Possible sour crop

[nikirushka]

I'm leaving vomiting as an absolute last resort. That straw is the problem - I can feel a ball of it now, it's all come together. When I'm massaging her I'm concentrating on that and trying to move it away from roughly where the exit from the crop is.

Crop itself is slightly smaller - still big like a softball, but smaller than it was. I've just given her a tiny bit of food to check appetite and that is still 100%.

I'm not convinced she's gone pendulous - it's just ruddy huge! Everything still feels well toned, if that makes sense, still tight to the body, just about twice the size it should be when full. Hopefully tomorrow it will be smaller again from today.

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

I'm leaving vomiting as an absolute last resort. That straw is the problem - I can feel a ball of it now, it's all come together. When I'm massaging her I'm concentrating on that and trying to move it away from roughly where the exit from the crop is.

Crop itself is slightly smaller - still big like a softball, but smaller than it was. I've just given her a tiny bit of food to check appetite and that is still 100%.

I'm not convinced she's gone pendulous - it's just ruddy huge! Everything still feels well toned, if that makes sense, still tight to the body, just about twice the size it should be when full. Hopefully tomorrow it will be smaller again from today.

Pendulous is not very common - it's just when the crop itself is out of place. I'm convinced this is just a case of impacted/sour crop. Keep doing what you are doing. Maybe try a bit of olive oil to loosen up the ball of straw. Good luck!

 

[nikirushka]

I'll give that a go today. She's not drinking and appetite is down this morning. That darn ball keeps moving in the way - crop has emptied a tiny bit but not much overnight. I've managed to shift it again.

Do I just drip the oil on her beak or is it worth tube feeding? I'm going to have to to get some ACV water in her anyway, I think, so I could add a bit to that. She's been in that cage since Sunday 3pm and she's not touched it. I'm going to try a different bowl shortly and see if that helps.

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

I'll give that a go today. She's not drinking and appetite is down this morning. That darn ball keeps moving in the way - crop has emptied a tiny bit but not much overnight. I've managed to shift it again.

Do I just drip the oil on her beak or is it worth tube feeding? I'm going to have to to get some ACV water in her anyway, I think, so I could add a bit to that. She's been in that cage since Sunday 3pm and she's not touched it. I'm going to try a different bowl shortly and see if that helps.

Well, I could be wrong on this, but if her crop was impacted, then no food was getting to her. If she now has no appetite, maybe some of the food has gotten through her digestive system. As fot the olive oil, just add it to her feed. Maybe add warm water and olive oil to her regular feed to make a mash. It's easy for her to digest. Yes, sometimes certain chickens are scared of certain bowls. When we were treating one chicken for coccidiosis, she wouldn't eat out of one bowl but would devour her food in another. It's worth a try! Keep me updated and good luck!

 

[nikirushka]

Well, she is pooping overnight, so something is getting through. Her crop is emptying a little bit still then filling up again, but still only to normal fullness, and it doesn't smell half as bad!

I got some oil in via soaked bread in the end, after reading that elsewhere. She chomped it straight down so still a decent appetite for more tempting stuff. The straw feels less firm now and is in two chunks instead of one big ball so I think I'm winning slowly!

I'll get a mash made for tomorrow, I'm getting antsy about her not having much food for a while now even though she's still bright eyed and bushy tailed.

 

[nikirushka]

A friend with chicken experience has recommended liquid paraffin - have you heard of that for this?

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

A friend with chicken experience has recommended liquid paraffin - have you heard of that for this?

I have not heard of liquid paraffin. I will look into it and let you know. As for everything else, it sounds like good news! Just keep working at it! And don't worry about her getting less food - chickens can survive a few days without food, so as long as she seems active, I wouldn't worry. Hopefully she gets better soon!

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

From what I've read, liquid paraffin seems like a miracle worker! What the website did warn of was overdose. It stated that it clears out their entire system, so overdosing would be dangerous. Here is the link: http://forum.thepoultrysite.com/discussion/18926/crop-problems-and-miracle-liquid-paraffin

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

Any updates?

 

[nikirushka]

Still working on it! I dosed her with paraffin on Saturday. Today her crop is slightly smaller, but still not fully empty, and that damned straw is still in there! It's not a ball any more, which is something, and she's still bright with an appetite and doesn't smell like she did. Gassy, though. If it doesn't clear by tonight I'll dose her again.

I've been giving her small meals of layers pellets soaked in water with ACV and probiotic in it as she's not drinking much. She was feeling lousy yesterday so didn't eat all of it but she'd had a peck at a few oats this morning so I'll try again - she has eaten the other meals right down so I'm assuming that was down to the paraffin.