Sour Crop on Chick??

[Samloveschicks]

From what i understand, sour crop does not normally affect chicks. However, I think that is what I am dealing with.
I took a several week old chick from a lady who found it in a parking lot alone. Kids were trying to shoot it with a bb gun. She had the chick for about 5 days before I took it and was only feeding it soaked wheat bread. It is sprightly and eating ok, but its beak and face smell distinctly sour, its crop did not empty fully (but it did empty some) overnight, and its crop crackles with what sounds like air. What should I be doing for this little one? No telling how long it had been along and malnourished.
On the bright side, it is extremely sweet!

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Sour crop is caused by an overgrowth of fungus as a result of impacted or slow moving crop. It is more common in adult chickens because it is often the result of them eating different things like long blades of grass or bulky leaves etc that are not easily digested. Young chicks tend to eat only chick crumb and the odd bug so are less likely to get crop problems, but it is not unheard of for chicks to eat wood shavings and have problems with their crops.

With a diet of bread and no grit, I'm not surprised your chick's crop struggled to empty. What is the chick's poop like? Watery, greenish poop indicates malnutrition, whereas solid white tipped brown poops are a sign most nutrients are getting through.

First you need to treat any impaction by providing small sized grit and feeding it a teaspoon full of some kind of oil like olive oil or coconut oil then massaging the crop. You might also withhold food for 24 hours and provide only water with apple cider vinegar if you have it.
Finally an antifungal might be necessary. You can feed the chick human antifungal medicines including miconazole, clotrimazole or fluconazole in cream or tablet form (the kind they make for human thrush).
I once had a rooster with sour crop who I treated with a single dose fluconazole thrush pill that worked overnight. I had to order it from a pharmacy.

 

[AviansLove]

Sour crop is caused by an overgrowth of fungus as a result of impacted or slow moving crop. It is more common in adult chickens because it is often the result of them eating different things like long blades of grass or bulky leaves etc that are not easily digested. Young chicks tend to eat only chick crumb and the odd bug so are less likely to get crop problems, but it is not unheard of for chicks to eat wood shavings and have problems with their crops.

With a diet of bread and no grit, I'm not surprised your chick's crop struggled to empty. What is the chick's poop like? Watery, greenish poop indicates malnutrition, whereas solid white tipped brown poops are a sign most nutrients are getting through.

First you need to treat any impaction by providing small sized grit and feeding it a teaspoon full of some kind of oil like olive oil or coconut oil then massaging the crop. You might also withhold food for 24 hours and provide only water with apple cider vinegar if you have it.
Finally an antifungal might be necessary. You can feed the chick human antifungal medicines including miconazole, clotrimazole or fluconazole in cream or tablet form (the kind they make for human thrush).
I once had a rooster with sour crop who I treated with a single dose fluconazole thrush pill that worked overnight. I had to order it from a pharmacy.

I'm also having this problem with my 6 week old cockerel, this is very helpful advice, good thing I have coconut oil from the last chicken... Just didn't think it happened this young.

 

[Samloveschicks]

Sour crop is caused by an overgrowth of fungus as a result of impacted or slow moving crop. It is more common in adult chickens because it is often the result of them eating different things like long blades of grass or bulky leaves etc that are not easily digested. Young chicks tend to eat only chick crumb and the odd bug so are less likely to get crop problems, but it is not unheard of for chicks to eat wood shavings and have problems with their crops.

With a diet of bread and no grit, I'm not surprised your chick's crop struggled to empty. What is the chick's poop like? Watery, greenish poop indicates malnutrition, whereas solid white tipped brown poops are a sign most nutrients are getting through.

First you need to treat any impaction by providing small sized grit and feeding it a teaspoon full of some kind of oil like olive oil or coconut oil then massaging the crop. You might also withhold food for 24 hours and provide only water with apple cider vinegar if you have it.
Finally an antifungal might be necessary. You can feed the chick human antifungal medicines including miconazole, clotrimazole or fluconazole in cream or tablet form (the kind they make for human thrush).
I once had a rooster with sour crop who I treated with a single dose fluconazole thrush pill that worked overnight. I had to order it from a pharmacy.

