Lethargic, malnourished, hunched in corner.

[Wyorp Rock]

I would not try to vomit her.
It's doughy, so it's a slow moving crop. I would try stool softener with coconut oil first.

Some people do perform their own surgery and have been successful. If the crop itself is blocked up that may work.

 

[mixedbreeds]

Wyorp Rock really gave you the best advice. I have went threw several impacted/ sour crop and used olive oil as I didn’t have anything else. I massaged the crop took 3 or 4 days till they came around but never lost a bird. I have read here on BYC of many people trying to make there bird vomit only to end up with a dead bird after doing it.

 

[looking4rocks]

Okay. Joan is still alive this morning, and I have 4 days off from work to try to fix her. I ordered liquid Corid 9.6% to treat her for cocci, in case that's the cause, and it will arrive tonight. I read through both articles you posted @Wyorp Rock, a few times, and I'm trying to make a game plan.

She isn't really interested in drinking or eating much now, so I brought home supplies from work to tube feed her. I successfully dropped a tube into her crop and fed her this concoction at about 11am (PST):

- 2x 100mg docusate sodium mixed in 1ml of tomato soup
- 4ml (1 serving) of the ginger/lemon/cayenne/cinnamon mix
- 40-50ml of homemade electrolyte water

This was possibly too much liquid; as I massaged her crop she was leaking a bit through her beak. Her crop was so full and heavy, I fashioned a little crop bra and let her rest for about an hour. It was drained a bit but still squishy with many hard balls in it. I massaged again at this point (12:45) and she's now resting again.

I will get the miconazole cream. I plan to start that three times a day, 1 ml, per the article. I don't think she'll eat it and she really fought the syringe, so I'm going to include it in a tube feed if I can mix it with some water. I'll give this for a full 7 days.

So, here's what I think I need to give:

1. docusate sodium 2x 100mg capsules
2. coconut oil 2 teaspoons
3. miconazole cream 1ml 3x day
4. ginger/lemon/cayenne/cinnamon mixture 3x day
5. electrolyte water to keep her hydrated
6. acidified copper sulfate, not sure if this is necessary - I'll have to order it online

Still no vomiting her though, right? Even though it seems like a doughy crop?

@azygous and @TwoCrows I really loved your articles and I would really appreciate your insight in my treatment plan! Tell me exactly what I should do and I'll do it!

 

[Zwillingsmama]

one of my girls had an impacted crop a few months back. I used olive oil and massaged gently for 3 days 3/4 times a day until her crop was empty. I would not worm her at this point since it puts stress on her and the problem seems to be the crop and not worm.
I put my girl in a cage for a few days until her crop was empty for 2 days before I let her forage and eat grains. I gave her drink with electrolytes and some caned tuna and yogurt.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would only give her the stool softener once.

 

[azygous]

Your plan is a lot like throwing everything at the crop short of the kitchen sink. I am concerned you are overwhelming the crop by doing way too much all at once.

I use a systematic approach. If the crop is mostly soft and squishy, I treat for sour crop regardless of the smell or lack of smell. It's very important to monitor the crop each morning before any liquids of solids are given. So let your patient rest tonight and check her crop in the morning. Report back here after you assess the state of her crop, and we can stand by to advise.

Also, I urge restraint in massaging a liquid-filled crop. It's too risky as far as making the content back up into her airway.

If the crop is mostly solid and full of lumps, rather than mostly liquid, then I treat for impacted crop first. After the crop impaction is broken up, then I follow up with treatment for sour crop since it usually is a result of impacted crop.

 

[ChknHeadChknFed]

I feel you. I feel like I am going through the exact same, but different, thing! Really the only thing different is my girl has a super red comb, not pale. We are doing everything too.. Our girl is 3 and a bit as well, also stopped laying... , So much the same. I am at my wits end. I'll be rooting for you and watching closely!!

 

[looking4rocks]

She seemed to be a bit more perky this afternoon/evening. Ran to the fence once, and in the evening she got herself up on the roost (nights before she's slept in the nesting box). I will check her in the morning.

Does the clotrimazole still work if I mix it in water to get it in her (since I'm tube feeding?) If I try to just slide the med through the tube, I worry that the whole dose will coat the tube. She's not super interested in eating the cream.

I'll report back in the AM!

Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[looking4rocks]

So, she was actually down in the run when I woke up, first time in a couple days. (They have food and water there, so she may have eaten some pellet food, maybe I should have put her in the dog crate, whoops). Opened the door and she trotted out, went to the typical forage spots and to the water bowl with the others. I checked her crop and I would call it doughy. I could squish it entirely flat and it felt like little pebbles in there.

So, I'm thinking NOT to treat for impacted crop at this point, since it's doughy? Give her the clotrimazole and ginger/cinnamon concoction? And should I isolate, not let her forage/eat pellets? Let me know, thank you!!

 

[azygous]

Great! I agree it's time to move on from impacted crop to treating the sour crop. Your protocol of tubing the yeast med into the crop is good, and don't worry about the residue in the tube. Most of it goes where it's needed.

I tend to allow my crop patients to remain with the flock except for the few minutes each day I need to treat them. I also make available low carb foods, boiled egg, yogurt, dry feed, free choice as they feel like eating more as the crop returns to normal.

There are instances where the crop refuses to empty overnight in spite of treatment. If after three or four days of treatment, this is the case, I recommend using a crop bra at night to help raise the contents to empty. As long as the crop is unable to empty, the yeast will persist.