon of water, provided as sole water source every other day for 5 days, don’t use in metal water containers since copper will react with the metal, WARNING: can be toxic in higher concentrations (I don't plan to do copper sulfate as this is harder to get and can be very toxic).

Can you get miconazole vaginal yeast cream? @Eggcessive recommends applying orally (I think about a pea size?) to stop the fungal growth. Hopefully Eggcessive will add info about that.

I'm at day one of treatment with apple cider vinegar, probiotics and electrolytes. My rooster perked up a lot this afternoon after his morning crop massage...his "balloon" is more squishy looking. I have him isolated in a side coop and run. I let him have exercise as I think moving around should help. It also keeps the others out of his water. I did not take away his food...I know that is generally recommended...but I know from looking back he has had this sour crop for a couple of weeks (I thought it was his normal growth...he was a teen and filling out...I didn't catch that his "bigger chest" was inflated crop...he's a different breed than my others and generally huskier looking anyway). I put him on chick crumble as I figured that would be a lot less to impact and clog. He was eating his grit and slurping his treated water and running around this afternoon..so hopefully I'm on the right road.

Good luck treating. I'd start with the general ACV, probiotics, electrolytes, and grit and advance upward after several days of crop massages as you see how things go.

Hopefully Eggcessive will weigh in too.

LofMc

 

[Pugator]

What you are talking about is sour crop, squishy balloon like crop of fermented food from fungal overgrowth vs impacted crop, hard ball, blockage.

I'm dealing with sour crop at the moment too. (Oddly the first time in 15 years of chicken ownership). I'm blaming it on some kale I gave them...only my rooster seems affected. He came from the coast, and I suspect the environment change and feed change threw his biome off. I wondered about the kale sizes, and I think he was teetering on congested crop and it tipped him over.

Obviously avoid giving them anything which will block or cause fermentation in the crop. I think the culprit likely is the milk soaked bread.

First...are you making grit available to them to help them grind food in their crop. If not, get some crushed gravel (not oyster shell). It should not be finely ground like sand but more the size of aquarium gravel with sharp edges.

Secondly, put Apple Cider Vinegar (raw with mother) in their water. I just pour a "plop" in my gallon water bowl. If you can find some probiotics, even crushing your own tablets, place that in the water too. It also helps if you can get some electrolytes (vitamins) in. Try that for a few days.

What you are doing is good...you should gently massage the crop while the bird is tipped downward until they regurgitate. Doing this for only about 15 seconds as you don't want to choke them. Repeat a couple of times then wait and repeat later in the day. (Currently I'm doing it in the morning and evening...it seems to be helping him).

If that isn't helping, after a couple of days, then I've been advised to progress through the following:

• Epsom salts (detoxifies the crop)- dissolve 1 tsp. into 1 c. of water, administer 2-3 times a day for 2-3 days
• Tomato juice (restores normal crop pH levels)- administer a 1-2 ml serving 2-3 times a day for no more than 24 hours
• Blackstrap Molasses (acts as a crop flush)- dissolve 1 pint of blackstrap molasses per 5 gallons of water, provide the molasses water as the main source of water for no longer than 8 hours, WARNING: will cause diarrhea as a natural reaction to the flushing properties of molasses
• Copper sulfate (detoxifies fungus from the crop)- add ½ tsp. per gallon of water, provided as sole water source every other day for 5 days, don’t use in metal water containers since copper will react with the metal, WARNING: can be toxic in higher concentrations (I don't plan to do copper sulfate as this is harder to get and can be very toxic).

Can you get miconazole vaginal yeast cream? @Eggcessive recommends applying orally (I think about a pea size?) to stop the fungal growth. Hopefully Eggcessive will add info about that.

I'm at day one of treatment with apple cider vinegar, probiotics and electrolytes. My rooster perked up a lot this afternoon after his morning crop massage...his "balloon" is more squishy looking. I have him isolated in a side coop and run. I let him have exercise as I think moving around should help. It also keeps the others out of his water. I did not take away his food...I know that is generally recommended...but I know from looking back he has had this sour crop for a couple of weeks (I thought it was his normal growth...he was a teen and filling out...I didn't catch that his "bigger chest" was inflated crop...he's a different breed than my others and generally huskier looking anyway). I put him on chick crumble as I figured that would be a lot less to impact and clog. He was eating his grit and slurping his treated water and running around this afternoon..so hopefully I'm on the right road.