Thank you for all the info! Im glad to know that it does actually happen in chicks. My intuition was telling me that only bread would really predispose a chick to issues with their crop.
I will start with a grit tonight then do a food widthdrawl and an antifungal tomorrow. I already have been giving it ACV in its water. Its poop was watery at first, but it actually had a normal poop at lunch today! I think the little ome will do just fine with some TCL and care. Thanks so much for your response!!

 

[Eggcessive]

What a cutie! I would not withhold feed, but give it mushy chick feed with water and a little egg. Bread has a tendency to cause crop problems. Fluconazole, nystatin (Medistatin powder for pigeons sold online,) and yeast creams or suppositories (monistat) are some usual treatments used for sour crop on chickens. Here is a link for the fluconazole:
https://www.allivet.com/p-7911-fish...D5jy5GGhpjRIhvknP9mmJdodQS9iHlqUaAp1xEALw_wcB

Here is a good link on treating sour crop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Samloveschicks]

What a cutie! I would not withhold feed, but give it mushy chick feed with water and a little egg. Bread has a tendency to cause crop problems. Fluconazole, nystatin (Medistatin powder for pigeons sold online,) and yeast creams or suppositories (monistat) are some usual treatments used for sour crop on chickens. Here is a link for the fluconazole:
https://www.allivet.com/p-7911-fish...D5jy5GGhpjRIhvknP9mmJdodQS9iHlqUaAp1xEALw_wcB

Here is a good link on treating sour crop:

What a cutie! I would not withhold feed, but give it mushy chick feed with water and a little egg. Bread has a tendency to cause crop problems. Fluconazole, nystatin (Medistatin powder for pigeons sold online,) and yeast creams or suppositories (monistat) are some usual treatments used for sour crop on chickens. Here is a link for the fluconazole:
https://www.allivet.com/p-7911-fish...D5jy5GGhpjRIhvknP9mmJdodQS9iHlqUaAp1xEALw_wcB

Here is a good link on treating sour crop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I did some crop massaging last night which helped a lot, and this morning it is was totally empty! Additionally, the smell is TONS better. Im going to continue with the ACV water and probiotics. I have been giving mashed egg and soaked food as well. Hopefully things keep going smoothly! It IS such a cutie. Must have imprinted on people because it is the sweetest chick I have ever met. Chirps to fly onto you, follows you around (its in bathroom quarentine right now lol), dust bathes in your hair and hands, and prefers to sleep on you and not alone. Soooo nice!

 

[Eggcessive]

Sounds like he/she has found a good home with you. Glad that her crop was empty this morning.

 

[Samloveschicks]

Sounds like he/she has found a good home with you. Glad that her crop was empty this morning.

A small update on the little one...So far the sour crop smell comes and goes intermittently. I have been using miconozole for it, but Im thinking I might end up buying the fluconozole you linked since this doesnt seem to be working as well as I initially thought! As far as food goes, is there anything else besided soaking and adding eggs that I can do? The chick acts normal for the most part, but the sour crop must be itchy because it scratches its face a lot when the smell comes back.
Also, this chick sheds a LOT of follicle particles as it grooms. Im not seeing any mites on debris or on the chick itself, but i am a little worried about how flaky it is. It still has lots of feathers coming in. Is this normak for chicks that are getting their adult feathers? I cant say I remember this with my recent chicks, but they were outside at this age because of how hot it was outside, so I could have missed shedding follicles on them.

 

[Eggcessive]

Chicks do scratch a lot and have a lot of dander as they are frowing feathers. I can rmember my 2 polish chicks scratching a lot. They seemed to be a little itchy. If you use the Medistatin (Fluconazole) you can use 5 mg per pound once or twice a day. Since the tablets below are 100 mg, I would crush and dissolve a tablet into 10 ml of water or a mixture of yogurt and water. Then give 1/2 to 1 ml per pound once or twice daily by mouth. If she eats treats well, she may also take it with egg, peanut butter, feed plus yogurt, or in liverwurst. We all have out favorite ways of giving pets medicine.