I would think if you keep feeding her the problem is going to just get worse, let her go over night without any food and see if her crop is flat in the a.m. if not then you'll need to get something done soon, hows her poop look do you think food is getting through the crop at all? hers some info that might help.. good luck sour crop
Yes, it is sour crop. The food that is in there has dissolved into a toxic slush. If the crop is still full, you would want to cleanse it and then treat her with probiotics and give her organic apple cider vinegar water for two weeks if she's showing no other symptoms. You also will want to determine the cause of the problem in the first place and fix that.
Glenda Heywood has a good article on cleansing a crop. PM me if you'd like it.
You will want to do this as soon as possible because the liquid in that crop will grow bacteria and yeast and make your bird sick(er).
The probiotics are to replace the bacteria that have been damaged by the toxic contents and pH of the crop dribbling into the rest of her digestive tract. They will also help fight against whatever bad bacteria and yeast make it to that part of the system. The organic apple cider vinegar (1 ounce ACV to one gallon of water) will help correct the digestive tract pH, provide more good bacteria, break down the feedstuff that are in the crop waiting to go through, and also provide more digestive enzymes to break down solid particles in the digestive tract. The pH of ACV at this solution is that of a healthy digestive tract which is unfriendly to good bacteria. the pH of the crop (and thus the digestive tract) now is unfortunately friendly to bad bacteria, so we must change that.
If you see runniness of droppings after four days of treatment after the cleaned crop, let the board know. Let us know in any case, please.
By the way - no more solid foods until she's over this for two weeks. No grains, no grit, nothing but crumbles, probiotics (plain yogurt, acidophilis tablets, etc), maybe the bread if it's soaked in something useful - BUT - it's too friendly for yeast infections, sooooo maybe not. Boiled egg yolks are a good healthy treat and will help her gut. You can also mix the yogurt in a small amount of unsweetened applesauce. The pectin is small, helps clean out the digestive tract of sludge from this, the pH is like ACV (can be used with it), and chickens like the taste so it's a good way to hide probiotics.
Robin.
Feathered Brush Studios F
More information:This blockage could be solved as simply as dropping a few drops of olive oil down your bird's throat. There are risks to this depending on the type of blockage and how bad it is, but as she is obviously breathing OK I would try this before more expensive paths. If she just gobbled a long piece of straw or grass, it may be just this simple.
I have more info below for those interested, and/or if this treatment does not work and there are not other symptoms. -------
Whether it is crop impaction (food/straw/grass lodged tightly in crop) or stasis (crop stops moving food through) for whatever reason, the stuff has to come out - - and the sooner the better. IMHO, for more severe blockages/stasis, the safest way is to get it to come back up the way it came. The risks with crop stasis and crop impactions are 1) if the feed/grass/goo stays in the crop too long, it ferments and can cause food poisoning; and 2) if you try to squeeze blockages up manually or use drugs to get them going the other way, you could cause more severe blockage.
For anyone else watching this thread, there are lots of folks on the forum who have successfully treated crop issues - - and there are plenty of folks who have failed. In my own experience, I have usually sent birds with severe crop stasis to my avian vet so he can evacuate the crop with suction. Some folks have tried this at home with squeezing and/or gently tilting bird upside down, but there is a great risk of suffocating the bird this way. I know of a couple of folks who have lost birds by doing this.
Of course, my vet has not always been successful either, so I guess you have to choose your risks.
Once the crop is safely emptied, the bird can be monitored and fed liquid with electrolytes (half-strength Gatorade if you don't have bird-specific products), and then liquified food. If the crop does not start moving again very soon, we administer Reglan under our vet's instruction. Reglan stimulates peristalsis (the autonomic muscle function that moves food through the digestive system). This powerful drug is also used for people (prescription only, and it is a clear liquid). We have had good luck administering it in moistened food, but your vet (or you, if you know how) can also inject directly into the crop if the bird refuses to eat.
In my own experience, the 3-part process of 1) crop evacuation; 2) peristaltic stimulation; and 3) gentle re-introduction of solid food has worked in most situations, whether the crop issue was from a fungal infection, eating something toxic, or some other undiagnosed issue. The only failure I have had so far was a cockerel who secretly snuck into the older hens' grit/oyster shell cup and filled his crop completely full. He was already too dehydrated/starved by the time we figured out what was wrong to have a chance at recovering from a major crop evacuation.
Hope that information helps others. If there are experienced folks who would like to add to or correct this or any treatment info, please feel free to chime in.
Standards ~ Black Australorp, Silver Ameraucana and one crazy EE
Bantams ~ Blue/Black Cochins, Buff Silkies, Golden Neck Belgian d'Uccle and Butterscotch Dutch Booted Bantams, BBS Ameraucanas, Quality EEs
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