Slow or Sour Crop

[Carolrich]

Hello friends! My sweet little 2 1/2 year old hen, Greta, has a watery squishy crop. We first saw this yesterday evening. She is lethargic and her crown is droopy. I picked her up to take her to our isolation pen and brownish but clear liquid started coming out of her beak. I tilted her head downward so she wouldn't aspirate. There was no foul odor. I kept her in the pen overnight with just water with a dose of ACV in it. This morning her crop again was watery and she dribbled it up when I picked her up. There was still no foul odor. Just now, at 3PM, I checked her again and her crop was full and when I barely touched it, she began dribbling out what you see in the photo.
I did a bunch of reading and think it might be slow crop. The issue is that the advice for treatment is so varied, I don't know what is best. Massage down or up? Give her water or don't? Put ACV in the water or don't? After 12 hours of just water, feed her boiled egg or give her moistened feed with yogurt? Give her miconazole now or wait to see if it clears up? I enclosed pictures of her vomit and herself. Note the large bulge in the picture.

 

[sylviethecochin]

@azygous ?

EDT: No infection = no need to use antimicrobials/biotics/fungals. I'd wait on the Miconazole.

 

[Carolrich]

@azygous ?

EDT: No infection = no need to use antimicrobials/biotics/fungals. I'd wait on the Miconazole.

I read this article. Helpful. The author said to not make her vomit. I did not make her vomit. Any mild pressure on the area just by the act of picking her up made her vomit. I hesitate to offer any food because she is still vomiting. I will re-read the article. Thanks.

 

[sylviethecochin]

I read this article. Helpful. The author said to not make her vomit. I did not make her vomit. Any mild pressure on the area just by the act of picking her up made her vomit. I hesitate to offer any food because she is still vomiting. I will re-read the article. Thanks.

Wasn't criticising. Have you ever picked up a duckling who's just eaten? Wet everywhere--I was tagging Azygous so s/he could offer advice in this specific case. And actually, now, thinking about it, @casportpony might be able to help as well.

 

[Carolrich]

@azygous ?

EDT: No infection = no need to use antimicrobials/biotics/fungals. I'd wait on the Miconazole.

@azygous ?

EDT: No infection = no need to use antimicrobials/biotics/fungals. I'd wait on the Miconazole.

Wasn't criticising. Have you ever picked up a duckling who's just eaten? Wet everywhere--I was tagging Azygous so s/he could offer advice in this specific case. And actually, now, thinking about it, @casportpony might be able to help as well.

Wasn't criticising. Have you ever picked up a duckling who's just eaten? Wet everywhere--I was tagging Azygous so s/he could offer advice in this specific case. And actually, now, thinking about it, @casportpony might be able to help as well.

Thank you. I didn't think you were criticising I just wanted to be clear about what was going on. I will check the other article as well. In your opinion, should I withhold all good and even water for 12 hours? She is still drinking.

 

[Carolrich]

I hope @azygous sees this thread.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Thank you. I didn't think you were criticising I just wanted to be clear about what was going on. I will check the other article as well. In your opinion, should I withhold all good and even water for 12 hours? She is still drinking.

I have no experience with sour/slow/impacted crop and was not recommending an article--I was calling the users to ask if they had any advice.

I have heard that you can feed coconut oil (as an alternative to mineral oil, which is commonly recommended, but is liquid and therefore inhalable) to lubricate the crop, which I would try first. I would massage down, if I did at all, because massaging up sounds like a good way to aspirate the bird.

Good luck.

 

[Carolrich]

Wasn't criticising. Have you ever picked up a duckling who's just eaten? Wet everywhere--I was tagging Azygous so s/he could offer advice in this specific case. And actually, now, thinking about it, @casportpony might be able to help as well.

I have no experience with sour/slow/impacted crop and was not recommending an article--I was calling the users to ask if they had any advice.

I have heard that you can feed coconut oil (as an alternative to mineral oil, which is commonly recommended, but is liquid and therefore inhalable) to lubricate the crop, which I would try first. I would massage down, if I did at all, because massaging up sounds like a good way to aspirate the bird.

Good luck.

Thank you. I am new to BYC and didn't know you could tag and call members to a thread. Cool! I will keep on what I am doing until I hear from either member.

 

[azygous]

I think you are dealing with sour crop caused by a yeast infection. It prevents the crop contents from emptying. When you see liquid leaking from the beak or see liquid spill out when you handle the hen, it's almost certain you have a yeast infection on your hands.

It's good you didn't try to make her vomit. It's very, very risky, and it almost always leaks into the airway and if it gets all the way into the lungs, you can pretty much say goodbye to your hen. Also, massage is to break up an impacted crop. You do not want to massage a sour crop for the same reason you don't want to make the hen vomit.

If you haven't, read through my article on crop disorders, and I go into detail on how to recognize and treat them. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Carolrich]

I think you are dealing with sour crop caused by a yeast infection. It prevents the crop contents from emptying. When you see liquid leaking from the beak or see liquid spill out when you handle the hen, it's almost certain you have a yeast infection on your hands.

It's good you didn't try to make her vomit. It's very, very risky, and it almost always leaks into the airway and if it gets all the way into the lungs, you can pretty much say goodbye to your hen. Also, massage is to break up an impacted crop. You do not want to massage a sour crop for the same reason you don't want to make the hen vomit.

If you haven't, read through my article on crop disorders, and I go into detail on how to recognize and treat them. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

I read the article and have a couple of questions. 1. If she is urrping up fluid, won't she also uurp up the medicine?
2. Do you feed the egg and water right after the 1st medication?
Thank you for responding. Just after I posted this thread we had a huge storm and our power is out. I am using my phone which is low on battery.
P.S. I just came in from checking her crop. It is still squishy but not as full and her dribbles out of her beak were less. She readily drink her water