Monistat 7 for Sour Crop?

[MysteryChicken]

Look on the box and see if it contains propylene glycol which may be toxic. Some part of it may and some may not like the cream vs the suppository. I can't exactly remember but if it doesn't contain propylene glycol you should be good to use it. @azygous I believe knows more about it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/more-chick-problems.1119822/

You're thinking of Ethylene Glycol, which is anti freeze.

 

[khind]

How is her behavior? The poop looks like a reproductive infection is flaring up.

That's my suspicion too. And I should clarify - that's why I mentioned necropsy in an earlier post; the 2nd time i brought Masha in, this summer, the vet offered me information on a poultry necropsy that the dept of ag (I think) could do when the time comes for her, to make sure she didn't have something especially bad and contagious (which he didn't necessarily expect) and, in the process, it would reveal the extent of her reproductive disease. The reasons for her 1st and 2nd visit were a lash egg most likely laid by her (& her egg laying had plummeted to maybe 2x/month over the previous several months, with some thin & soft- shelled ones more recently); diagnosis of what had developed into a large-size hernia at her lower abdomen (which I had assumed was a tumor based on the egg-laying issue), & decreased mobility (hardly ever leaving the run anymore, difficulty jumping down from roost bars).

The temps for several days before this polar vortex were in the 60s & 70s. And guess what? Masha was outside in the chicken yard walking around, dust bathing out there again (versus only dust bathing in the run). She still couldn't venture out of that yard with the others to forage, but daily excursions outside and more enthusiasm was awesome to see. Then suddenly, stuck inside for days, heavy rain, then frozen rain, then snow, for days, with those strong N winds we get. All the others did fine in the wrapped run, temps inside getting down into the single digits. Related? Maybe, maybe not.
I also just had to treat the flock 1 week ago for Roundworms (with Valbazen; re-dosing next week).

Behaviorally: on the positive side, a couple hours ago she showed the first interest in food since I brought her in Thurs night, and even ate some mash out of a bowl herself (but then she shook her head after almost every bite and flung some around the room. Woah.). (And no leaking liquid while she did.)
Negative: today she hasn't tried to walk around the room at all. Just standing there with her head down. She must be weak for lack of real eating and drinking, but she surely must be in some real discomfort.
Previously she'd wanted to take steps to where I've been doing my office work and also sit on my lap and just hang around. She may be getting depressed too.

Stool: Nothing from her back end since very late last night, and that was 99% liquid.

 

[khind]

Is her crop still huge?
When my hen used to get it horribly, much like yours, I would put her in a crop bra and have it lightly lay against her crop, that did the most for her. It helped her digest it.
I’m sure this isn’t advised to do but instead of throwing her up, I’ve read a thread about someone who did the reverse of tube feeding. They stuck the tube down her throat and then sucked up the crop contents and removed it. Never tried it though.

Wow! I wonder how that would be done! Well, I guess by drawing up the syringe... I agree - it sounds tempting to try, but also sounds too iffy - at least for someone at my level of experience with dealing with this issue.

Her crop is still big, but it seems like it has come down a hair. Yes, I've been thinking about a crop bra too, and when I've held her in my lap, I've got one hand gently supporting her crop at all times (while grading papers, typing, etc. Arm muscles get tired too. Lol). I've been looking at Mt masks to see how I might be able to Jerry rig one comfortably and efficiently. Also looking online to order one or more, at least to have in my first aid kit.

 

[azygous]

Of all the health issues chickens can come down with, the reproductive ones are the worst and the hardest to deal with. If you are lucky enough to get salpingitis early, you might be able to get on top of an infection in the oviduct, but once it takes hold, you are looking at a daunting infection. They almost never respond to an antibiotic. I'm currently dealing with a two-year old sex-link with this issue and she's on the third antibiotic trying to get a handle on the infection. FYI, I seem to be making little to no progress.

I guess if there's a positive angle to salpingitis it would be that it progresses slowy and the hen can have up to a year of life left before it becomes hopeless.

 

[khind]

Of all the health issues chickens can come down with, the reproductive ones are the worst and the hardest to deal with. If you are lucky enough to get salpingitis early, you might be able to get on top of an infection in the oviduct, but once it takes hold, you are looking at a daunting infection. They almost never respond to an antibiotic. I'm currently dealing with a two-year old sex-link with this issue and she's on the third antibiotic trying to get a handle on the infection. FYI, I seem to be making little to no progress.

I guess if there's a positive angle to salpingitis it would be that it progresses slowy and the hen can have up to a year of life left before it becomes hopeless.

Thank you for this insight. I'm so sorry to hear you've got a hen dealing with this too...
I had read and heard from the vet that the prognosis for salpingitis isn't good, and that a bird would be sort of living on borrowed time. At our 1st visit (early Aug, now I remember), I asked about palliative care, so he gave Meloxicam along with an Antibiotic. Masha laid 3 or 4 eggs (of mixed quality) after the treatment, over the next 4.5 months. The second (last) time he saw Masha, in Dec. 29, i only went for a 2nd round of Meloxicam since she was looking so happy and moving around much more. That day, we agreed that any future rounds would be possible as long as she otherwise still looked like she was enjoying life - eating, moving around well enough, dust bathing, giving her underlings the business now and then (although she has mellowed so nicely over the years).
But this sour crop caught me totally by surprise. And again, I do however wonder if it's related to her condition. Maybe a consequence of a severely compromised system. Or maybe internal laying causing eggs to push against the crop (if I read that correctly).
And that's why I'm seriously considering sending her home.

 

[khind]

Fresh stool - I didn't get to her fast enough.

 

[khind]

And here's sweet Masha just a few days ago - 70° outside, the day before the winter storm blasted in. She'd been especially enjoying herself outside that whole week in our unseasonably warm temps.

 

[azygous]

The poop indicates infection. And yes, crop issues almost always are triggered by an underlying condition that can cause obstruction and slow crop.

Two years ago, I brought home two gold sex-links and two black sex-links. I was aware of their proclivity to reproductive issues, but I thought with excellent care, they could live to age four or five before they started to have problems. I've already lost one golden to EYP and the other one is struggling with infection. The two blacks seem okay so far, but we'll see when the flock starts laying again if the blacks are still in the game. These are the first and last sex-links for my flock.

 

[khind]

Oh my goodness, that's so sad! And it's not easy on the caregiver either, in multiple ways. Are these birds prone to problems because they're particularly prolific layers, or is it something else?
Infection... That's not good. Poor girl. The writing's on the wall.

 

[azygous]

Yes, these sex-links are also known as production breeds. They are a combo of the best laying breeds and they produce so many eggs that their reproductive systems get fried. It's the worst facet of human intervention with profit as the objective.