Good luck treating. I'd start with the general ACV, probiotics, electrolytes, and grit and advance upward after several days of crop massages as you see how things go.

Hopefully Eggcessive will weigh in too.

LofMc

Thank you so much for your advice; I really appreciate it. I’m sorry that you’re going through the same problem! I hope your rooster will be okay!

Unfortunately, I can’t get miconazole in my country. It’s only available as a vaginal tablet combined with metronidazole, and it’s prescription-only. The only thing I can think of is ordering Fungixazol from Poland, which is sold for pigeons. I can also get clotrimazole vaginal cream.

 

[Pugator]

I found nystatin vaginal cream on pharmacy e-shop. Should I try it???

 

[Eggcessive]

Nystatin cream is fine to use for sour crop, and clotrimazole can be used if you cannot get the nystatin. Can you describe what you are feeding your chickens? Looking at your picture, you may be dealing with a pendulous crop since the crop is very enlarged and does not smell bad. This article about crop treatments is good:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Pugator]

Nystatin cream is fine to use for sour crop, and clotrimazole can be used if you cannot get the nystatin. Can you describe what you are feeding your chickens? Looking at your picture, you may be dealing with a pendulous crop since the crop is very enlarged and does not smell bad. This article about crop treatments is good:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Nystatin cream is fine to use for sour crop, and clotrimazole can be used if you cannot get the nystatin. Can you describe what you are feeding your chickens? Looking at your picture, you may be dealing with a pendulous crop since the crop is very enlarged and does not smell bad. This article about crop treatments is good:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

I feed them a layer hen mash. It’s ground more finely. I believe it should contain ground limestone grit as well. Unfortunately, my mother gave the hens soaked bread in milk (I’ve already talked to her about this, and it won’t happen again).





Yesterday, one of the girls vomited a bit of straw, definitely some bread, and some of the mash. Honestly, when both girls were vomiting yesterday, some of it even got on my face (I know, it sounds disgusting, but it was my first time dealing with this, and at that moment, I didn’t care—I just wanted to help them feel better). However, I didn’t notice any smell.





It seems like other hens have swollen crops as well. I’ve removed their food (though I don’t know if they might scratch up some leftover mash from the ground—they keep trying to dig). I really need to check all their crops by touch. In three hours, it will have been 24 hours since they last ate. They only have access to water. I want to find out how many of them have this issue.





Am I doing this correctly? This is my first time dealing with something like this. I’ll read the article. I also went ahead and ordered the cream just in case.

 

[Eggcessive]

Be sure to check their crops first thing in the morning when they should be empty. After they start eating for the day, they will gradually fill up. If one has a pendulous crop, you would need to use a crop bra in the correct position, to keep her from over eating.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is some reading about crop bras:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/crop-bra-designs.1203310/

 

[Pugator]

Be sure to check their crops first thing in the morning when they should be empty. After they start eating for the day, they will gradually fill up. If one has a pendulous crop, you would need to use a crop bra in the correct position, to keep her from over eating.

Here is some reading about crop bras:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/crop-bra-designs.1203310/

All the hens that had a sign of an enlarged crop (including the hen in the photo, where it is most visible) have not had access to food for 48 hours. This morning, I checked how they were doing. With two of them, it seems better—I’m not even sure if they still have it. I guess I’ll try feeling their crop again tomorrow. One of them seems to have an enlarged crop only after eating a little.





The hen in the photo, unfortunately, still doesn’t have an empty crop in the morning, but it seems to be positioned lower? And smaller. All of them, including the hen in the photo, are not apathetic, have an appetite, and behave normally.





The cream I ordered will arrive at the store only tomorrow. (Do you think I should try it on all the hens that seem to have a bigger crop? I don’t want to harm them.) I could also buy another over-the-counter product. It contains:


• Minerals, electrolytes


• Organic acids (formic, propionic, lactic, acetic, citric, and others)


• Vitamin C


• Natural extracts


• Treated drinking water





Or would vinegar and the cream be a better option?





I’m really unsure about feeding—I can’t separate all the hens. I tried it with the hen in the photo, but she was extremely stressed. I thought she was going to have a heart attack.





Maybe I could try grit as well? I’m afraid the hens might get blocked again. I’ve been reading thousands of articles, but they all say different things, and I feel confused and sad because I just want the girls to feel better.





I’m really sorry for asking so many questions.

I will try sew her crop bra, but to be honest I am so bad at sewing but I will try my best!!!