Sour Crop. . . Did I accidently overdo it? Am I doing it right?

[Gingerpool]

I noticed yesterday that my 8 month old Andalusian hen's crop looked full in the middle of the day. I immediately turned to google so I knew what to look for when I examined closer. I felt her crop later that night and it seemed firm like normal. I was nervous though and the next day have her some milk to either help flood out a impacted crop or, I had read, to cure a sour crop. Later today I noticed the crop still seemed abnormally swollen for the daytime and decided to feel it. It was squishy and not at all like the firm crop I know to be normal. Knowing that it was indeed sour Crop I massage her crop holding her head down hoping she would vomit. She doesn't do I just let her go while I don't more time researching. I read Apple Cider vinegar was good for the yeast infection so tonight I had her eat some bread that had been soaked in it. I also decided to isolate her from the flock and the regular pellet food to make sure her crop was empty in the morning. I plan to give her plain yogurt and scrambled eggs once her crop empties but I am worried right now that I have her too much apple cider vinegar. . . What exactly does apple cider vinegar do to a chicken and how much is too much and why?

 

[piminuse]

First thing's first: does your Andalusian gal seem sick?

If she's acting fine then you should probably just observe for a bit and look for off behavior like lethargy, loss of appetite and watery/clear poo. You should also check her crop first thing in the morning to see if it has emptied.

If you notice any symptoms or a full crop after a night of rest then you can suspect some sort of crop impaction. HOWEVER, and this is a big however, this doesn't mean you should then do exactly as the internet tells you and try to get her to vomit. I lost my Andalusian to asphyxiation when I tried to empty her crop because I watched a video and trusted it verbatim. Please learn from my mistake and try less invasive methods first.

If it's impacted, then you can help massage the crop and make sure that there's plenty of grit for her to help things get moving. If its sour (you can check my smelling her open beak) then the apple cider has beneficial cultures if its raw, and creates an environment that's hard for harmful fungus to survive.

 

[Sweetheat]

This video was shared with me in another thread and it was immensely helpful. Keep her away from food and water over night to check if the crop is flat as it should be first thing in the morning. If it is there shouldn’t be a problem. If it feels squishy/hard it could be impacted/sour. This video details what to do. Basically you don’t want to give the chicken any food that the yeast can thrive on...carbs is a big one. She recommends garlic water. She also lost a chicken to forcing a vomit. It’s very dangerous. Chickens don’t have a gag reflex so it is very easy for them to choke. I hope this video helps you as it helped me.

 

[Gingerpool]

Thank you both She hasn't been acting sick but with the Squishy crop I knew it needed to be taken care of.

I am worried about the results of vomiting so I will be sure to avoid that. High-risk of death is much preferably avoidable.

I will continue with giving her Apple Cider Vinegar or switch to garlic water for the next 24 hours and then give her yogart and scrambled eggs like your video suggested until her crop is empty.