Sour Crop?? Need Advice

[cparr73]

Hello, I have read a few other threads regarding sour crop and how to treat it but I am having a hard time with my hen. I have been massaging her crop, I got her to throw up one time, I gave her eggs with olive oil and plain probiotic yogurt. I tried to get to drink some ACV water but she didn't want it at the time. She is still eating just fine and pooping as well. I will continue to do this until I see her crop is getting smaller/better but I am worried that it will not get better for some reason. I am a first time chicken owner so I worry about every little thing. I am just not sure what else I should do for her at the moment. I have 4 other hens and I have not separated her as she seems to be fine with everything else; her attitude is normal and she is not acting weird in any way. Any advice?

 

[LJoWilly]

There are a lot of people on here with more knowledge than myself. I had just dealt with a crop issue in one of my hens just a couple of weeks ago. She too was acting normal,except her crop was not emptying all the way, and she did not poop alot. They say that there is an underlying issues that cause crop problems, and the only thing I could attribute it to was an outbreak of cocci. I treated the whole flock, and today she is doing great.
I am not suggesting that this is what is happening to your hen, I just wanted you to know that you're not alone.
Hopefully someone else will chime in with better advice.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you back up a bit and tell us why you think she has sour crop? How does her crop feel now, and how is it at daylight before she eats? Do you smell a sour or rotten odor from her beak? Has she spit up any brown liquid?

 

[cparr73]

Well, I noticed 2 days ago that her crop was hanging low and it feels like a water balloon (it may have been like this for awhile, I just didn't notice it). So I just assumed it was sour crop based off stuff i read and started to massage her and tried to get her to throw up, which she did a tiny bit and a small piece of green plastic came out along with some layer feed. It was not a liquid type of throw up. The next morning I felt her crop and it was not emptied like my other hens were. She was still like a water balloon. This morning I cooked her a scrambled egg and added olive oil to it as I read that helped for alot of other people. Her crop did not go down at all so a few hours ago I was giving her some water using a dropper and tried to get her to throw up again but she did not want to throw up at all. I smelled her breath as well and it was a bit stinky but not like extremely horrible. She has not spit up any brown liquid. When I rubbed her crop she would breathe with her mouth open and looked like she would throw up but wouldn't. I also gave her like two spoons full of the plain yogurt with some crushed layer feed which she gobbled down. I let them free range in my backyard too so I think they get enough grit. I have seen her poop though it is a bit more liquid than other times. Her last poop was quite green and had some bits of straw in it. I haven't seen her eat the straw in the coop but she might be eating it. Their food and water is available to them all the time ( I have 5 hens; the other 4 are doing just fine). I will check her again before I go to work in the morning, she is still with all the other hens as I didn't think I needed to separate her.

 

[cparr73]

Thank you! I am worried for her. I didn't think of Cocci as she isn't pooping blood, acting lethargic or looking sick. She seems normal except the crop. I will look more into that though.

 

[Eggcessive]

Many things can cause a crop slowdown, including cocci and other illnesses. Coccidiosis does not always cause blood in the droppings, but it is runny with mucus. I would not worry a whole lot if she is alert, active, and taking food and water. But it would be good to withhold solid food for a day to see if her crop goes down. Put some vitamins with electrolytes, such as SaveAChick or others in her water. Really encourage her to drink, and massage her crop throughout the day a few rimes. Yogurt and a little egg are good, but no solid food or chicken feed for a day. Don't use oil anymore, since it can cause more problems. A chicken with sour crop will look sick, so hers may just be slow to empty. Two Crows has a good thread about dealing with impacted and sour crop problems if you do a search for it at the top of this page.

 

[cparr73]

ok, no more oil. I will keep with the yogurt and ACV. I may have a harder time keeping her away from the other food as I do not have a separate spot I can put her in aside from the main coop where the food is. I did but some lifelytes in their water yesterday and do every few days. Should I also treat for cocci? Would it hurt if I did and my hens don't have Cocci?

 

[hatchichickens]

I lost a hen to sour crop last year. I read a bunch of threads and thought I would be able to save her but I ended up trying everything and watching her waste away and die in my arms. I regret not taking her to the vet. If you can get it to clear up in a couple of days that's great, but I recommend getting professional help if things don't start looking up. Maybe try Monistat, I didn't do that. I wish I would have gotten Nystatin or Fluconazole prescribed to her. I hope your hen gets better!!! Sorry I can't be more helpful...

 

[Eggcessive]

I would be a little more concerned about the bits of straw that she is passing in her droppings. You can try giving her 2 stool softener capsules to help her pass the rest if that is clogging up her system. Coccidosis symptoms are lethargy, runny droppings with mucus (and sometimes blood,) refusal to eat, and hunching or puffing up. It doesn't sound like cocci except for more runny poops, but if you choose to treat with Corid, it won't harm the others.

 

[cparr73]

Ya, she is not acting lethargic and she is eating. I saw her eating this morning and she is drinking water with electrolytes. Is there a certain type of stool softener or just any stool softener, like from the grocery store? I checked her this morning and her crop was still water balloon like, doesn't look like it emptied. I was thinking I would go get her some Nystatin too. I hope she doesn't have any more plastic bits in her crop, she doesn't want to throw up and I don't want to force her too much and hurt her.