Slow/Sour crop

[bmetz]

I have an ISA Brown hen-almost 3 years old. Brought inside a few weeks ago with unknown issue- has recovered well with some tlc until now. Believe she has a very slow/sour crop-it is very large and very squishy. She had fluid coming out of her beak when I put her on her side for a few minutes to check her feet/put ointment on(little irritated from being on flat floor in crate-newspapers etc down for her but flat is not ideal for them). Stood her up and more fluid came out-fear she may have aspirated some. She seemed alert this morning but need to know what to do tonight after work. Can I try the miconazole cream or suppositories and see if it helps or am I going to be forced to make her vomit? I am scared of making her vomit due to thinking she may have already aspirated some. I have no experience with slow or sour crop. Thank you for any advice/help!

 

[Three Musketeers]

Hi,

This sounds like sour crop to me. A squishy/liquid filled crop and overflow of the crop (and odd twitching/ducking of their head) are telltale symptoms of sour crop; however, I would check in with a vet, if possible (as it could be another issue, or there could be an underlying primary disorder at hand).

Regarding the induced ''vomiting'', I'm not sure it's a great idea considering she may have aspirated some of the liquid already. However, if the crop is too full, then this might have to be done as you don't want the medication to simply ''float'' in the crop, reducing its efficacy (I would recommend going to see a vet for this if possible, if not looking it up online on how to do it properly and not doing it for too long).

I would personally go for the capsules (I treated my chicken with Clotrimazole) instead of cream, and diluting the capsule into water for an adequate solution (you can find the appropriate concentrations online for most of these antifungal medications).

In the meantime I hope these posts can help you out a bit more (in which you can compare symptoms, the concentration used for Clotrimazole etc.):

Link to my post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-treat-sour-crop-seemingly-effective-updated.1451264/
A helpful link to treating sour crop (or impacted crop) from another user: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/


Best of luck!

 

[coach723]

I would not vomit the bird. How have the droppings looked since she's been ill? Do you know when she last laid? Have you ever wormed or had a fecal done to test for internal parasites? Does her abdomen feel bloated, either water balloon like or very firm, feel below the vent, between the legs?
Crop problems are often a symptom of something else going on farther down the digestive tract. Narrowing it down can be difficult. This is another good article on crop problems:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/
Internal parasites can cause the crop to back up. Reproductive problems often cause the crop to back up.

 

[bmetz]

Thank you- I thought the same about it but I don't have any experience treating it. I do not really want to induce vomiting due to that-just feel very hard to have them vomit and not aspirate. Hard to get the timing just right I feel like! She probably has something else going on as well as she is not laying eggs but she is also a nearly 3 year old ISA Brown and I know they have more reproductive issues as they age. I have looked at several articles and will watch some youtube videos/tutorials as well. I feel it is pretty full since she is leaking it from her beak when turned on her side. I wonder if on her side she has any less risk of aspirating? She didn't seem to struggle with it when on her side- I had a towel over her to keep her somewhat still and I didn't even know it had happened at first(no distress, sneezing, coughing etc). Feel bad for the poor girl.. she was just getting ready to go back out with her sisters! Thank you for the posts- I actually already read them before posting this haha. Very informative and appreciated your personal account of things!

 

[bmetz]

I would not vomit the bird. How have the droppings looked since she's been ill? Do you know when she last laid? Have you ever wormed or had a fecal done to test for internal parasites? Does her abdomen feel bloated, either water balloon like or very firm, feel below the vent, between the legs?
Crop problems are often a symptom of something else going on farther down the digestive tract. Narrowing it down can be difficult. This is another good article on crop problems:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/
Internal parasites can cause the crop to back up. Reproductive problems often cause the crop to back up.

I would rather not as I don't have experience with it and worry about her aspirating. She was having horrible waste before.. think this may have been why I initially brought her in(did not know at the time and was doing ok after several days). After a little while she felt so much better(originally no energy, pale comb, diarrhea, not eating or drinking much etc)-she had tons of energy and was eating and drinking great. Droppings improved dramatically and were normal and solid. Before they were basically white liquid. It has been at least 2 weeks or more since she has laid. They have been wormed before. Last I checked when feeling her stomach/between her legs-not puffy at all. I will check again tonight. I am concerned about it being a reproductive issue as she is not laying. Thank you for the link- I actually was looking at that earlier today as well. I have a picture of her droppings from when I initially brought her in to take care of her in case that helps with anything. Her droppings are normal now though. I would like to help her if I can but I also don't want to do her more harm than good and I don't want to be selfish if the kindest thing is to let her go humanely. Thank you!

