Question on Sour Crop....

[Tgallaher1]

So I have a hen, 9 months okd and her crop is bulbous. I felt it, it was kinda hard at first, I massaged it and it seemed the hardness passed, but then it was gaseous and never went back down in size. I separated her, no food only water for 2 days. I tipped her upside down and induced vomiting for 2 seconds at a time and i had given her a small bit of crumble and grit the night before and when i induced vomiting, it was ground up crumble, not brown fluid as sour crop would indicate. Through this entire time she has acted normally. I ordered Daktarin gel to give her for the yeast, since her crop was doughy and gaseous....but shes acting normally and eating and laying...is it possible her crop is just bigger in size than the others? Or stretched out?? I'm a little lost now. Her crop is soft, but still bulbous with no smell and normal food color to her vomit when i induced. ‍ Any ideas?

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings Tgallaher1,

Yes, it is possible that her crop is stretched out. Some hens eat so much that they do develop what is called a "pendulous crop". These hens are prone to crop impaction, and then a sour crop, as the contents start to ferment.

But, you must be very careful when tipping a hen to empty the crop. Some of the contents can go into the airway, and the hen will aspirate. Some hens, can even lose conscientious, so, be prepared to do CPR if this happens. This vary thing happened to one of my hens just a few months ago. I was able to revive her. Sadly, some do die.

Here are some tips:

• Put on a crop bra. (If she has a pendulous crop).
  
  
• Make some crop tonic (or what ever treatment you have). The medicine should kill yeast/fungus.
  
  
• Finally, give her crop a gentle massage, several times a day.

• Offer, small meals of wet mash, one diced grape for a treat. I would not feed pellets right now. Ground feed is easier to digest.

Here is my recipe for Crop Tonic.
Crop Tonic:
1 tsp. thick yogurt with at least 3 bacteria cultures in it.
1 drop, Oregano Oil
4 drops Coconut Oil, melted or Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil
4 drops water

Mix in a shot glass, stir well, and administer 1 mL, orally with syringe.

Then, first thing in the morning check her crop. If it doesn't feel flat, then you know it didn't empty.

Also, look to see if she pooped, normally. If she did, that's good. Maybe her crop is emptying slowly. Look at her body language, is the tail up, eyes alert, good color in the comb and wattles, is she active and ready for the day?

You will have to make a ritual of checking on her each day, till you are feeling comfortable that she is OK.

The most important thing is, that she gets enough calories and nutrients. Probiotics for poultry, and a dose of poultry vitamins, is also beneficial.

Coconut oil is also, good for sick chickens, it adds calories. The fat helps the body absorb vitamins, protects the organs, and can kill harmful pathogens like bacteria, viruses and fungi (yeasts). Coconut oil is easy to use. It can be melted and mixed into the feed. Some chickens enjoy little chips of it.

If the crop issue goes on for along time, this could mean that it is a genetic issue, or it can be from an injury. Sometimes chickens can injure their crop falling off a perch, or it can just be something she is struggling with for now. She may need to wear a crop bra. If you decide a crop bra is needed, it should fit snug, but not too tight. It will apply pressure and support to the crop, so that the contents can slide down to the gizzard.

The crop is a muscle. It is supposed to receive a signal from the gizzard, to release food down to the provetriculus, and on to the gizzard. That's where the food is ground up with the little rocks (grit) that the chicken eats.

If she is pooping normal, this is really a good sign. It shows that food is going down to the gizzard and getting digested. You will just have to monitor the hen for a couple of weeks.

I know how tedious it is, having to monitor a hen when they have a crop issue. I have a hen just like this. Crop problems can take any where from a few days to several weeks to resolve. You will have be consistent with your treatment plan, and patient, too.

Update us on her progress, so that we will know she is OK, or if you need additional advice.

You will recieve advice from other members, please consider these too.
These are my thoughts on your hens crop issue, I hope they are of some use to you.

God Bless

 

[Tgallaher1]

Greetings Tgallaher1,

Yes, it is possible that her crop is stretched out. Some hens eat so much that they do develop what is called a "pendulous crop". These hens are prone to crop impaction, and then a sour crop, as the contents start to ferment.

But, you must be very careful when tipping a hen to empty the crop. Some of the contents can go into the airway, and the hen will aspirate. Some hens, can even lose conscientious, so, be prepared to do CPR if this happens. This vary thing happened to one of my hens just a few months ago. I was able to revive her. Sadly, some do die.

Here are some tips:

• 
  
  
  • Put on a crop bra. (If she has a pendulous crop).
  • Make some crop tonic (or what ever treatment you have). The medicine should kill yeast/fungus.
  • Finally, give her crop a gentle massage, several times a day.

• 
  
  
  • Offer, small meals of wet mash, one diced grape for a treat. I would not feed pellets right now. Ground feed is easier to digest.

Here is my recipe for Crop Tonic.
Crop Tonic:
1 tsp. thick yogurt with at least 3 bacteria cultures in it.
1 drop, Oregano Oil
4 drops Coconut Oil, melted or Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil
4 drops water

Mix in a shot glass, stir well, and administer 1 mL, orally with syringe.

Then, first thing in the morning check her crop. If it doesn't feel flat, then you know it didn't empty.

Also, look to see if she pooped, normally. If she did, that's good. Maybe her crop is emptying slowly. Look at her body language, is the tail up, eyes alert, good color in the comb and wattles, is she active and ready for the day?

You will have to make a ritual of checking on her each day, till you are feeling comfortable that she is OK.

The most important thing is, that she gets enough calories and nutrients. Probiotics for poultry, and a dose of poultry vitamins, is also beneficial.

Coconut oil is also, good for sick chickens, it adds calories. The fat helps the body absorb vitamins, protects the organs, and can kill harmful pathogens like bacteria, viruses and fungi (yeasts). Coconut oil is easy to use. It can be melted and mixed into the feed. Some chickens enjoy little chips of it.

If the crop issue goes on for along time, this could mean that it is a genetic issue, or it can be from an injury. Sometimes chickens can injure their crop falling off a perch, or it can just be something she is struggling with for now. She may need to wear a crop bra. If you decide a crop bra is needed, it should fit snug, but not too tight. It will apply pressure and support to the crop, so that the contents can slide down to the gizzard.

The crop is a muscle. It is supposed to receive a signal from the gizzard, to release food down to the provetriculus, and on to the gizzard. That's where the food is ground up with the little rocks (grit) that the chicken eats.

If she is pooping normal, this is really a good sign. It shows that food is going down to the gizzard and getting digested. You will just have to monitor the hen for a couple of weeks.

I know how tedious it is, having to monitor a hen when they have a crop issue. I have a hen just like this. Crop problems can take any where from a few days to several weeks to resolve. You will have be consistent with your treatment plan, and patient, too.

Update us on her progress, so that we will know she is OK, or if you need additional advice.

You will recieve advice from other members, please consider these too.
These are my thoughts on your hens crop issue, I hope they are of some use to you.

God Bless

Thank you so much!! She has always acted normally through all of it. Im a little stumped. Its just a large bulb on her chest. Shes laying normally, eating, and drinking. I will separate her again this evening so i can see what her poop is looking like now. She is on crumble, and water with pribiotics. I will keep you posted, and THANK YOU again!! I'm all ears....Im 9 months new to chicken keeping.