Sour crop or something worse? Do chickens get Covid?

[Tunie B]

Hi all—I just had my first chicken with sour crop, I think. She passed yesterday in her sleep, unfortunately.

I realized she was sick a little too late—she had liquid coming out of her mouth, was not eating much, and was hunched down.

I had Covid last week and the vet wouldn’t see me (even a parking lot visit), but advised me to put apple cider vinegar in her water, give yogurt, and tip over to express liquid (though I know that’s risky).

Tildie was a senior hen, so I did wonder if something else was happening.

However—today I discovered my healthy (I thought) Wyandotte hen dead on the ground, with no obvious illness or injury. This girl was not even 2 years old yet, so that’s weird.

I buried her, though now I wish I’d taken her to the vet for necropsy.

Do chickens get Covid? Because I definitely am still contagious.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I've had Covid and my birds never got sick. I think it's more of a coincidence than them actually catching it.

With your first hen, how do you know she had sour crop? Did you treat it at all? How old was the hen? As far as sour crop from my experience, I don't think it's fatal. Maybe if it goes a long time untreated, but that's a different story.

On your Wyandotte hen, it could have been something internal or something that you wasn't seeing because chickens are experts when it comes to hiding illnesses. Over the years, I've had chickens just suddenly die one day for no apparent reason, so it's not completely out of the ordinary for something to be missed.

How is the rest of your flock doing? Are any of them showing symptoms of anything? Are they all laying normal? Are any molting (particularly the two that recently died)?Have you introduced any new birds recently?

 

[Tunie B]

I've had Covid and my birds never got sick. I think it's more of a coincidence than them actually catching it.

With your first hen, how do you know she had sour crop? Did you treat it at all? How old was the hen? As far as sour crop from my experience, I don't think it's fatal. Maybe if it goes a long time untreated, but that's a different story.

On your Wyandotte hen, it could have been something internal or something that you wasn't seeing because chickens are experts when it comes to hiding illnesses. Over the years, I've had chickens just suddenly die one day for no apparent reason, so it's not completely out of the ordinary for something to be missed.

How is the rest of your flock doing? Are any of them showing symptoms of anything? Are they all laying normal? Are any molting (particularly the two that recently died)?Have you introduced any new birds recently?

Thank you—I did wonder if it is just an unfortunate coincidence.

No new chickens, though they could have caught something from wild songbirds.

For the first death (Tildie), she had a squishy crop like a water balloon. After the vet told me to tip her upside down, I did so out of desperation. It was pretty gross—a FLOOD of sour liquid came out of her. She was like a chicken teapot. She felt immediate relief and got a little more pep in her step for a couple hours—even ate some yogurt.

 

[Tunie B]

Now the Wyandotte did have a history of laying thin-shelled (or completely soft) eggs. I do wonder if one ruptured within and caused an infection. I just didn’t notice anything off about her at all.

 

[Eggcessive]

When I lose a chicken, I usually try to do a home necropsy to look for a cause of death. When chickens develop sour crop there may be an underlying illness that is causing the crop to slow down or become impacted then become sour. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Tunie B]

When I lose a chicken, I usually try to do a home necropsy to look for a cause of death. When chickens develop sour crop there may be an underlying illness that is causing the crop to slow down or become impacted then become sour. Sorry for your loss.

Thank you—that would be a good thing for me to try in the future. With Tildie, I put her body beneath some fencing and intended to come back later in the day to bury…but her body was gone. I’m guessing a coyote or a fox grabbed it since it was dark when I got home. (Not fabulous, but that day was super hectic.)

 

[Awaytome]

Do chickens get Covid? Because I definitely am still contagious.

You could be cautious and wear a mask, if you still have Covid, around your animals.

Can SARS-CoV-2 infect poultry?​

A recent Virology Journal study evaluates cross-species transmission of newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants between humans and poultry species.
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230905/Can-SARS-CoV-2-infect-poultry.aspx