Possible Sour Crop?

[MickWithChicks]

I have a young hen who is exhibiting some signs of sour crop, but need a second opinion. I can't get her to a vet until Friday at the earliest. Her comb is still nice and red and she's still flighty. She's not eating though.

I've been downward massaging her crop, as I understand inducing vomiting via upside-down massage can cause a hen to aspirate into her lungs.

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)

Double Laced Barnevelder

2) What is the behavior, exactly.

Lethargy, lack of appetite, open mouth breathing, some minor wheezing, yelling/cawing.

Soft crop, feels like water balloon. No heat or otherwise from crop or abdomen. No egg binding.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?

Symptoms showed up yesterday afternoon. All up, less than 24 hours.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?

No.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.

No.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

Nothing.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.

Normal 17% protein chicken crumble, plus free range for a few hours every afternoon. Access to oyster shell grit.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.

Runny.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?

Epsom salt bath in case of binding. Downward crop massage per online instructions. Beginning fast per online instructions.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?

Prefer to treat myself. Vet as last resort.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

Video of the cawing and open mouth breathing.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use

Sugar cane mulch in coop. Large run (about 1.5m2 per bird).

 

[Eggcessive]

How long has this been going on? That looks more like a respiratory infection or gapeworm, or something in her trachea. Could she have gotten something tiny stuck in her airway, such as a piece of food or bedding? She appears to be gasping and coughing. I would stop the crop massage. Some infections are caused by viruses, and some caused by bacteria or mycoplasma. Antibiotics such as oxytetracycline, tylosin, or denagard (tiamulin) are sometimes prescribe for mycoplasma or bacterial infections. Gapeworm is treated with a dewormer, such as Panacur 0.23 ml per pound given orally for 5 days. Since it could be one of several things, I would try to get her drinking water with electrolytes to see if it clears.

 

[MickWithChicks]

Thanks @Eggcessive! She easily could have gotten something caught in her throat. She free ranges in the afternoon and has access to plenty of grasses, plants, and weeds. There was no smell from her crop, so unlikely to be sour crop; it just felt that way on initial inspection.

I had to go out for a few hours and got back and she seems quite distressed by it. She seems to be making the coughing sound more often.

I was able to open her mouth and shine a torch down into her throat. There is what appears to be a white buildup similar to what you'd see in strep throat. I've been able to administer some doxycycline via oral syringe with some electrolytes. I had the doxy prescribed for another issue I had with a different Barnevelder and this was leftover (Vets must prescribe antibiotics in Australia). I've read doxycycline is prescribed to humans for strep throat, so hopefully this is the right medication--the infection looks very similar to strep throat.

She seems uninterested in eating/drinking at the moment, but likely because she feels like she's unable. I'll continue to administer liquids with electrolytes manually for rest of the day and will hopefully see some improvement before I travel for work tomorrow afternoon. I'll try cooking her some scrambled eggs and see if that's more interesting than greek yoghurt to her.

She otherwise seems perfectly healthy.

Edit: I should also note that there's no discharge from the nose or eyes, or any other signs of this being infectious bronchitis. It seems very likely this is an infection caused by something becoming lodged in her throat.

 

[MickWithChicks]

Thanks anyway. I just removed her from her cage to fix up some bedding (she kept knocking over her water) and she looked l like she couldn't breathe, spasmed and died right there. Brutal.

Going to treat the flock for gapeworm when stores open tomorrow.

 

[Eggcessive]

Oh no, I read your fisrt post, and that sounded promising, then the second where she died. I am so sorry, but the video of her gasping reminded me of Newcastles Disease a bit. That is why I suggested gapeworm, since both cause severe gasping. Hopefully not. It is interesting that you saw white material inside her throat. That could be viral, bacterial, or fungal material. It would be interesting to get a necropsy done on her where they could test for what she had. If you cannot send her in for a necropsy, it would be good to at least get a swab or a piece of tissue to test. So soryy about your hen. I hope all your others are okay.

 

[MickWithChicks]

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately as I had to travel for work today, I buried her pretty much immediately. I'll keep it in mind next time.

It was surreal watching her in the throes of death. Very sudden. It was as if she was choking and her heart stopped. Not something nice to see, but as I plan on keeping chickens for a long time to come, something I suspect I'll see again. I watched another hen die a few weeks ago from the bite of a red bellied black snake. I heard a ruckus, saw the snake leave the coop. Thought all was good, but found a hen on the coop floor 30 minutes later and while I tried to comfort her, she went downhill fast and was dead in an hour. Watching 2 hens die in 2 weeks sucks, but is what it is.

Thanks to very strict bio-security laws, fortunately we don't have viral Newcastle Disease in Australia.
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animals-and-livestock/poultry-and-birds/health-disease/newcastle-disease

My chickens do however spend plenty of time with native birds. There are about a dozen species of natives that frequently visit the runs and of course, free range with them. So worms of all types are something I normally treat for at least every 3-6 months.

I've learned a few things from this:

1. Don't delay diagnosis.
2. Always seek input before treating.
3. How to properly feed medication/feed directly to the crop when your chicken refuses to eat/drink.
4. Try to get a swab for testing if treatment fails.
   • Research whether any nearby universities have the labs to perform necropsies.

 

[Eggcessive]

We normally do not have outbreaks of exotic Newcastles in the US either, but last year there was an outbreak in S. California.

Yes, I agree that it is surreal to be with a chicken as they go through the throes of death. The ones I have seen usually have some twisting of the neck and strange movements.

Hopefully, no one else will be sick.