I'm pretty sure my hen has sour crop, need advice

[TwoCrows]

Good luck with your baby!

Oh...and mine too! Won't eat treats unless they are in the palm of my hand....spoiled rotten!

I will be awaiting the morning crop news.

 

[Eggcessive]

Everything I have read on sour crop/impacted crop has said not to feed ACV because it acidifies the contents of the crop. Don't mean to be argumentative, especially since I haven't had a hen with this.

 

[TwoCrows]

Everything I have read on sour crop/impacted crop has said not to feed ACV because it acidifies the contents of the crop. Don't mean to be argumentative, especially since I haven't had a hen with this.

Apple cider has a low ph value and is acidic. However it has an alkalizing effect on the body over time. Many vegetables are the same way...acidic going in, but effect the body in an alkaline way and raise the ph of the body and blood. Believe it or not, ACV is good for acid reflux. If a person has a lot of acid reflux, a month or so of taking ACV tablets and you can eliminate it entirely. I know this for a fact, because both me and my husband suffered with it for years and have nearly cured with with daily ACV tabs.

So long of the story is, ACV is good for the crop over all and will effect the ph in a few days of drinking it.

 

[Nc chickens]

What kind of vaginal cream, I am being told there are different kinds?

Thanks,

Scott

 

[TwoCrows]

What kind of vaginal cream, I am being told there are different kinds?

Thanks,

Scott

If you are sure the bird has a sour crop, then vaginal cream is the best thing to use. I have never had any luck with Monistat however you can give it a try anyway. Monistat has Miconazole in it. My hen seems to respond to the main ingredient in Gyne-Lotrimin, which is Clotrimazole. Others have used this product here on BYC as well with good luck. You can buy the generic brands to save the money as this stuff is not cheap.

Do not use bread to administer this stuff. Bread is terrible to use on a bird with sour crop, however if you just can not get it down the birds throat, then use bread as a last resort.

Stick the tip of a syringe, without the needle, into the top of the cream tube and squeeze in 1cc. Hold the bird and pry open the beak, squirt the stuff in on the front/middle of the tongue. Do this first thing in the morning after a vomiting, at noon and then at roosting time at night. If the bird is not too far gone, 3 to 5 days of this usually clears it up. One week of this treatment should be enough to clear it up. If you don't see any improvement by day 4, try another cream. Good luck!

Oh and welcome to BYC Scott!

 

[chickenlife01]

Should I get her to throw up throughout the day or only first thing in the morning?

I have just finished getting her to throw up a couple times, it's mostly brownish water with dark green chunks in it, mostly grass blades. I haven't noticed any odor from it though, after a few times of spitting back up, more chunks came out and less water. I have noticed she is maybe 1% better afterwards.

She made a poo out in the grass, and though it was small, it had less white in it this time, and seemed to have thick brownish green mixed in it.


(If I'm flooding the forums just say so)

The grass is a sign that she may have a grass ball stuck in there. The vomiting should help but also olive oil will help loosen it up. I've had a hen with sour crop... I made her throw up the liquidy gunk 1 time and she immediately got better. Sorry you're having trouble!

 

[merryreader]

Thanks for this topic. I am trying this now for my 7 year old Ameraucana hen. Yesterday she ate some scrambled egg and I got Save-A-Chick electrolyte to put in some water for all the hens. She drank a lot of that, but won't touch anything today. I think its sour crop, not sure, but I got her to vomit liquid, (thats a new one for me), and put in some Gyne- Lotrimin. Now to wait and see and hope for an improvement. Of course, she is one (of two) of my oldest and my most favorite hen.

 

[TwoCrows]

Thanks for this topic. I am trying this now for my 7 year old Ameraucana hen. Yesterday she ate some scrambled egg and I got Save-A-Chick electrolyte to put in some water for all the hens. She drank a lot of that, but won't touch anything today. I think its sour crop, not sure, but I got her to vomit liquid, (thats a new one for me), and put in some Gyne- Lotrimin. Now to wait and see and hope for an improvement. Of course, she is one (of two) of my oldest and my most favorite hen.

Not to scare you or anything, but older birds that are suffering from things like cancer, reproductive ailments and other things that do eventually kill birds, can get fluid build up in the crop. Not necessarily soured from eating things, but a secondary thing to what ever is ailing the hen. And many times right before death, birds will have a lot of fluid in the crop. However it does make it easier on the hen if you can do some sort of treatment.

I hope your hen gets to feeling better.

 

[casportpony]

Thanks for the reply! I'll try to massage the crop a lot more tomorrow, and perhaps more olive oil I don't want to see another hen pass away. Tomorrow will be the fourth day that she is like this, I have tried to treat her since the first signs I've noticed so I hope I've caught this early enough to save her.

If one has a mammal with an impaction, mineral oil and fluids are given, not olive oil.

-Kathy

 

[merryreader]

Thanks, Two Crows. I once had a hen live to be 14. She looked a lot like this one, very tame, but was a gray bantam. Over the years I've dealt with sick hens. I don't remember ever having crop issues, except the one time I took a cochin to the vet after she swallowed a fish hook. I do realize it could be something else, but the symptoms seem to be leaning towards this. Thanks for all your good advice. It sounds like you have a lot of experience and knowledge about hens.