Crop problems? Or just paranoid?

[Icedangel11]

I recently had to cull a chicken. After dealing with mites she'd somehow managed to develop some sort of sickness that left her mouth full of slime and bits of blood. I thought it might've been pneumonia or something. But the poor girl was in ragged shape and I just hatched out chicks and couldn't risk spreading it to them.

Today I picked up a hen and she vomited and it smelled like a brewery. So I massaged her crop and gave it a small squeeze (ever so gentle ) and she 'burped' multiple times. When her crop was empty I set her down and she gasped for a bit, then went on normally. I wasn't sure if what the first hen had was contagious so I checked my other hens' crops. The second hen didn't puke, the third hen did with massaging. Though she vomited thick feed with no smell, she might've just been really full.

So what should I do about my hens? Is this normal? Does the first hen with the weird smell have a yeast infection of the crop? If so, should I give her garlic? It works with human yeast infections, so maybe it'll help clear her out?

The hens are free ranged all day and eat a lot of grass. They also get some goats milk on occasion. Today I mixed some in with their feed and they pecked at it all day. So maybe a sour milk smell I could understand, but this just smelled like beer.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Look at the "sour crop cured with monistat" thread if desired, and see this:
http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/01/crop-issues.html

Also look up canker to see if that matches what you see when you open their mouths.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/154/trichomoniasis-canker-frounce

 

[Icedangel11]

Oh dear.. The hen that threw up thick vomit inhaled some of it. Now she's gasping a bit.

How do I get it out of her?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Oh dear.. The hen that threw up thick vomit inhaled some of it. Now she's gasping a bit.

How do I get it out of her?

You can dip her beak in water to see if she can swallow and clear her throat. This unfortunately will not clear her airway. There is really nothing you can do to clear her airway. Maybe she will cough it out.

 

[Icedangel11]

I gave her some water, nope.. She's breathing, it just sounds gurgled. It's Gurgle gurgle smack smack smack as she tries to swallow it. She CAN swallow water normally, though.

I really hope I don't lose her.. She's my best hen. One Super large egg every day, rain or shine.

I'll feel twice as bad if it was ME who killed her.. Should I give her some penicillin to ward off infection?

 

[Icedangel11]

Good news! I checked the hen and all chickens are breathing normally!

Woot woot!

What other symptoms should I look for besides 'funky smelling vomit' for sour crop?