Help treating sour crop (and diarrhea)....saw vet but confused

[Susan-B]

I have one pretty sick hen (7 months old). Bad sour crop, can't even touch her crop without fluid coming out of her mouth. When I went to hold her she dribbled some fluid then choked for a second so I'm worried she aspirated

She had a poopy butt and very lethargic. Took her to vet, she said syringe epsom salt mixed into water into mouth, but I'm struggling on how to do it without causing her to aspirate. Vet also gave me Tylan to give to the whole flock in case there is also coccidia (though the fecal sample was negative...she said could be due to it being mostly liquid).

A couple questions.:
--any tips on syringing the epsom salt? I asked about giving acidified copper sulfate and vet said not neccessary, just epsom salt.
--I thought Corid was the usual coccidia treatment......is tylan better?
--I have at least 2 other hens who are acting slightly off and had a little poop on their butts too....anything I can do to prevent them from getting worse?


Seeing a second vet but not until Wednesday.....need to try and get these girls on the mend asap. Thank you

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

@Wyorp Rock

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have one pretty sick hen (7 months old). Bad sour crop, can't even touch her crop without fluid coming out of her mouth. When I went to hold her she dribbled some fluid then choked for a second so I'm worried she aspirated

She had a poopy butt and very lethargic. Took her to vet, she said syringe epsom salt mixed into water into mouth, but I'm struggling on how to do it without causing her to aspirate. Vet also gave me Tylan to give to the whole flock in case there is also coccidia (though the fecal sample was negative...she said could be due to it being mostly liquid).

A couple questions.:
--any tips on syringing the epsom salt? I asked about giving acidified copper sulfate and vet said not neccessary, just epsom salt.
--I thought Corid was the usual coccidia treatment......is tylan better?
--I have at least 2 other hens who are acting slightly off and had a little poop on their butts too....anything I can do to prevent them from getting worse?


Seeing a second vet but not until Wednesday.....need to try and get these girls on the mend asap. Thank you

Sour Crop can be treated with an anti-fungal/yeast medication. Miconazole or Clotrimazole can be found in stores like Walmart.

Tylan is an antibiotic commonly used to treat respiratory infection. Some may use it to treat Enteritis.
I've never seen mention of using Tylan to treat Coccidiosis. A coccidiostat like Corid (Amprolium) is commonly used to treat Coccidia overload. Sulfa Antibiotics or Toltrazuril are a couple of other commonly used treatments for Coccidiosis.

Epsom salt can be used to flush the crop, it acts like a laxative, but follow up with an anti-fungal/yeast would be needed to treat the infection.



https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Susan-B]

Sour Crop can be treated with an anti-fungal/yeast medication. Miconazole or Clotrimazole can be found in stores like Walmart.

Tylan is an antibiotic commonly used to treat respiratory infection. Some may use it to treat Enteritis.
I've never seen mention of using Tylan to treat Coccidiosis. A coccidiostat like Corid (Amprolium) is commonly used to treat Coccidia overload. Sulfa Antibiotics or Toltrazuril are a couple of other commonly used treatments for Coccidiosis.

Epsom salt can be used to flush the crop, it acts like a laxative, but follow up with an anti-fungal/yeast would be needed to treat the infection.



https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

thank you, that's what I thought.....that's why I was confused by what the vet said. I couldn't get hen to take the epsom salt orally (and was scared forcing it would choke her) so I tried an epsom salt bath......figured it was better than nothing. And I asked vet about Corid and she didnt know what it was, and said give Tylan. I had my boyfriend pick up some miconazole and corid tonight, I will give in the morning.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Does this vet regularly treat poultry or even birds? If not, maybe time for a different vet for your chickens. When I bought corid, I bought it at the feed mill. The guy there asked me what I was getting it for and when I explained, he told me the correct dosage and how to treat. I know sometimes we hear bad advice from store employees. But, this vet advice is ... well not the best for sure.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

thank you, that's what I thought.....that's why I was confused by what the vet said. I couldn't get hen to take the epsom salt orally (and was scared forcing it would choke her) so I tried an epsom salt bath......figured it was better than nothing. And I asked vet about Corid and she didnt know what it was, and said give Tylan. I had my boyfriend pick up some miconazole and corid tonight, I will give in the morning.

How is she today?
I would check her crop first thing before she eats/drinks, hopefully it's gone down.

If the crop is sour, I wouldn't give the Tylan, save that for future use, make sure to keep your instructions and hopefully what they gave you is labeled. In a pinch if that's the only ABX you have on hand and all you can get, it could be used for other things.

I do have to wonder the reasoning behind the Tylan, is your pullet gurgling or wheezing, any mucous or other respiratory type symptoms at all?

 

[Susan-B]

No respiratory issues last night at vet

Poor sweet girl just died . Only 7 months old

and I checked my other birds and 4 had crops that didn’t empty over night (one looks really big so I fear I’m losing her next ).

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Sorry for your loss. Do they have grit available? What feed are they currently getting? It seems strange that you would have multiple birds having crop issues at the same time.

 

[Susan-B]

Sorry for your loss. Do they have grit available? What feed are they currently getting? It seems strange that you would have multiple birds having crop issues at the same time.

Yes they always have a grit available. They were eating the new country organics and it’s like a mix of grains so the one vet that I called last night said to get them off of that and put them on just a pelleted food. He said he thinks that some of them may have been picking out specific things to eat only

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Do you have poultry grit out for your birds to take when they need it? Scratch and peck type feeds can cause problems with chickens picking out only the parts they want, so feeding a crumble or pellet feed may be best for them. With seeds or grains, they do need grit to help digest those and the grasses they take. Sometimes chickens will have other issues that cause crop disorders. If you can send in the body, kept cold, to your state vet, they could help to diagnose why she died. Here is a list of state vets to contact:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html