Possible Sour Crop?

[SmallStep]

I have a situation that may be sour crop that has a bit of a history. It's a long story but I'll distill it:

1. I purchased chicks from McMurray Hatchery. They were healthy when they got here and seemed to progress normally.
2. As they got older I realized they weren't growing as fast as they should and investigated the date on my starter/grower. It was a year old.
3. I got current feed, started them on it and they grew quickly, however one, who hadn't progressed quite as fast, got what seemed like a respiratory infection and died. I got some powdered tetracycline and treated the whole bunch for almost 3 days. I stopped because they didn't seem to be drinking and were really thirsty and because the powder seemed to be reacting with the metal waterers.
4. Everything seemed to get back to normal until I saw that one--a Red Star--had a distended crop. I think this could have been precipitated by the antibiotics, but it could also be a result of poor crop development because of the lack of nutrition in the feed. (They were 17 weeks when I finally discovered it.)
5. I read some articles on sites like this on what to do for a distended crop and carefully followed a procedure to empty her crop (turning her upside down and gently massaging crop). It worked and thank goodness she didn't asphyxiate. I also withheld food for 24 hours, offering only water with unfiltered AC vinegar. After that I gave her some yogurt with a little feed, which she didn't really want to eat. I gave her a little hard boiled egg yoke. She ate a few bites.
6. Then she seemed normal for a couple of days, eating normally. We felt safe to leave all of them in the care of our neighbor who checked on them every day and replenished food while we took a short vacation.
7. When we returned last night her crop was very distended--much more so than last time. And she just keeps eating. I removed the food and sprinkled some small to medium-sized granite grit on the ground of the coop (I had been relying on sand).
8. This morning when I checked on her, her crop was very distended again--soft and gurgley. Again I expressed as much as I could.

There are no poultry vets anywhere near my location. I just wonder if there is any other way I can salvage her. I really hate to lose her; she's the sweetest one I have.​

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Thanks,​

SS​

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[lbgreenfield]

Aw I'm sorry to hear about your chick. How is she doing today? I will bump for views and tag a few others that might be able to help:
@azygous
@Eggcessive
@aart
@Kiki

 

[azygous]

Have you tried treating with miconazole?

 

[Eggcessive]

Azygous has a good article about crop problems here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
I have never successfully treated a case of either impacted crop or sour crop, since my hens had another disease that lead to the crop problem. How old is your chicken, and does she lay eggs? Is her lower belly between her legs enlarged, spongy or hard? Some people learn how to tube feed, and then you can empty the crop with a tube and syringe, and flush water into the crop to try and help to clear the crop. Since sour crop may be from a fungal infection or a bacterial infection from a long standing impacted crop, a vet could determine if an antibiotic or antibfungal drug would be better.

 

[SmallStep]

Her crop isn't hard as in an impacted crop. It's soft and squishy. She is going on 25 weeks, but for 18 weeks all of my chicks got outdated food. I was told it was current and like an idiot, I didn't double-check the date on the bag.

None of the birds I got is laying yet. In fact, they're still on starter grower, because they were undersized from the poor nutrition.

Her lower belly between her legs is not enlarged. I'll have to feel for spongy or hard next time I go out.

There are no poultry vets closer than Marion or Asheville, NC. I have not used an antifungal. Because there is no sour smell associated with the liquid I expel when I perform the procedure for clearing the crop, I thought it would not be sour crop. I am giving her yogurt and some probiotic powder anyway.

 

[azygous]

Most of the sour crops I've treated had no sour smell. Only one case had a bad odor, and that hen had a seriously impacted crop.

Miconazole is easy to find in the women's hygiene products. I use the generic miconazole seven day cream from Walmart. The treatment is two doses per day for seven days. The only thing that hinders a recovery is if the crop is riding too low for it to empty properly. In that case, a crop bra can help. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[SmallStep]

How do you administer the Miconazole? Is it a cream?

 

[SmallStep]

Just went and looked on Walmart website. They have an Equate 3-day treatment combination pack. It looks like a suppository. Would I place that in her vent?

 

[SmallStep]

I just searched this and found that one woman used the exact same thing and she cut one suppository into six pieces. She dosed 1-2 times a day, hiding it in yogurt. She also said straight into the beak was well-tolerated by her bird. What do you do? And how long do you continue it?

 

[azygous]

Read my article I linked to at the end of my post #6. All the info is there. Suppositories work just as well as the cream, but it's more economical to buy just the tube of cream. Place in the beak. Putting it in the vent won't treat the crop.