Sour Crop! Help!! Please!!

[randakay99]

have an 11 month old hen who definitely has sour crop. I seperated her from the others because I wasn't sure exactly what was wrong. I have been feeding her yogurt and she has been drinking water. Today I was going to let her out in a small pen by herself because her poop looked normal and I picked her up and vomit flew out. I massaged her crop and it continued to shoot out. She acted like it was no big deal. I keep reading a zillion things to do and not to do. Can someone with experience please tell me what their suggestions are for helping my girl out? I have recently restricted all food and water.
Thank you!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Sorry about the problems your hen is having, you might want to post on the Emergencies forum about her. https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures
I have had a couple with it, and did similar to what you are doing. Clean the crop out, use AVC & yogurt or something similar, feed soft food. It does take a Long Time to really be cured. I usually figure it is going to take a good month to have the chicken back to normal, if you quit too soon, it is likely to reoccur, that is one reason a lot of people just cull them.
If the crop is soft (you don't have an impaction) it is usually caused by a bacterial imbalance in the crop and it takes time to reestablish the good population. A lot of things can cause this, a yeast or fungal infection, antibiotics, something she ate, or something wrong with the chicken/crop itself.
AVC is used to adjust the ph level of the crop so the yeast/fungi don't grow as well, you're using the yogurt/probiotic etc to reestablish the good population, the small soft food is too keep things moving and not extend the crop.
If the crop is extended I try to get them to vomit up at least twice a day. Just don't hold them upside down for too long.
I use about 1/3 cup/ gallon of AVC in the water for a week or so for ones I am treating, they seem to drink it no problem.
Feed her yogurt and really soft foods, make the chicken feed a wet mash. Do Not give her any grain or scraps or anything rough or hard. It should be warm enough this time of year, but in the winter I put them under a heat lamp or keep them inside, it seems to cure it faster if they are warm. I have never used it, but some people have used a fungal or yeast medication if it was not clearing up.

 

[TwoCrows]

I have dealt with a lot of sour crop myself as well. I find that the best things you can do is....check the crop first thing in the morning as this is when a crop should be completely empty. If it is soft and gushy in the morning, take her outside for a vomiting. Hold her like a foot ball in one arm and hold her at the crop with the other hand. Lean you and her forward, beak down, tail up. As soon as the gunk starts to come up, count to 2 and then stand up to allow her to breath. Don't hold her like this when fluid is coming up for more than 3 seconds at a time. Give her a short break, and then vomit her again.

Then, do not let her free range. No hard foods or seeds. You want the crop to start moving at a faster pace and not be slowed down by the gizzard. I find that dampening her layer feed will aid in faster digestion and get her to eat it more easily.

You can add apple cider vinegar to the water, 2 tablespoons of acv per gallon. Change it daily. If you have any probiotics, open a capsule and dump it on to her feed. Any damp layer feed should not be fed the next day.

Continue with the yogurt a few times a day. Never give her oil. This is not good for a slow or sour crop.

Keep her vomited every morning or during the day if you see her squiggling her neck around. No hard foods, damp layer feed only. No free ranging. Keep this up for about one week. There are medications you can give if she develops a yeast infection. Her breath will smell badly if she has one.

Keep us posted! Just keep this up and she should respond in a few days.

 

[randakay99]

Are you sure about the ACV?? I read something that said don't use it. That's the dilemma I'm having.... Lots of websites contradict each other. Your explanation makes sense though. She did really like the plain yogurt I gave her. Just a tiny bit. Then I read something else that said yogurt is too hard to digest. Ahhhhh! It's making me crazy!

 

[TwoCrows]

ACV goes in as an acid. However after the body digests it, it turns the body alkaline. This is what you want a crop to be...high PH and Alkaline. The crop is a place to store food. It needs to have a high PH value at all times, along with good bacteria so food does not rot while waiting to move into the gizzard. After a few days, the ACV will start to turn the entire body a bit more alkaline. This will help the crop in time. ACV also helps to increase the appetite and has other trace minerals that are just good for them. Just don't add too much or she won't drink it. 2 tablespoons acv per gallon of water.

I always add ACV for my sour cropped girls. But it is up to you. If you have any probiotics you can add to the water instead, this is also a wonderful thing to do.

 

[TwoCrows]

Yogurt can produce mucus in the crop. I don't like to offer it. but it won't cause too much trouble. I like to add powdered probiotics instead to the food or water.

 

[randakay99]

Thank you so much for these tips.... I found some probiotics powder and added it to her water. I am on a search for neighbors with apple cider vinegar. I will keep y'all posted. Thank you again for these tips.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC - I too am a firm believer in the use of probiotics. Good luck with your hen.

 

[randakay99]

I took her to an Avian vet this morning because she was not looking good and this limbo was killing me. She prescribed her antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, and anti fungal. I will. Be adding ACV to the water for the other 4 hens. My question for y'all now is, what do you feed your chickens?

 

[drumstick diva]

antibiotics destroy good bacteria as well as bad. I would ask your vet what you should be feeding her till she fully recovers.