pls help - sour crop - bird very weak

[joeyinvermont]

Hi all -

I have one Buff Orp and 2 RIRs. They are 5 years old.

We live in Burlington, VT and it's been cold this winter!

We noticed just recently that our buff, Bella, seems disengaged. She didn't start laying again yet and she's been hanging around puffed out with her head under her wing. She has lost a ton of weight. We saw her vomit some yellow and realized she had sour crop. I massaged her crop and she vomited yellow bile and some material. She's been doing a little better but not much. Today she's inside with me and just standing with her head under her wing. I got her to eat a little egg and some water with probiotic, but not much. I hate to even type this but she just keeps going back into what seems to be a pretty deep sleep for a chicken.

Any suggestions?!? Please?!?! She is my favorite bird and I'd love to help her. Though, I also don't want to prolong her suffering if there's nothing to be done. =( !!!

Thanks in advance,
Joanna

 

[leetfreq925]

Hi Joanna,
This is from http://www.wildbirdrehabhaven.org/Information/faq.html and seems to wrap it up :

Causes can include:
1. Bacterial infection in the crop or elsewhere in the body.
2.Eating something that makes the bird sick, like spoiled or soured food from someone�s picnic.
3. Dehydration- this often happens after intake when birds are fed formula before they are rehydrated with fluids, or are given formula that is too thick, too soon, or are given too much for their size,. The birds� body pulls the liquid out, leaving thick formula in the crop with not enough moisture to move it along the digestive system.
4. Any other condition that causes the bird to get sick and slows down the digestive process (e.g. virus, egg binding, trich, pox, poisoning, etc.)

Treatment:
1. The best treatment is to pull out the sour food or liquid with a crop needle, then put warm water in the crop and massage it gently before pulling it out again. Repeat the process a few times. The whole process may need to be repeated at each feeding until the crop is emptying properly.
2. An alternative treatment is to give the bird warm apple juice and massage the crop gently to help with digestion. Gatorade or warm water can be used if apple juice is not available. At the next feeding repeat the process if the crop has not yet emptied and check if poop are coming out normal-keep in mind that the longer food stays in the crop, the more it will sour and make the bird sick. If this method does not work within several hours (24 at most) the crop needs to be flushed out as in treatment # 1.
3. Feed the bird a much thinner formula in smaller amounts until the crop is emptying better. Check the poop for formation and color to also indicate digestion is working properly.
4. Put the bird on baytril and nystatin in case of yeast infection for 10-14 days.
5. The bird needs to be on heat until its condition stabilizes.

A lot of people suggest making the girl "vomit" by tipping her upside down, but there is a risk of choking. Sounds like she's getting it out ok on her own....
Good luck with Bella. She is probably very weak and needs to get some nutrients. I would also take her inside if you can to warm her up a little. At least the next storm should be missing you up there!
Robyn.