Possible Sour Crop - PLEASE HELP!!

epeloquin

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I had posted in 'behaviors' that one of my Barred Rocks (Alice) has bad breath, sour smelling. She is just over six weeks and is fine in every other way. They have been in their coop for over two weeks now. She has had the breath since about the beginning. They freerange frequently. I give them treats. Mostly oatmeal, watermelon and yogurt. All of which they love. Plus what the eat in the yard/garden. They really don't like earthworms as strange as that may soung. They almost never eat them. They find them and chase each other around and peck the heck out of the worms but don't eat them. Again, Alice is eating, pooping and acting normal in every other was so far as I can tell. She comes and sits with me frequently (as do all my Rocks) and I don't feel any swelling in her crop area.

All that being said it has been suggested that she might have sour crop. I am already giving them some yogurt. Should I give more and what else might I do for her. I think I should probably just treat her like she does have sour crop as I can't see the treatment harming her and if she does have it I could clear it up. She seems totally fine but I don't want to wait for a big issue to manifest.

Please help, Alice is my special girl and I can't think of something bad happening to her!!!

By the way, I keep their run/coop extraordinarily clean, their coop is very well ventilated too. I clear out the poo from their coop every day and I clean their run a couple times per day.
 
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My hen just recovered from what I think was sour crop. Her crop felt squishy, and she had awful sour breath. When I held her upside down a bunch of nasty brown stuff came out. Does this sound like your girl? All I did was bring her inside, and put her in a box to keep her quiet. I only turned the light on an hour at a time so she could drink and kept her in the dark so she would rest. No food for 3 days, and I gave her a half a tsp of apple cider vinegar 2x a day. She started perking up after a few days, and after a few more days of eating and getting her energy back is now back with the flock. I'm sure others with more experience will be of more help, or do a search for sour crop. Good luck!
By the way, if nothing else give her some apple cider vinedar. It won't hurt if it's not sour crop, is nothing but beneficial.
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Sour Crop can be tricky to fix, but here are the different methods. I have put them in the order of severity of stress to the bird:

1.) give the chicken olive oil via dropper to lubricate her crop and possibly help her pass whatever is in there. Please take special note that if you do this, wrap her in a towel to prevent struggling, and put the eye dropper BEHIND her tongue. A chicken's lungs open up at the base of the tongue. If you release liquid higher up the beak, you may drown her. Your chicken will benefit from having her crop massaged as well (doesn't have to be during dosage, can be after).

2.) If your chicken does not improve, you can go to the next step and again wrap her in a towel before holding the chicken upside down, massaging from her crop towards the ground. This will induce vomiting. I do not recommend attempting this step as a first resort, as it is possible that the chicken could accidentally breathe in the liquid, and drown. Induce vomiting only if olive oil and massaging doesn't work.

3.) If all else has failed, you can attempt surgery (usually only necessary with a swollen crop with a physical blockage). Again wrap the bird with a towel, take special care to cover her eyes as you do not want her to panic and struggle in the middle. There are many instructional videos on YouTube that can give you step by step instructions.

Additionally, I would watch your chicken for any signs of respiratory distress before you assume Sour Crop. There are some lung infections that express themselves as bad breath. If she has no signs of infected lungs, then you can treat for Sour Crop

Hope that helps!
 
I think the olive oil is for impacted crop, not sour crop. If it feels like a water balloon it's probably sour crop, if there is something hard then impacted crop. The oil probably wouldn't hurt though. When I was searching for what to do for my hen there was a thread about someone giving her chickens red wine to treat it, it was supposed to work really well. Also, if you use the syringe angle it to the hens left, your right I believe, so she doesn't aspirate.
 
You can try this recipe....

http://justcockatiels.weebly.com/sour-and-slow-crop-remedies.html

I have used the "spice recipe" on my babies with slow or the beginnings of sour crop. I don't use the garlic however, but use the cinnomon and the ginger. Since your chicken is not a baby now, you can double the amount given, using instead of 1/2 cc in a medicine dropper to 1 cc in a dropper twice a day.

Don't worry about flushing the crop, just give the mixture 2 times a day for a few days to see if the crop starts to move better. It can't hurt her and it will help with the bacterias that are most likely in the crop now.

Good luck with your girl!
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Ugh. I am so hesitant. I spoke with my local feed store today and she suggested that as long as she is acting otherwise normal to leave her alone and only worry if she begins showing symptoms. I felt her crop today and it was not hard at all and felt exactly the same as the others. Her breath is not as bad as it was so maybe it is resolving. I did leave some yogurt tonight for them and I think I will try the olive oil on bread tomorrow (I know I like it!!), that sounds sensible. I am also adding a little cider vinegar to their water.

Thanks to all for the ideas.

Today was rough. She and another girl were hot (95 degrees today). At first I was scared it was something related to her possible sour crop. To be safe I took a bin and put a couple/few inches of cool water and made her sit in it and just held her there, she did not struggle, and I swished the water around her. After a couple minutes I let her out and she did not pant after that, same with the other. Worked VERY well.
 

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