Nystatin... Anyone know the dose?

Iowa Roo Mom

Resistance Is Futile
11 Years
Apr 30, 2009
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I'm pretty sure my hen has sour crop. I know I can get my hands on some nystatin, but does anyone know the dosage for a chicken? Any and all help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Terrah
 
New reply to old thread; I am on a steep learning curve with chickens, but have learned a bit about sour crop due to previous experience. The liquid nystatin does need to go into their beak - and GREAT CARE must be exercised. That hole you see in the back when you open their beak wide is their trachea - the path to their lungs! So I put in just a bit of nystatin at a time - sort of under the hen's tongue, and let her swallow it, before adding the next little bit. The other thing about nystatin: it does NOT go systemic, and will "fix" only what it comes into contact with, so a thorough but gentle crop massage is in order after each dose.

I also found that after some practice, I was able to tell when my crop massage was helping to move the contents on out of the crop, which is surely desirable when the crop is distended. The long term problem can be that once the crop is terribly stretched out, it no longer has the "tone" and shape needed to help the food along the way to the next station - the proventriculus, so more food may continue to collect in it, and the problem will reoccur. One thing that can help is a crop "bra". I got one from HenSaver and after that wore out, sewed up my own from ace bandages. I took it off once a week to massage her crop, and give her a chance to preen - "no undie Sunday" ;-). I used the bra sideways from the way shown (I liked the way the then horizontal stretchy strip supported the bottom of the crop), and cross tied the straps on her back.) That hen lived for over two years after the condition first occurred, and I am not certain what it was that finally did her in.

Thanks to BYC for being such a great resource!

Bamboola
 
New reply to old thread;  I am on a steep learning curve with chickens, but have learned a bit about sour crop due to previous experience.  The liquid nystatin does need to go into their beak - and GREAT CARE must be exercised.  That hole you see in the back when you open their beak wide is their trachea - the path to their lungs!  So I put in just a bit of nystatin at a time - sort of under the hen's tongue, and let her swallow it, before adding the next little bit.  The other thing about nystatin:  it does NOT go systemic, and will "fix" only what it comes into contact with, so a thorough but gentle crop massage is in order after each dose.

I also found that after some practice, I was able to tell when my crop massage was helping to move the contents on out of the crop, which is surely desirable when the crop is distended.  The long term problem can be that once the crop is terribly stretched out, it no longer has the "tone" and shape needed to help the food along the way to the next station - the proventriculus, so more food may continue to collect in it, and the problem will reoccur.  One thing that can help is a crop "bra".  I got one from HenSaver and after that wore out, sewed up my own from ace bandages.  I took it off once a week to massage her crop, and give her a chance to preen - "no undie Sunday" ;-).  I used the bra sideways from the way shown (I liked the way the then horizontal stretchy strip supported the bottom of the crop), and cross tied the straps on her back.)  That hen lived for over two years after the condition first occurred, and I am not certain what it was that finally did her in.

Thanks to BYC for being such a great resource!

Bamboola
Welcome to BYC!
 

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