Hens Crop Not Empting at Night Please help

[shell3]

casportpony- oh sorry thought one of your posts said you were!! obviously getting myself confused! as we both said its easily done lol

pwand- how is she? have you started nystatin now?

 

[pwand]

She's about the same. Still has an appetite. Last evening she actually had a few normal poops, this morning she had lots of diarrhea. . Her crop is small and gooshy. I did have to empty her crop last night, it was full, than waited a bit with no food and gave her meds. I hope the nystatin isn't given her diarrhea. I started the nystatin yesterday morning when I picked it up.

 

[shell3]

it didnt cause diareah with mine but thats the only ref i have! is it brown mushy liquidy poop or more like water? good shes eating . hope the nystatin kicks in soon xx

 

[pwand]

It's a mixture, yesterday more green, today it brown from liquid paste to a bit thicker consistency. I hope the nystatin kicks in ad well. I guess it's a good sign she is getting cleaned out, hopefully today it goes back to normal.

 

[shell3]

think browns a good improvement. i found when i was mixing food with lots of water.to mash it. they all had splatty poop and odd normal ones but once back on pellets it returned to normal. dont forget the baking soda causes runny poop. bombie had runs for a couple days after epsom salts. hopefully it will continue to thicken. good sign shes going thou must mean somethings getting through. they can loose weight fast with this sour crop. im so hoping this nystatin works quickly and you can be rid of this horrible condition. its so frustrating isnt it. xx

 

[pwand]

Just checked on her, a bit of mushy diarrhea with green. I stopped the baking soda yesterday and decided today no more antibiotics. She's mad right now, she wants to eat again, I can hear her chatting up a storm and her bowel banging. I'm scarred to give her to much food to cause her to swell.

Just checked on her again and she had almost normal poo.

 

[shell3]

oh good! ive heard green pooh is a sign of starvation! glad shes done a more normal one now , i dont know if thats the only reason for green poop thou.
this is really hard, shes bloated and you dont want to stretch the crop but its really important she eats! i had this problem too. what i did was feed tiny amounts of soft food every couple of hours but added supplements to it. i dont know what you can get in your neck of the woods but i have amino + which says a mix of vits minerals and protein also i have a chicken food supplement its just called poultry tonic i think, i picked it up at the pet store. if you can get anything simular i think it just helps to pack in the calories.
all i can think is to vomit her and try and get some liquid out, then give meds and leave about an hour for that to sit in the crop then start with tiny ammounts of soft mashed food every couple of hours.
this sounds easier than it is in reality of course! i should know!
how is her weight? by this i mean does she feel thin? does she seem to be loosing weight? id say try to weigh her on kitchen scales but this is so inacurate when they have a bloated crop cos your weighing the liquid!!
can you feel any thing in the fluidy crop? and sign of a blockage? i hope not!!
what dosage are you giving the nystatin?
this is such hard work isnt it !!!

 

[pwand]

I'm finding she is getting hard to vomit. I tried again last night, succeeded, however, I'm pretty sure I seen a glob of hay coming out and I went to grab it and went back in. I tried again, no success.

This morning I was up at 5 am and could feel the goshy feeling, its small. Checked an hour later and she feels flat. I'm crossing my fingers that maybe she is going to pass it.

I'm giving the nystatin 1 ml in morning and again at night.

 

[casportpony]

Here is some info on sour crop. It's from the AAAP Avian Disease Manual.

[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold][FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]CANDIDIASIS[/FONT][/FONT]
(Thrush; moniliasis, crop mycosis, sour crop, muguet, soor, levurosis)
DEFINITION
Candidiasis is a disease of the digestive tract caused by the yeast-like fungus

[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic][FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Candida albicans[/FONT][/FONT]. The disease generally involves the upper digestive tract and usually occurs as a secondary infection.
EPIDEMIOLOGY
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic][FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Candida albicans [/FONT][/FONT]


is a common yeast-like fungus that has been recognized as a commensal organism in
poultry and mammals for many years. Candidiasis has been reported from a variety of avian species, such as,
chickens, turkeys, pigeons, game birds, waterfowl, and geese. In poultry it seldom has been considered a
disease of major importance. Young birds tend to be more susceptible than adult birds although all ages can be
affected. When birds become debilitated or the normal digestive tract flora is altered, the ingestion of fungus in
the feed and water can result in mucosal invasion. The production of a soluble endotoxin may also contribute to
pathogenicity. Common predisposing causes include lack of good sanitation, prolonged treatment with
antibiotics, heavy parasitism, vitamin deficiency, high carbohydrate diets, and immune suppressing or
debilitating infectious diseases.
CLINICAL SIGNS
Signs are non-specific and include, listlessness, inappetence, retarded growth, and ruffled feathers. In
advanced cases or diarrhea. The signs may be masked by the clinical signs of a primary disease. In advanced
cases, the crop may not empty and may become fluid filled. The bird may regurgitate fluid with a sour,
fermentative odor, i.e. the name “sour crop”.
LESIONS
1. Lesions vary greatly in severity. They are more common in the crop, mouth, pharynx and esophagus, but
may involve the proventriculus and, less often, the intestine.
2. The affected mucosa is often diffusely or focally thickened [

Fig. 1; Candidiasis; UC Davis], raised,
corrugated and white, looking like terry cloth [

Fig. 2; Candidiasis; UC Davis]. Lesions may also appear as
proliferative white to gray pseudomembranous or diphtheritic patches and as shallow ulcers. Necrotic
epithelium may slough into the lumen as masses of soft cheesy material.
3. Lesions of a primary predisposing disease may also be present and should be investigated. In particular
one should search for evidence of coccidiosis, parasitism or malnutrition.
DIAGNOSIS
1. Characteristic gross lesions are generally adequate for diagnosis. Histopathologic examination of the
affected mucosa usually will confirm invasion of the tissue by the septate fungal hyphae.
2.

[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic][FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Candida albicans [/FONT][/FONT]grows readily on Sabouraud's dextrose agar. However, since [FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic][FONT=TimesNewRoman,Italic]Candida [/FONT][/FONT]is commonly
present in normal birds, only the demonstration of massive numbers of colonies is of significance.
CONTROL
1. Practice a high standard of sanitation in the poultry operation. Phenolic disinfectants or iodine preparations
should be used to sanitize equipment.
2. Prevent other diseases or management practices that might debilitate the birds.​

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[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold][FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]CANDIDIASIS[/FONT][/FONT]
3. Avoid over treatment of birds with antibiotics, drugs, coccidiostats, growth stimulants and other agents that
might affect the bacterial flora of the digestive tract.
TREAMENT
1. Copper sulfate at a 1:2000 dilution in drinking water is commonly used both for prevention and treatment
but its value is controversial. Nystatin in feed or water has shown efficacy against candidiasis in turkeys.
2. Routine addition of antifungal drugs to rations probably is a waste of money since elimination of
contributing factors or other diseases usually will prevent candidiasis. However, if sanitation is at fault and
cannot be improved, antifungal drugs may be advisable.​

128

 

[pwand]

Thanks for the great information.