SICK Roo with an inflated crop feels like an air bag!! HELP!!!!!

[remy25]

Went out to feed chickens and rooster seemed ill. he has been lying down all day and does not want to get up. went to pick him up and his crop is HUGE it feels like it is full of air. Tipped him on his side to check him out and water came out of his beak so I tipped him forward and ALOT of water has come out of his beak now. I am new to chickens so i have no idea what could be wrong. he is only 11-12 weeks old???? i think. Please Help!!

 

[Blue_Myst]

It sounds like your little guy might have sour crop. It's a fungal infection of the crop that makes it bloated and often smells terrible. It's also possible that he has an impacted crop, blocking the food from exiting and making it ferment.

Apple Cider Vinegar added to the water is supposed to work very well for sour crop. Just put 2-3 tablespoons into a gallon of water and make sure he drinks some. Dribble it down the side of his beak, if he isn't taking it willingly. In severe cases antifungals from the vet may be needed.

Another thing you can do is gently massage the crop in an upward motion. This will help the crop move whatever is in it out of the crop. If you can, try and notice if he is still having crop contractions. You'll feel the crop grow very firm and contract. If he's having them, then that's great. If he isn't, you may have to do the message often.

I hope your little guy gets better soon, keep us posted!

 

[speckledhen]

Make sure you withdraw food entirely for the first 24 hours, only water with the ACV as the other member instructed. The next day, give only plain no sugar active culture yogurt. The next day, only give scrambled eggs with yogurt. If you can find powdered copper sulfate at the feed store, you can do that in lieu of ACV at 1/8 teaspoon to a half gallon of water, changed daily. It helps fight the fungus in the crop.

What I disagree with is massaging with upward motion. If you push up, you may make him regurgitate and aspirate. Lost a hen who choked when she started upchucking while carrying her to the house to start working on her sour crop.

 

[Blue_Myst]

Quote:
Thank you for the correction, speckledhen! Now that I look at pictures of the crop, it looks as if it should be in a downward motion. I had success with the upward motion on one of my hens with crop stasis, that's the only reason I mentioned it.

 

[speckledhen]

Experience is a hard teacher. The hen I lost that way was throwing up because in carrying her, I was inadvertently pressing on her very inflated crop. She was dead within 15 seconds from choking on whatever came up.

 

[Chickengal505]

1. This may not be sour crop at all. It's most likely he drank too much and is feeling crummy. Have you ever done alot of running ect. and the drank alot? It doenst settle on your tummy well does it?
2.I have found, that if you do it the right way, inducing vomiting is the best way to cure a sour crop. But it is something one must learn himself or be taught face to face.

 

[remy25]

Thank you so much everybody!! Went back out to the barn, he vomited up more water every time he put his head down while I was holding him, he had a lot come up and it smelled bad. After he stopped that I gave him a little of the apple cider vinegar water dripped down the side of his beak. I have a few questions though:

1. Is this contagious? Should he be separated from the rest of the chickens?
2. Can I give the Apple cider vinegar water mixture to everybody in the coop or is it not good for them?
3. Do most chickens survive sour crop?
4. How long do I give him the vinegar water mixture?

 

[Blue_Myst]

If it's sour crop, it's not contagious, it only affects birds individually.

You can give him the Apple Cider Vinegar for as long as you want, and there's no harm in giving it to everybody. Many BYC'ers make it a permanent part of their chicken's daily water to prevent conditions like sour crop. It's also great for limiting algae growth in the waterers, if you have that problem, too.

 

[speckledhen]

Sometimes, eating something moldy will cause sour crop, so check around waterers, cordon off any compost piles with moldy feed, etc.

 

[CherryChick]

Quote:
Wow, I might just have to start doing that! Thanks for the great advice everyone!