 

[Three Musketeers]

I totally understand you; I felt uneasy about making my chicken ''vomit'' as well and thus the vet did it instead (this is controversial but worked in my case).

Personally I would go to the vet at this point, as aspiration may lead to aspiration pneumonia - just to get this checked out and see if there are other (primary) issues at hand. This is because, even if you end up treating the issue at hand the aspiration could still have negative consequences afterwards.

If you are not able to see a vet, I would monitor your hen for a couple of hours without giving any food (leaving your hen in a tranquil environment on her own) - just to see if the digestive track clears up by itself - while massaging the crop gently every now and then. If nothing seems to clear up after a couple hours I would administer an antifungal medication, even if the crop has not been cleared (preferably it should be cleared). Unfortunately sour crop is a tricky and pressing issue at will deteriorate rather quickly. Furthermore veterinarians don't always test for fungal infection nor have the medication at hand (both were true in my chicken's case), thus sometimes it is best to follow this course of action if you are practically confident the (secondary or primary) symptoms line up with sour crop.

Glad the posts helped somewhat and I really hope the best for your bird , crop issues and specifically sour crop can be demanding to deal with, especially if there are underlying issues e.g. reproductive issues.

 

[bmetz]

Yeah seems hard to get just right for them. I was able to get monistat cream(they were out of stock of the suppositories) and have been dosing her with that twice a day(cannot do more due to work really). She believes I have risen from the depths of you know where to torture her with giving the cream. Makes me feel so bad.. she gets so worked up. Hoped would be more routine after a couple times. How long do you usually have to treat before there is improvement? I would think it would help relatively quickly like in your post? She is still leaking fluid if I pick her up a certain way or she moves a certain way. Wondering if at this point would be kinder to end her suffering. I don't believe she is eating really-I can't be 100% sure because of work but I have not seen her eat. She does seem interested in it, I just think she doesn't because it obviously doesn't go down. She is drinking but that is all getting stuck-hence the leaking from her beak at times. I almost let her have some bread she saw and was interested in but figured that could make things worse. Not sure she can keep it down even really. Thank you for the well wishes! I feel like there is something reproductive going on probably since not laying at all. Sad and feel bad for her. Thank you for the advice/help!

 

[Three Musketeers]

Yeah seems hard to get just right for them. I was able to get monistat cream(they were out of stock of the suppositories) and have been dosing her with that twice a day(cannot do more due to work really). She believes I have risen from the depths of you know where to torture her with giving the cream. Makes me feel so bad.. she gets so worked up. Hoped would be more routine after a couple times. How long do you usually have to treat before there is improvement? I would think it would help relatively quickly like in your post? She is still leaking fluid if I pick her up a certain way or she moves a certain way. Wondering if at this point would be kinder to end her suffering. I don't believe she is eating really-I can't be 100% sure because of work but I have not seen her eat. She does seem interested in it, I just think she doesn't because it obviously doesn't go down. She is drinking but that is all getting stuck-hence the leaking from her beak at times. I almost let her have some bread she saw and was interested in but figured that could make things worse. Not sure she can keep it down even really. Thank you for the well wishes! I feel like there is something reproductive going on probably since not laying at all. Sad and feel bad for her. Thank you for the advice/help!

Hi,

So in my case there was already improvement after administering the first dose; however, this was given on an empty crop (so there would be no fluid leaking) so I'm not sure regarding its efficacy on a full one and how that works. The dose was administered during the evening, if not mistaken, and during the night her condition improved already; so couple hours later. However there were a couple of up and downs, but after a solid ~ 7 days she was fine. I completely understand it must be difficult for you to give her the medicine as she gets worked up. The couple first doses were easy to administer as her motility was minimal, but the latter few were progressively more difficult as she gained back energy. Then again, my mom was helping me out so I can only imagine how difficult it must be to give this on your own. She was given some yoghurt with probiotics, a bit of lactase and later mashed pellet after a day (if I remember correctly).

Honestly you are the best judge in this case, in the sense that if your chicken is clearly suffering, not getting better and/or you think its reproductive-related it is your decision on what to do next. I hope your chicken is doing a bit better today, and the choice of what to do next is completely yours. Sour crop can be were discouraging to deal with.

Wishing you and your chicken the best, and I am hoping she gains some appetite back