Pullet with sour crop? Not showing clear symptoms

[YellowBird0]

Thank you all for the feedback!

@Wyorp Rock and @Texas Kiki , if Fish Zole gets here fast enough, I will give her a chance. If not, I might go ahead and cull her, and get the rest of the flock on copper sulfate ASAP.

@Kathy Golla , thank you for the information! The waterers I use are plastic with nipples with little metal springs. Do you think this will be a problem?

Other information following up other questions: I checked 3-4 other pullets (the friendliest ones) and they don't seem to have symptoms, leastwise not so bad that it's noticeable (hard to tell if hey have food on the roofs of their beams, or very early discharge). A vet for diagnosis is not an option for logistical reasons, unfortunately.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

View attachment 1830011 Ah you know...my MO is to come behind your and Kim’s posts with tiny obscure details

Kathy, the details DO matter, so thank you for that

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The waterers I use are plastic with nipples with little metal springs. Do you think this will be a problem?

@YellowBird0 I think I would get some rubber bowls for the treated water. I'm not too sure about the metal springs in your water system. My understanding is the Acidified Copper Sulfate is not to be used with any metal, even to stir/mix it, you would not use a metal utensil only plastic or glass. It may just be that it corrosive to metal, but I'm not positive that it doesn't cause some other reaction. @Kathy Golla may know.

 

[Kiki]

Are the nipple waterers the only water they have access to?

I'm wondering if they aren't getting enough water and might be finding water else where...where wild birds drink too.

 

[Kathy Golla]

I think I remember from dawg or aart that copper sulfate is corrosive to the waterer, and breaking down the zinc galvanized coating would give the birds zinc poisoning. I would play it safe and not have it anywhere with metal.

 

[YellowBird0]

Are the nipple waterers the only water they have access to?

I'm wondering if they aren't getting enough water and might be finding water else where...where wild birds drink too.

They are free range, and definitely drink from waterers where wild birds drink/poop. They also scratch through a lot of wild bird poop near my feeders. I am going to build water shelters though, to reduce the amount of poop that gets in their water. I don't want to risk contamination again!

 

[YellowBird0]

I think I remember from dawg or aart that copper sulfate is corrosive to the waterer, and breaking down the zinc galvanized coating would give the birds zinc poisoning. I would play it safe and not have it anywhere with metal.

Thanks you for the suggestion, I agree! I am going to use their plastic-only waterers, and just deal with filling them a couple times a day while on copper sulfate treatment.

 

[Kiki]

Do you feed wild birds?
So is it possible to move the wild bird feeders clear across the yard... As far away as possible from the chicken area?


When I learned that wild birds carry a lot of nasty stuff that chickens can catch I stopped feeding wild birds in my yard.
I'm not suggesting that you stop feeding them but I think you should move the feeders as far as possible from the chickens.

 

[YellowBird0]

I'm definitely going to move the waterers away from the wild bird feeding station! The feeders I can't keep them away from, but I can leastwise keep the water which I suspect is the culprit, much cleaner moving forward.

As an update, I decided to cull the infected chicken, and disinfected all feeders, waterers and the coop with bleach. Crossing my fingers no one else had exposure time to get infected.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm definitely going to move the waterers away from the wild bird feeding station! The feeders I can't keep them away from, but I can leastwise keep the water which I suspect is the culprit, much cleaner moving forward.

As an update, I decided to cull the infected chicken, and disinfected all feeders, waterers and the coop with bleach. Crossing my fingers no one else had exposure time to get infected.

Sorry for your loss, but I think that was a practical thing for you to do.

I would still give the flock the Acidified Copper Sulfate for 3 days a month for a few months, even if you don't see any signs of canker in them.