Is this sour crop and what should I do next??

[Apags18]

So I have a 1.5 year old black copper Maran named, Truffles. I noticed a little over a week ago that her crop seemed full when I got the hens out in the morning. She hadn’t had access to water or food yet at that point in the morning so I started worrying about sour crop. Her crop does feel like a squishy water balloon. She has been acting completely normal this whole time, her comb is nice and red, and when I pick her up she seems like she’s a healthy weight. We first tried garlic in her water, she won’t get near yogurt, I’ve tried monistate cream but she won’t eat it. I added apple cider vinegar to her water earlier today. We don’t have any avian vets near us so I can’t get nystatin, but I just got my hands on some medistatin for birds. She has been separated from her flock for about two days now with water and she has had some scrambled eggs yesterday. Her crop hasn’t gone down at all. It still feels like a water balloon. I also don’t smell anything bad when I put my nose near her beak. I gave her her first dose of medistatin this evening. I know I can try to vomit her but I’m nervous about doing that. I decided to try it earlier today and I couldn’t get her to vomit. She moved her beak as if she was about to vomit, but nothing would come out. I didn’t want to keep stressing her out. I actually had to do that to a rooster we had about 2 years ago and it worked so I know what to do, but I’ve heard of chickens aspirating when this is done so I’d hate to make things worse. I worry that if the fluid in her crop doesn’t get out nothing else will help. Has anyone successfully treated sour crop and did not vomit their chicken? Again she looks and acts completely herself and is very active and sassy, as usual. I just hate to keep her separated from her flock for too long. Also how long should I expect to wait before the medistatin should start working? Also she finished her molt about a month and a half ago and when she finished she started laying eggs again but has now stopped laying eggs. We haven’t gotten an egg from her in about 3 weeks. Oh and this evening I saw her poop but it was really liquidy. But again she hasn’t had much solid food in the last 48 hours.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I noticed a little over a week ago that her crop seemed full when I got the hens out in the morning. She hadn’t had access to water or food

I’ve tried monistate cream but she won’t eat it.

She has been separated from her flock for about two days now with water and she has had some scrambled eggs yesterday. Her crop hasn’t gone down at all. It still feels like a water balloon.

Mine won't eat Miconazole willing either. You have to put the medication in the beak either by syringe or putting it on your finger opening the beak and putting it into the beak.

Hard to know if you're dealing with Sour Crop or she may have a blockage.

Is she lethargic? If she's acting normal, able to eat/drink on her own and is relatively active, I'd leave her with her flock and just pull her aside for treatment of choice a couple of times a day. No need to isolate or separate out a bird that is active and not being picked at.


This article is what I follow when addressing crop issues:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Here's how to give oral medication:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

 

[Apags18]

Mine won't eat Miconazole willing either. You have to put the medication in the beak either by syringe or putting it on your finger opening the beak and putting it into the beak.

Hard to know if you're dealing with Sour Crop or she may have a blockage.

Is she lethargic? If she's acting normal, able to eat/drink on her own and is relatively active, I'd leave her with her flock and just pull her aside for treatment of choice a couple of times a day. No need to isolate or separate out a bird that is active and not being picked at.


This article is what I follow when addressing crop issues:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Here's how to give oral medication:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

No not lethargic at all. The only thing I notice is her large squishy water balloon-like crop. I don’t want to separate her any more either. No she isn’t being pecked at. I think in the morning I’ll give her the medication then put her back with her flock. Thanks for the article. I’ll check it out now!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Keep us posted on how she's doing.

 

[Apags18]

I will! I put her back with her flock today. She and the top hen had a little squabble at first but everyone is friends again. If you didn’t know anything was going on you’d think she was fine. She’s acting completely normal. I did syringe feed her the monistat today. She took it. Could it take a few days before seeing anything change. Her crop is so inflamed. It just feels so big. She doesn’t seem to be bothered by it when I massage it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I will! I put her back with her flock today. She and the top hen had a little squabble at first but everyone is friends again. If you didn’t know anything was going on you’d think she was fine. She’s acting completely normal. I did syringe feed her the monistat today. She took it. Could it take a few days before seeing anything change. Her crop is so inflamed. It just feels so big. She doesn’t seem to be bothered by it when I massage it.

