Sick Americana

[Jenneh85]

Noticed yesterday, was very lethargic but moving and still trying to eat, this late evening when I finally had time to feed the hens I noticed her stuck in the bog an couldnt get out, When I picked her up all this cloudy liquid came out of her mouth, I didnt notice a smell to it. but her crop is HUGE and she feels extremely light and her mood alone tells me something is wrong but I cannot figure it out. I put her in her old brooder I will be putting her in the garage with the heat lamp and some water an some food but I dont know if I should put food, I dont know what this is never had this happen to me before, so Any to all advice would be great. Thank you. ( i did try and look for this on the forums but i couldnt find anything that relates to my situation)

 

[chicknmania]

It sounds like sour crop. I have never tried to treat it, but I've read that you withhold water/ food for 12 hours, then offer water only with probiotics in it. You can get probiotic powder at the feed store, or SavaChick would probably work. Basically, sour crop is a yeast infection in the crop. Obviously, keep her by herself in a hospital pen of some kind, where she can be warm and quiet.

I know sour crop is supposed to have an odor, but idk. About 12 years ago, when we first got chickens, we had a hen with symptoms similar to yours. She literally seemed to get that way overnignt. WE didn't have a chance to do anything for her before it killed her, but back then, I don't think we would have known what to do anyway, because no one knew what to do for chickens back then. So anyway, you do want to try to do all you can, and that's where I would start, as I described above. Hopefully someone else will kick in with some advice, that's had to deal with it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[MissChick@dee]

Yes...with hold food pull up all the food tonight and check her crop in the morning to see if it has emptied. Does it smell??
Do you feed BREAD?

 

[Jenneh85]

Yes i tried to give them some bread for the first time in 2 yrs didn't think it was bad, i had just bought it too an ive been eating it too, Every other gal is fine but scardy isnt. I will put her in the garage with a heat lamp w.o food/water for the night. How do I tell if theres a smell?

 

[chicknmania]

Yes i tried to give them some bread for the first time in 2 yrs didn't think it was bad, i had just bought it too an ive been eating it too, Every other gal is fine but scardy isnt. I will put her in the garage with a heat lamp w.o food/water for the night. How do I tell if theres a smell?

It will stink like sour milk. I have never heard of bread causing it, but I suppose if you feed a LOT of bread??

 

[Jenneh85]

Nope only a few broken up dinner rolls, I normally dont feed them that but my husband sent me a link on what to feed your hens to get them to lay yr round and one of the items mentioned was bread. I have cracked oats as well along with scraps and the normal feed.

 

[Jenneh85]

UPDATE:

Scardy is still alive, Very weak though for the most part. She shows interest in the poultry feed, and I put some water in there with poultry cell in there till i can get to the feed store and buy the right stuff, I see her crop moving as if she is trying to move something down. I dont know how to help her and would love some more advice if that's possible.

 

[chicknmania]

UPDATE:

Scardy is still alive, Very weak though for the most part. She shows interest in the poultry feed, and I put some water in there with poultry cell in there till i can get to the feed store and buy the right stuff, I see her crop moving as if she is trying to move something down. I dont know how to help her and would love some more advice if that's possible.

You could PM TwoCrows on here, she's had some experience with sour crop I believe and has had some success treating it.

 

[Jenneh85]

Sad update: Scardy lost the battle, and smells sour to high heaven. I tried to do all I could but I think I got to her to late.

Lesson learned from this: NO BREAD.

 

[chicknmania]

I'm so sorry for your loss, but at least you tried. I think bread is OK in moderation. We have given bread to ours for years, but only once in a while. I don't know what the cause is, but I know other people have problems with sour crop that don't feed a lot, if any, bread. Once a chicken gets sick, it's very hard to get them well, in most cases. Was she a Barred Rock? I think BR's have a little harder time staying healthy than some other breeds. Anyway, you learned some things, and that's what's important in case there's a next time.