Help with pendulous, or spastic crop

[Orangeblossomranch]

I don't think there's anything wrong with the bra. It should have had some effect by now. That there hasn't been any improvement indicates a possible obstruction, maybe a tumor.

She's sounds like she's getting weak from hunger. Unfortunately, when the crop won't empty, nutrients aren't getting into the intestines to be absorbed. Tube feeding her probably wouldn't accomplish anything since the crop won't empty.

Her outlook is dim. What I would do right now is to give her two teaspoons of molasses in a half cup of warm water to drink. This will accomplish two things. One is to raise her glucose level and give her a boost of energy. The other is to stimulate the intestines hopefully to draw some of the crop contents down.

Be sure to keep plain water and grit available, too.

We're approaching "hail mary time". If miracles are possible, here's a good opportunity for one.

Thank you for your reply. I am going to purchase some molasses and prepare it with warm water like suggested.

I will update as we go.

 

[Orangeblossomranch]

Thank you for your reply. I am going to purchase some molasses and prepare it with warm water like suggested.

I will update as we go.

Wow, she loved the molasses water. She drank alot of it and looked alot perkier.

She is up for the night and I will update tommorow. I am holding on to hope. Thank you for the tip.

 

[Orangeblossomranch]

Here is an update: Since Friday I have been giving this hen molasses water and feeding her sparingly mostly scrambled eggs and watered down layer feed. Everyday she's had access to a fresh batch of molasses water, fresh water and grit.
On Monday I could tell that she was barely drinking. So I started syringe feeding her the molasses water, I got in 2 tsp in the morning and 4 teaspoons before bed and repeated this on Tuesday (yesterday).

Today when I let them out, I noticed that her crop bra was looking saggy. I thought it was probably because it had gotten loose like before. BUT then I noticed that her crop was half empty! It has been a large orange for weeks, fitting into both my hands. Today it's only a handful of crop! This is the first time that there has been any size difference since I noticed her issue.

Thank you! The molasses water is doing it's thing! There was alot of watery poo under her roost today and her crop is alot smaller!! I cinched up her crop bra alot this morning.

I will continue my routine in hopes that it helps her empty completely.

I will update as we go.

 

[Orangeblossomranch]

I continued syringing molasses water into her until Thursday night and she finally emptied her crop overnight. It was very flat on Friday morning with a small amount of matter left but it could have been that she got to the feeder before I got to her that morning.

I have been watching her throughout the weekend and she is eating during the day and her crop fills to a normal chicken crop size. She has been waking up with an almost empty crop in the morning. She is back to her usual active self. No more HUGE crop hanging on her.

She is still wearing her crop bra. I think it's a good idea to keep on just in case. I will only take it off to wash it.

Thank you for your guidance throughout this ordeal with this little hen. I appreciate the support and I will forever keep a jar of molasses in my chicken first aid closet.

I hope this thread helps someone else that encounters this issue in the future. If anything else happens I will update.

 

[amarsano]

i have a speckled Sussex, Ruby, who is almost 2 years old. She has a history of sour crop and pendulous crop, For a while, we used a pair of toddler underwear with a hole cut in the bottom to lift and support her crop. She was occasionally getting her foot stuck, though. This is the worst she’s ever been, and with the gas, she was at risk of aspiration when we would put a bra on her. We tried Monistat, but after 2 rounds it wasn’t working. We were afraid we would have to put her down, but decided to spend the money on a last ditch effort.
We are using Simethicone, nystatin, and a molasses flush.

I just gave my Ruby simethicone (Gas-X). I used the adult human form, but used a needle to pull the liquid out. You have to puncture two holes and I used a 16g needle. It was a minute amount, but made a HUGE difference with her. I think baby Simethicone would be easier. I couldn’t find any information on its efficacy or toxicity, but I took the risk, as she was going to have to be put down instead. We just did this about 60 minutes ago, so we will see what happens ultimately. She was so filled with gas that it took up more than 60% of her horribly distended crop. I wish I had taken a before and after, but she was so bad, her crop nearly touched the ground. She now looks like a bird with major pendulous crop, a huge improvement.

My daughter gently massaged her crop 15 minutes after administration and she was able, over the course of the next 45 minutes, able to greatly reduce her crop size.
She has sour crop and pendulous crop.