Yes, it can take a few days for crop problems to start to resolve.

 

[Apags18]

It’s been a couple weeks. It’s so strange, but her crop still feels like a big water balloon in the morning. I can feel her food in the crop a little throughout the day as she’s eating. I was able to get ahold of medistatin which I tried giving her through a syringe but dang she fought me so hard! So I’ve been putting it in her water. She is acting 100% normal and even started back up laying eggs after taking a break during molting a couple months ago. I’ve been able to pick her up a few times and she feels a normal weight and her comb is red and healthy looking. I did try vomiting her a couple times after my last post but I just cannot get anything out. One of the times a few drops came out of her mouth and it did smell terrible but I don’t want to keep stressing her out and honestly I don’t like doing that to them. I don’t want to cause a bigger problem. I just hope she continues to get better. I was wondering if it could be pendulous crop so I got a crop bra from online but again she is fighting me . She finds a way to start pulling it off and then falls to the ground like she can’t walk and makes a huge fuss until I take it off. I guess it’s good she still a sassy and energetic as ever. I haven’t been able to get a great picture but I did upload one. That’s how big her crop is first thing in the morning.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It could be pendulous.

Keep working with her to see if you can get the bra fitted.

 

[Apags18]

So an update. Still no change. She has fought me tooth and nail with the crop bra. She is so dramatic with it on and flaps around like she can’t move. I know she has stuff in her crop because if I pick her up she acts like stuff is coming up out of her beak, but nothing comes up. I tried to vomit her a couple more times but I cannot get anything out. She is still acting completely normal otherwise and laying eggs. We are also introducing a rooster to the flock and it’s become a problem when he tries to mate with her I think his weight on her puts pressure on the crop and she looks as if she can’t breath. We were planning on keeping this rooster but we’ve been keeping him (he has a buddy with him) separated until I can figure out how to help her with her crop. It’s been over a month now. I just doesn’t make sense that she isn’t showing any signs of being sick. She’s literally as feisty as always, laying eggs, and her comb and wattles and nice and red. She’s doesn’t seem too thin either. I’ve been trying to look up vets near me but so far nothing. I was thinking of possibly separating her again for a day just to keep her from eating and see if this time would work. Just don’t know what else to do at this point. Picture of her trying to get into the same nest box as her sister. You can see her crop hanging low in that photo. This was about 8:30am sometime last week.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So an update. Still no change. She has fought me tooth and nail with the crop bra. She is so dramatic with it on and flaps around like she can’t move. I know she has stuff in her crop because if I pick her up she acts like stuff is coming up out of her beak, but nothing comes up. I tried to vomit her a couple more times but I cannot get anything out. She is still acting completely normal otherwise and laying eggs. We are also introducing a rooster to the flock and it’s become a problem when he tries to mate with her I think his weight on her puts pressure on the crop and she looks as if she can’t breath. We were planning on keeping this rooster but we’ve been keeping him (he has a buddy with him) separated until I can figure out how to help her with her crop. It’s been over a month now. I just doesn’t make sense that she isn’t showing any signs of being sick. She’s literally as feisty as always, laying eggs, and her comb and wattles and nice and red. She’s doesn’t seem too thin either. I’ve been trying to look up vets near me but so far nothing. I was thinking of possibly separating her again for a day just to keep her from eating and see if this time would work. Just don’t know what else to do at this point. Picture of her trying to get into the same nest box as her sister. You can see her crop hanging low in that photo. This was about 8:30am sometime last week.

Can't help but giggle a bit over your description of her being dramatic.

Not sure what you can do. It would be nice to see if a bra does help. It sounds like she's doing well, except with the rooster.

You can try fitting the bra a bit differently. You may want to read through this thread by @azygous she shows adjustments she made over time to get a better fit, you may find it helpful.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/making-a-crop-bra-for-a-hen-with-pendulous-crop.1464848/