Sour Crop CURED with Monistat

[Betsy57]

So sorry... vomitting, lethargy and green poop could mean the end is near.

-Kathy

Time to call in hospice (teasing, I work for hospice as a social worker/bereavement counselor, I'll have to counsel myself). I'm going out to dig a grave and give him a proper burial. Gosh, I sure hate losing him. Such a good rooster. Wish I had an incubator to hatch out some of the eggs he fertilized. I have a gal who is broody but she isn't sitting, just puffing up and making a racket. I put some fake eggs in her and she attacked them.

 

[casportpony]

Did he die? If so, I'm so sorry!

Kathy

 

[Betsy57]

Time to call in hospice (teasing, I work for hospice as a social worker/bereavement counselor, I'll have to counsel myself). I'm going out to dig a grave and give him a proper burial. Gosh, I sure hate losing him. Such a good rooster. Wish I had an incubator to hatch out some of the eggs he fertilized. I have a gal who is broody but she isn't sitting, just puffing up and making a racket. I put some fake eggs in her and she attacked them.

R.I.P Red.

 

[casportpony]

Sorry for your loss.

-Kathy

 

[Betsy57]

Sorry for your loss.

-Kathy

Thank you. I was just outside breaking it to the gals.

 

[azygous]

So sorry, Betsy. I know you'll miss Red. Maybe you can rig up a makeshift incubator with a heating pad and a pan of water, turning the eggs by hand. It was a big consolation after I lost my rooster last year to have his six-week old baby son. Watching him grow up into a replica of his daddy has been very rewarding.

 

[Betsy57]

So sorry, Betsy. I know you'll miss Red. Maybe you can rig up a makeshift incubator with a heating pad and a pan of water, turning the eggs by hand. It was a big consolation after I lost my rooster last year to have his six-week old baby son. Watching him grow up into a replica of his daddy has been very rewarding.

I have the eggs and I am trying to get two gals to sit on them. They're broody but just not wanting to sit on eggs where I want them to sit. I have them downstairs in the two story rabbit hutch (one in the upstairs and one downstairs). I hope I can get a rooster out of these eggs; he was such a good one and want to keep those genes. I would love to have a Little Red here taking care of the gals for him. Two Olive Eggers are sitting on the eggs!
Thank you.

 

[sue turpin]

Alright to my favorite people on the planet! Stephanie has sour crop. She is one of my "yellow girls (red sex link), and best layers. I was in denial yesterday, even though I vomited her and knew from reading on this thread what it was. So on the way home got the monistat and have given her the first dose. I vomited her just before I gave it to her. She didn't love it but seems very content now cuddled on my lap under a blanket. Spring in Ohio, it was below freezing last night with more snow, she is chilly for sure. So all you dear chicken lovers send love to my Stephie. I am keeping her in until we get through this, yogurt, scrambled eggs, and vinegar water. If someone had told m a year ago I would be snuggling a chicken on the couch? Well, you know!

 

[casportpony]

Apr 22, 2012
Source:http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/answers-from-chicken-vet-on-impacted.html

Apr 22, 2012

Answers from The Chicken Vet on Impacted, Sour & Pendulous Crops

byKathy Shea Mormino




Today's question in my series "Answers from The Chicken Vet" comes from several fans: Q: "'What's the difference between impacted, pendulous and sour crops?

*note crop location​

A: Impacted vs Pendulous vs Sour Crops
Although there are several presentations for crop issues in chickens, the root cause, and the actual disease is usually the same. When chickens gorge themselves on long, fibrous foods, their crop (and occasionally gizzard) can become blocked. Sometimes this results in an impacted crop, which is a crop that is full of a tangle of fibre that is firm, dry and relatively hard. Sometimes, the bird will drink a lot to try to help pass the blockage....this will result in sour crop, which is a crop full of watery, half-rotten, acidic soup that actually smells worse than it sounds. Sour crop may also be associated with fungal infection, although there is some question about whether the fungus causes the poor emptying of the crop, or is a result of it. Finally, if the crop (which is basically a sac of smooth muscle) becomes damaged, the muscle will fail, and the crop loses its form and tension. Unfortunately, it also loses much of its function. This is what results in “pendulous crop”....the sac is saggy and enlarged.

The main factor in crop problems is prevention. DON’T give your hens access to long, lush, springy grass, twine or other long, stringy things that they can eat. DO make sure that there is plenty of good, palatable water near where the hens will be foraging. If you yard is large, and you have some “bully” birds, it is a good idea to provide a few “drinking stations” where timid birds can get some water while they are feeding.

These problems are more prevalent in the spring, when the grass is lush, and less likely to break when the hens peck at them. This is especially true when the hens are coming into lay, and have large appetites that may cause them to gorge themselves when they get the chance. You should cut your grass fairly short before releasing your hens for the first time in the spring, and if the cuttings are long, rake them up. Naturally, keeping strings and twine away from the hens is a good idea.

Treatment for crop disorders involves 1) emptying them as appropriate and 2) treating for secondary infections if necessary. Sour crop can be helped by holding the bird face-down, at about a 60 degree angle, and massaging the crop towards the throat....the stinky mess should come out like vomit, and reduce the swelling. Be sure to let the hen breathe between bouts of massaging, and keep her inside for a couple days after, feeding soft foods and adding a little bit (1tbsp/gallon) of baking soda to the drinking water to combat the acidity. Do NOT use cider vinegar to treat this, as it only adds to the acid burden. Treatment with an anti-fungal agent might be of value, but often, once the sour crop is dealt with and the hen is back to eating well, it is unnecessary.

Impacted crop can be treated by flushing the crop with water to help soften up the “ball”. Using a syringe and tube, put water gently into the esophagus, behind the opening at the back of the throat that goes to the lungs. Gently massage the crop several times per day, softening the mass. Adding some vegetable oil may help a little, but you will usually get reasonable results from water alone. I would NOT recommend surgery on your own....if you cannot get the impaction resolved through massage, water and oil, contact a vet to help you out....gastrointestinal surgery has a HUGE potential to go horribly wrong in an amateur’s hands.

If the crop becomes pendulous, there is little you can do to help. Feeding very digestible food will help her health, massaging the food through the crop and allowing it to empty fairly regularly will help as well, but the crop will seldom return to normal. This problem is considered to be fairly heritable, so hens with pendulous crops should likely not be used for breeding.

Dr. Mike Petrik, DVM, MSc
The Chicken Vet

 

[luvmigrls]

Wow, good stuff to know. Thanks