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

[TwoCrows]

Feel around between the legs and a bit above. That is the abdomen. Many times when something internal is going on, that area fills with fluid. Just trying to cover all the bases here.

 

[casportpony]

For the exam you need to catch her and gently insert a well lubed, gloved finger in her cloaca.

Here are some pictures for you:












-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

I'm not sure I'd know what to look for in the cloaka, that sounds nasty though. I do know how to make her drop her feathers but I can't look at her area.

She wasn't a frequent layer really, they started slowing down but she normally lays every 4 days maybe, I can't remember exactly. I do remember that she lays early in the morning, and she likes to announce that she laid an egg.

Where exactly is the abdomen? I've been feeling around the breast area to compare the crop size, also I have checked the neck and the bottom side of her.

In a week she will be 3 years and two months old.

The abdominal cavity is where all of her intestines are, they don't have a stomach like we do.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Feel around between the legs and a bit above. That is the abdomen. Many times when something internal is going on, that area fills with fluid. Just trying to cover all the bases here.

X2!

There is a very good example of that here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-ovarian-cyst-and-internal-layer-graphic-pics,
but don't look if graphic necropsy photos disturb you. Personally, I love them, that's one of the ways I learn. FWIW, I had a hen just like this a few weeks back.


-Kathy

 

[Chicken15]

Oh jeez...

 

[casportpony]

I've lost at least six hens this year to ascites, EYP, cancer and egg binding, they are very common causes of death in hens. This link shows a necropsied hen that had oviduct cancer, which I could feel while doing a cloacal exam. Again, these pictures are very graphic:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/766834/found-dead-hen-very-graphic-necropsy-photos

-Kathy

 

[Chicken15]

I checked her crop first thing this morning and I couldn't tell if it was empty or not. I want to say its empty but then again I may have felt a slightly raised part, if its not empty then it's really close to it.

I decided not to vomit her and just left her in front of the feeder. I did notice she made a stoolwhen I opened the door, it was bigger than usual, and was all white. I can't tell if she made stool overnight or not, but I'll keep a close eye after she eats today.

 

[casportpony]

All white stool can be a sign of dehydration. Green is usually starvation. I've had several sick ones in my "poultry hospital", lol, so I've had lots of time to study the effects of different illnesses and their poop. If she were my hen, she'd be inside where I could monitor her poop and food/water intake. Just remember that it's not usually the disease that kills them, it's dehydration and starvation.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

The easiest way to keep them properly hydrated and fed is tubing. This link has some very good info on tube feeding:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...cken-and-give-subcutaneous-fluid#post_9910754

-Kathy

 

[TwoCrows]

I checked her crop first thing this morning and I couldn't tell if it was empty or not. I want to say its empty but then again I may have felt a slightly raised part, if its not empty then it's really close to it.

I decided not to vomit her and just left her in front of the feeder. I did notice she made a stoolwhen I opened the door, it was bigger than usual, and was all white. I can't tell if she made stool overnight or not, but I'll keep a close eye after she eats today.

Chicken15...sounds like she is doing better. As I had mentioned, as the crop issue starts to heal, and you check it in the morning, you may feel something there. But you are probably feeling the crop lining which is slightly swollen. So unless it feels gushy, then no need to vomit. She will probably not need any more of that. But keep checking it each morning for a while and vomit if necessary.

As for the poop. As long as the white part is only a cap to other substance, then the poop is probably normal. No, you don't want every poop to be all white, but white mixed in with brown is good. Just keep an eye on her poop output, its consistency and color. The poop should start to be firmer and larger as the next few days progress.

Give her another day of damp layer feed and no free ranging. If her crop is again empty tomorrow morning, you can go back to dry layer feed. No free ranging for another few days to make sure her crop speeds up. Too soon on the grass and because her crop is still slow, it will fill up again.

Keep us posted.