How to isolate a chicken with sour crop from the rest of the flock?

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The neck movements are classic symptoms of sour crop. Yeast can make a crop unbearably uncomfortable. The contents sit and refuse to empty. Soon appetite suffers from the full crop dulling the urge to eat and after a while, left untreated, the hen will become listless and weak from hunger.

But treating a crop issue successfully isn't always easy, and sometimes it's a sign of another more serious underlying issue such as egg binding, reproductive infection or tumors.

Try to get your hen's crop issue properly diagnosed and treated, and hopefully, she'll recover quickly and wipe out any lingering worries about something more serious.
 
Poor baby seems to be feeling very uncomfortable... 🙁

Be sure to check her breath for that gnarly, yeasty smell. And if you think you're dealing with sour crop, have you started the yeast meds?

Yeah, these darn chickens. I love them so so much, but they drive me batty with their ability to mask illness. Crop issues are sometimes a symptom of other things. That's why when I run across a crop issue, I deal with that right away in order to try to isolate what nay be going on underneath those symptoms.
 
Thank you both again so much. She seems much better this morning. She is behaving normally and her crop appears to be less swollen. She does have a slight sour smell coming from her mouth. Should I put her on yeast meds even though she appears to be better? I will also be starting her on the calcium today.

Yes, these chickens have me worried constantly. I swear they're taking years off my life. Never knew I could love a chicken this much but here we are.
 
azygous said:
ACV and garlic are preventatives not cures. If you are indeed dealing with sour crop, it's a yeast infection. It needs a yeast killer. I wrote an article for this website on treating crop disorders. You might want to see if you've diagnosed your hen correctly and it's sour crop she has or another crop disorder. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

The poor egg quality should also be addressed before your hen has an egg break inside her. Short term concentrated calcium citrate can set her right in a short time. This is what I use. View attachment 2824006One tablet directly in the beak once a day until eggs are coming out with normal shells. Then return to oyster shell as the daily Calcium supplement.
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I just wanted to follow up that I've been treating her with over the counter 2% yeast meds per your recommendation twice a day for three days now. While her crop always looks a little better in the morning, it starts to swell up again and is squishy like a water balloon towards midday. She is drinking water, foraging and eating like normal but sometimes still appears a bit lethargic. Is this normal?
 
It should be noticeably improved by now. If you are able, increase her dosage to three times a day. Offer grit in case she isn't finding enough, and offer yogurt or keifer or a probiotic to help restock her gut with good bacteria.
 
azygous said:
It should be noticeably improved by now. If you are able, increase her dosage to three times a day. Offer grit in case she isn't finding enough, and offer yogurt or keifer or a probiotic to help restock her gut with good bacteria.
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May I ask when I should start her on the calcium tablets? I wanted to wait and make sure her sour crop issue is under control before introducing another foreign thing into her body...
 

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