Sour crop not improving, may be other issues going on

[Agathe]

I have a chicken that I yesterday morning found lethargic. I took her aside and could feel that her crop was large and squishy, like all filled with fluid. She also had diarrhoea, which might have had for a few days as I've noticed that there have been watery poops under one of the roosts in the morning. I thought I knew the reason why so I wasn't worried and all the chickens seemed fine. I know now I should have investigated further although it is unlikely I would have suspected sour crop as I've never dealt with it before. I called the local vet who could not help aside to tell me to keep giving fluid because of the diarrhoea. So I've administered garlic water with a little bit of yoghurt in it a few times a day plus softly massaging her crop a little bit. She slept on the roosts with the others but when I went to get her this morning there was zero improvement. Her crop hasn't emptied at all. She had moved so I couldn't be sure if she has pooped any but there were no watery poops. She pooped twice yesterday, once diarrhoea, later in the day after having been given only fluids she made one small but normal looking poop.

From reading online I find all sorts of conflicting advice and with no vet who knows anything about chickens I'm at a loss. What I'm doing doesn't seem to be helping and I worry she's too far gone already. The sour crop might be a result of something else going on. One day maybe a week ago I found blood on one of the roosts. None of the chickens seemed to be injured, I wrote it off as a peck in some not very visible spot, and now I'm thinking there might have been an internal bleed of some sort.

She can walk around a tiny bit but mostly nods off. She has terrible breath and her innards make weird sounds, like food digesting. She seems thinner than she used to be so I'm not sure how long I can keep her off food, although she isn't interested in food anyway. I feed fluid with a syringe.

 

[nuthatched]

What is her diet? You may need a yeast infection product.

 

[Agathe]

What is her diet? You may need a yeast infection product.

She eats layer feed mainly plus drinks plain water. In the last week I've also given them scrambled eggs and cooked potatoes. It is the potatoes I thought was the reason for the diarrhoea because I've seen it happen before but it then has improved with some extra grit. My uncle brought me potatoes to feed them and it was part of an old way of feeding chickens before chicken feed. They've been given the potatoes in addition to regular feed and just a few. She might have eaten too much of it or too big a pieces, although generally my chickens aren't very interested in potatoes so I doubt she's been gobbling down in it either. Shops are closed here at the moment because of Easter so no getting anything, not that we even have a pharmacy where I live. I might call the vet to ask if they have something but the vet had zero clue about chickens and they generally don't.

 

[nuthatched]

She eats layer feed mainly plus drinks plain water. In the last week I've also given them scrambled eggs and cooked potatoes. It is the potatoes I thought was the reason for the diarrhoea because I've seen it happen before but it then has improved with some extra grit. My uncle brought me potatoes to feed them and it was part of an old way of feeding chickens before chicken feed. They've been given the potatoes in addition to regular feed and just a few. She might have eaten too much of it or too big a pieces, although generally my chickens aren't very interested in potatoes so I doubt she's been gobbling down in it either. Shops are closed here at the moment because of Easter so no getting anything, not that we even have a pharmacy where I live. I might call the vet to ask if they have something but the vet had zero clue about chickens and they generally don't.

Today's chickens are much different that our grandparents chickens, so she may not do well with them, and potato skins can be toxic to chickens.
I'd keep doing the massage and if you can get a fermented vinegar or kefir/yogurt, that might help. If she had too big of a piece that maybe causing a blockage, hopefully that will pass soon.

 

[Agathe]

Today's chickens are much different that our grandparents chickens, so she may not do well with them, and potato skins can be toxic to chickens.
I'd keep doing the massage and if you can get a fermented vinegar or kefir/yogurt, that might help. If she had too big of a piece that maybe causing a blockage, hopefully that will pass soon.

I had no idea potato skin could be toxic to chickens, I thought it was just the potato plant itself, not the tubers. I had no idea either that chickens are different now to what they used to be. They supposedly used to feed them potatoes and skimmed milk, I've not given them milk though. But no more potatoes! I do have fermented vinegar but some say it shouldn't be used with sour crop so I have avoided it until now. All the conflicting information online is really confusing. I also have kombucha and sauerkraut, if the probiotics might be of any use...

 

[nuthatched]

I had no idea potato skin could be toxic to chickens, I thought it was just the potato plant itself, not the tubers. I had no idea either that chickens are different now to what they used to be. They supposedly used to feed them potatoes and skimmed milk, I've not given them milk though. But no more potatoes! I do have fermented vinegar but some say it shouldn't be used with sour crop so I have avoided it until now. All the conflicting information online is really confusing. I also have kombucha and sauerkraut, if the probiotics might be of any use...

That might work, I'll find a good guide for you.
Potatoes are fine, just not the skins and they can have dairy but not a lot. mine love a bit of cheese or yogurt.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/sour-crop-treatment-naturally-medically.73449/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

 

[Agathe]

That might work, I'll find a good guide for you.
Potatoes are fine, just not the skins and they can have dairy but not a lot. mine love a bit of cheese or yogurt.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/sour-crop-treatment-naturally-medically.73449/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

Thank you and thank you so much for taking the time to get back to me! I'll try giving her ACV. I'm honestly not too hopeful as I suspect I've caught it too late. At least I know what to look for in the future...

 

[Agathe]

No improvement with AVC so far so I am trying with fennel tea as suggested in one of the links that was shared. Hoping to see some improvement as she is worse today than she was yesterday, hardly moving at all and mostly just sleeping. She made one watery poop but no other changes. She's with us enough to try to fight me when I'm fiddling with the syringe though so she has some spark left in her.

 

[Agathe]

The fennel seed tea seems to be working. She's perked up somewhat and is moving around more and squeals when I pick her up. (She's one of the birds who hates to be handled by us.) She's pooped twice more, one runny and one normal looking. Crop feels emptier now, but it is still squishy. There seems to be some hope that she can pull through. I just hope fast enough for me to be able to feed her a little because it's day two with no food and possibly a few days of diarrhoea.

 

[Big Yardbird]

The fennel seed tea seems to be working. She's perked up somewhat and is moving around more and squeals when I pick her up. (She's one of the birds who hates to be handled by us.) She's pooped twice more, one runny and one normal looking. Crop feels emptier now, but it is still squishy. There seems to be some hope that she can pull through. I just hope fast enough for me to be able to feed her a little because it's day two with no food and possibly a few days of diarrhoea.