When she finally had room, we slowly administered nystatin for birds (https://birdpalproducts.com/products/fungistat-powder) that we had diluted with molasses flush water. We also bought infant bird formula and mixed it with yogurt. She has been left with this in her cage along with molasses flush and fresh water. She started pecking at the yogurt formula feed. This is the only nutrition she seems to finally be eating. Hopefully this will pull her through. She is isolated in a crate on my 3 season porch.

Honestly, I think the Simethicone has made such a huge difference that she can actually make room for nutrition. It’s important to get the nystatin in her, too, so that she can actually rid herself of her problem.
hopefully this will work, but I wanted to post what I had done so that if it works, or doesn’t we can let others know what we did and learn from it.
The first two pics are her after treatment today. The last is her in her “normal” state of crop.

 

[Orangeblossomranch]

Short update:

I had to take the hen's crop bra off to fix it.

She started picking at it and tore a hole in it. I did not want her to eat the fabric, as I suspect she was. I took it off on Thursday in order to patch it.

Unfortunately, I was busy this weekend and have not gotten around to patching the crop bra.

However, I have been monitoring her crop and it is very droopy but its not causing her any issues. I was a bit worried that without the crop bra she would fill up again. This has not happened, but I can tell she does not have great muscle tone and that the crop is droopy.

It has been emptying but it feels very loose. I plan on patching the crop bra soon putting it back on.

 

[azygous]

Try leaving it off during the day...just have her wear it at night. See how that goes.

 

[Orangeblossomranch]

Try leaving it off during the day...just have her wear it at night. See how that goes.

Will do! She certainly looks happier without it! I will try this for a little while and report back .

 

[khind]

i have a speckled Sussex, Ruby, who is almost 2 years old. She has a history of sour crop and pendulous crop, For a while, we used a pair of toddler underwear with a hole cut in the bottom to lift and support her crop. She was occasionally getting her foot stuck, though. This is the worst she’s ever been, and with the gas, she was at risk of aspiration when we would put a bra on her. We tried Monistat, but after 2 rounds it wasn’t working. We were afraid we would have to put her down, but decided to spend the money on a last ditch effort.
We are using Simethicone, nystatin, and a molasses flush.

I just gave my Ruby simethicone (Gas-X). I used the adult human form, but used a needle to pull the liquid out. You have to puncture two holes and I used a 16g needle. It was a minute amount, but made a HUGE difference with her. I think baby Simethicone would be easier. I couldn’t find any information on its efficacy or toxicity, but I took the risk, as she was going to have to be put down instead. We just did this about 60 minutes ago, so we will see what happens ultimately. She was so filled with gas that it took up more than 60% of her horribly distended crop. I wish I had taken a before and after, but she was so bad, her crop nearly touched the ground. She now looks like a bird with major pendulous crop, a huge improvement.

My daughter gently massaged her crop 15 minutes after administration and she was able, over the course of the next 45 minutes, able to greatly reduce her crop size.
She has sour crop and pendulous crop.

When she finally had room, we slowly administered nystatin for birds (https://birdpalproducts.com/products/fungistat-powder) that we had diluted with molasses flush water. We also bought infant bird formula and mixed it with yogurt. She has been left with this in her cage along with molasses flush and fresh water. She started pecking at the yogurt formula feed. This is the only nutrition she seems to finally be eating. Hopefully this will pull her through. She is isolated in a crate on my 3 season porch.

Honestly, I think the Simethicone has made such a huge difference that she can actually make room for nutrition. It’s important to get the nystatin in her, too, so that she can actually rid herself of her problem.
hopefully this will work, but I wanted to post what I had done so that if it works, or doesn’t we can let others know what we did and learn from it.
The first two pics are her after treatment today. The last is her in her “normal” state of crop.

I'm sorry because I know this is very old. But if you're still active in this group, could you say how much simethicone you used per dose? You say you used adult Gas X - did you use an entire capsule? (I know they come in various strengths now, but it could still give me a good idea.) I'm about to use infant liquid simethicone on my bantam, and I wonder if I'll be giving her enough at 20 mg.

 

[dshaw1952]

It may be time to consider crop surgery. Either done by a vet if you can justify the expense or it can be done at home. If you choose to do it yourself, here is a link with instructions:

https://www.communitychickens.com/impacted-crop-surgery-zbw2001ztil/