Help! A soft crop after other illnesses. What now?

[MaryZoe]

My poor flock has been through so much during this wet, wet summer here in south Florida. I added some new hens to the flock and did not quarantine thoroughly enough. The new hens ended up showing respiratory distress, then lesions. After many of my flock were also infected, I sent the sickest new hen to a lab to be tested (she'd been there over a month by then). The necropsy came back showing parasites, coccidia, and mycoplasma. Wow! And these hens were from a reputable local breeder.

So I treated the hens with respiratory distress with Tylan 50 injections, and all the flock with Wazine, Corid, and I'm waiting for a better antibiotic to arrive (prescribed by the vet). Most of the hens seem better.

Now one of my oldest hens (only about 2) is acting lethargic and her crop is soft. What the heck? Any ideas as to what ELSE might be wrong with her? She does not have raspy breath, bloody poops, or lesions. She looks fine (except that she's starting to molt). So sad. Just want my healthy, beautiful flock back!

 

[Abriana]

she gave sour crop

 

[MaryZoe]

Okay, I read some other posts about sour crop here. Her crop is not large and distended--just soft. I don't really smell anything strong, either. I will put her on ACV in her water and give her yogurt and chick crumbles, which will be good for her regardless. But could the soft crop be simply from not eating much today? Or is it most likely sour crop?

 

[Abriana]

Sometimes if a hen eats and then doesn't drink their crop can be soft, or you could just be feeling her empty crop. It feels like a deflated balloon, and it will be soft as well.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry you're having trouble

What type of worms did they find? Wazine will only treat roundworms.
Having a soft, slow or doughy crop can be a symptom of an underlying condition like worms, coccidiosis and internal laying/reproductive disorders among others. Essentially there is inflammation and/or something slowing down the processing of foods. You may want to have a fecal float performed just to rule out another outbreak of worms and Coccidiosis. Crop issues sometimes be hard to treat - see that she is drinking well, offer wet feed and eliminate hard to process foods like scratch, corn, etc. for the time being. Make sure she has a source of grit (crushed granite) available free choice. Here's more information on crop issues and treatment:http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

Keep us posted.

 

[MaryZoe]

Thanks for your responses. The lab report from the chicken I had tested found three types of parasites: eimeria, capillaria, and heterakis. Two of the three are roundworms and the third is the cause of coccidiosis. The test did not show great quantities of any of them. One to 10 ova of the eimeria were found, 1-10 ova of the capillaria, and 10-20 of the heterakis.

I separated TruBlu from any contact with her friends, but I let her free range today. Perhaps I should keep her locked in sick bay to make sure she's getting only soft foods. I fed her scrambled eggs and plain yogurt today. Shortly after she ate it I felt a small ball in her crop, and she was happy to get out of her garage cage and into the great outdoors. But later this afternoon her crop felt soft and almost empty again. I could not smell anything untoward, though, so I doubt it's sour crop.

It's been about a week since I had them on Wazine. I'll give her a second dose. I'll also start a separate thread with a photo of her poop (haha--things you never think you'll do!) to see if anyone recognizes anything the lab did not pick up.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The lab report from the chicken I had tested found three types of parasites: eimeria, capillaria, and heterakis.

If I remember correctly, Wazine is not as effective against Capillary worms as drugs like Fenbendozole or Valbazen, so once you finish with your follow up treatment of Wazine (Wazine is repeated 7-10days after initial treatment), it may be a good idea to have another fecal float to confirm that the worms are in check.

Hopefully she will start to rally once the worms and coccidiosis is taken care of. Since I assume the Corid treatment is finished, you can give her some yogurt/probiotics and poultry vitamins for a few days to help build her back up.

Keep us posted.