Not sure what else to do "Sour Crop"

[JakRat]

I have given her Monistat, Lotramin, and lately Nystatin.

It has gone away after each one, but then it comes back and the previous meds do not work.

Should I maybe try an antibiotic???? I know that they arent anti fungals, but could there maybe be something else going on??

 

[TwoCrows]

Is she being quarantined?? If you are seeing improvement on these meds, then she maybe getting into too much of something that is slowing down the crop.

So, NO GRASS or HAY. You need to keep her confined to an area that has nothing but her layer feed. Grass and Hay and other stiff vegetation only slow the GI tract down and causes more sour crop. The longer it takes to grind it up in the gizzard, the longer the stuff sits in the crop.

So...make sure she has enough stones and grit for the gizzard. No hard foods for 2 weeks, like seeds, grass, vegetation, no sweet foods like berries, raisins... Every thing needs to be water soluble. Keep the water fonts filled with ACV or Probiotics for 2 weeks.

They can get infections in the gut that can cause sour crop, however she would probably be showing signs of other bacterial infections as well. So I wouldn't bother unless she starts to get a runny nose, pale comb, nasty diarrhea or other signs of internal infection. It is common to have diarrhea with sour crop however, but that will pass when she heals.

Continue with the meds until the crop stays empty for a few days upon checking in the morning.

 

[TwoCrows]

Oh, and I have found that Nystatin is useless. Gyne Lomotrin or Monostat seem to work the best. 1/2 cc 3 times a day.

 

[fricknfricassee]

I am a newby and am wondering what the heck is "Sour Crop"? I want to learn as much as possible so that I might be prepared
for an event such as this. Thanks.

 

[TwoCrows]

The crop is a storage for food, basically. The food is held there as food passes thru the GI Tract. The gizzard grinds up anything that is not water soluble. So if the gizzard is packed full of grass and such things and takes too long to move, the food in the crop can sour. There are healthy bacteria in the crop to keep the food from going bad. But when yeast and fungus start to grow in the crop from food sitting too long, it "goes sour" as they say. If a bird has a full crop first thing in the morning on the roost bar, something is wrong. A crop should empty out completely after 1 to 4 hours. Chickens will stuff their crops before roosting time to give them as much food as possible to get them thru the night. The crop should be completely empty by morning.

So, you want a low ph crop. So raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar to the water, 2 tblsp for maintenance, 3 for a sick bird, will keep the crops healthy. I add it once a week for good health. If a bird is on antibiotics, this is a must for the water during and a week after the meds.

The use of probiotics in the water or feed is good also to keep the healthy bacteria growing.

Grass is the number one cause of sour crop. It takes a long time to grind down, and if the chickens eat it all day, the system can not keep up with the grass grinding and the emptying of the crop. Hence, sour crop.

It is difficult to treat if it has been going on a long time and you do not notice it. Keep an eye on the crops by occasionally feeling them first thing in the morning.

 

[JakRat]

The crop is a storage for food, basically. The food is held there as food passes thru the GI Tract. The gizzard grinds up anything that is not water soluble. So if the gizzard is packed full of grass and such things and takes too long to move, the food in the crop can sour. There are healthy bacteria in the crop to keep the food from going bad. But when yeast and fungus start to grow in the crop from food sitting too long, it "goes sour" as they say. If a bird has a full crop first thing in the morning on the roost bar, something is wrong. A crop should empty out completely after 1 to 4 hours. Chickens will stuff their crops before roosting time to give them as much food as possible to get them thru the night. The crop should be completely empty by morning.

So, you want a low ph crop. So raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar to the water, 2 tblsp for maintenance, 3 for a sick bird, will keep the crops healthy. I add it once a week for good health. If a bird is on antibiotics, this is a must for the water during and a week after the meds.

The use of probiotics in the water or feed is good also to keep the healthy bacteria growing.

Grass is the number one cause of sour crop. It takes a long time to grind down, and if the chickens eat it all day, the system can not keep up with the grass grinding and the emptying of the crop. Hence, sour crop.

It is difficult to treat if it has been going on a long time and you do not notice it. Keep an eye on the crops by occasionally feeling them first thing in the morning.

Hmm maybe it is the safflower seeds I give them. She isnt in quarenteen. She is very very bad when she is in the house and my husband wont let her be in. This has been an on going issue though for a few months now.. it is really stressful! It was very frustrating 2 days ago because she was doing great and then BAM!!!!! it was back the next day... I have been giving her the meds for 2 weeks now. I asked the vet for nystatin because according to poultry websites (like industrial) nystatin is given to them. Sigh... anyway with your PH level talk I wonder if that new RePHresh stuff might work. They have a yeast balance med and what not so I was wondering if that might work. I was also giving her acidopholus pills when I give her her meds.

I am not sure what I will do next. Maybe I will try the rephresh...

 

[TwoCrows]

Seeds aren't going to do a lot of harm if they are only given as a treat. It is usually any large amount of things they are eating that slow the crop down.

You say she gets better and then it comes back. It still sounds like either she is getting into something she should not, or her crop flora really needs replaced. The problem with Nystatin is, it HAS to come in direct contact with the yeast/fungus for it to work. So if the bird has any food in the crop, the Nystatin will not work. I have never had any luck with it at all.

You need to keep her contained somewhere and not necessarily inside the house. But outside is fine. Even if all you have is a rabbit hutch or extra large dog crate. But you need to figure out what is going on. If she is only eating her food for one week and the crop thing clears up, it is clearly something she is eating.

If it continues on, then she either needs more medication and or good bacteria in the crop. The thing about ACV is that nothing lives in vinegar. Hence we pickle things in vinegar. So it is good to put in the water because it will keep the yeast at bay in the crop. And by putting probios in the feed, they will replace the good bacteria.

So I think you need to do this one step at a time. Keep her contained somewhere and ONLY feed her layer feed. If you want to offer her a treat occasionally during the day, make it water soluble. Like a saltine cracker, cereal or other dry things. No seeds, sweet foods that will stimulate the yeast growth or things that need to be broken down with the gizzard.

And, if she needs to be vomited, do so 2 times a day. Hold her in one arm like a football. With the other hand, support her at the crop. Lean her forward only, beak straight down. Massage her crop till you get the crud out. The stuff in the crop is nasty and will sicken her. Only hold her like this for about 5-8 seconds, no longer so she can breathe. Take a short break and do it again. If nothing comes up and try again later.

Now is this only when the crop is really full. She will squiggle her neck around in discomfort when it needs to be done. Or first thing in the morning. If the crop is full of liquid, you need to get that out of her. She will recuperate faster if you get that poison out of her.

 

[1muttsfan]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/669318/full-crop-possibly-sour-crop

Scroll down to post #10.

I think mashed garlic is very useful in treating sour crop too.

 

[JakRat]

I am quite the expert on vomiting her now because of her lol!

I have tried to vomit her for 2 days now and nothing has come up, just the normal gas. When this first popped up I was giving her vinegar and olive oil and I felt like I was marinating her lol. I

 

[TwoCrows]

Glad you have figured it all out! LOL

Don't use oil with sour crop. It can slow the thing down even more. :-(

Sour crop can take a while to work on. Be patient and keep up the good work!