Sour crop/Pneumonia risk

[PurpleLotus]

Help! I had a girl with a sour crop. I turned her over and got globs of stuff out but I'm worried she aspirated some of it. Things I've read say to put her on an antibiotic for pneumonia. Thoughts? What kind of antibiotic and how would I administer it (dosage wise)? TIA

 

[TwoCrows]

When you say, "turned her over" do you mean backwards? When emptying a crop you should lean the bird forward only and only for about 7 or 8 seconds. If you are turning them upside down, backwards, to drain the crop, you can aspirate the bird.

Unless the bird got a huge dose of liquid into her lungs, I wouldn't worry about it. A tiny bit of liquid will not harm them. But if she aspirated a lot of liquid, to the point of wheezing and coughing hours later, she may need veterinarian care to get it out of the lungs.

Broad spectrum antibiotics will work well, however she may need some sort of antifungal as well. Duramycin might work well. About an 1/8th teaspoon in 3cc's of yogurt, loaded into a syringe and shot down the throat would work, once a day for a week or two.

 

[PurpleLotus]

Not backwards, just tipped her forward. As of this morning she's fine but her crop is still not emptying. I'm going to put her in isolation and give her olive oil with some probiotics mixed in. Also some yogurt. Any other suggestions?

 

[4Shadow]

That is exactly what happened to us last weekend. We had tipped her unintentionally and all kinds of brown, lumpy liquid spewed out. Her crop was huge with liquid. We did it a few times more and it almost emptied but it wasn't pretty - she freaked each time and ended up nose first in the shavings. She was rasping afterwards (we were so worried about pneumonia too) but better the next morning and has seemed pretty fine ever since - her crop has stayed small. I was advised on this board to massage her crop several times daily - but kind of backwards into her body to encourage it to function, rather than forcing stuff out. I'm not saying it's correct or safe to vomit them - but our girl was so full we chanced it and it seems to have improved that crisis, and it doesn't look like antibiotics were needed. Good luck.

 

[PurpleLotus]

I've got her isolated and plan on following this advice:

http://www.dogislandfarm.com/2012/02/sour-crop-in-chickens.html

Along with the massage suggestion, thanks!

 

[TwoCrows]

Do not offer oil with a sour crop. Bad idea. Oil breaks down impacted crops, but will slow down a soured crop. Keep her caged until you get this thing under control. No freeranging and damp layer feed only. If you allow that gunk to build up in her crop and stay there, it will kill her. So you may need to vomit her again. She will do fine, if you only hold her down and forward for a few seconds at a time. That stuff is poison and will not move thru the GI tract unless you get it out of there.

Caged, damp layer feed, yogurt, vomiting, ACV in her water. 3 tablespoons for one gallon of water. Keep her on this diet for one week.

 

[PurpleLotus]

Since I've had her isolated in a tractor today (on our driveway so she can't eat grass) I've noticed she's pooped at least 3 times in there. That's a good sign, right (that it's not blocked altogether)? Tried to vomit her a bit this morning and nothing came out readily (like it did yesterday) so I've just left her alone and have been massaging the crop when I check on her. I'm hoping these things are all good signs! This is no fun worrying that she's either going to explode or slowly starve to death So you don't worry that the layer feed will feed whatever yeast might be fermenting in there?

Thank you both for your help and support!

 

[TwoCrows]

A crop get soured for a few reasons. And by souring, I mean the good bacteria are gone and bacteria builds up in the crop. The crop is merely a holding tank for food waiting for processing. If the bird eats a lot of grass, stiff vegetation, hard foods, it takes time to grind down by the gizzard. So the food sits longer in the crop than it should. When it does, if the good bacteria are dwindling, then bacteria and yeast begins to form. It slows down the digestion even more. The entire GI tract gets even slower, especially if the bird continues to put grass in the crop, the bacteria and yeast grow more, and on and on and on.

So by feeding nothing but layer feed, which will pass directly thru the system with no grinding by the gizzard, you are allowing everything to move as fast as possible without incouraging more yeast to grow. The ACV inhibits yeast and bacteria growth as well and lowers the ph of the crop, which is what good bacteria like. Low ph. The yogurt will help replace the good bacteria.

Yes...pooping is a GOOD thing! The more she is pooping, means that the food is starting to move faster. Don't be alarmed if it is diarrhea. Sour crop will do that. The runs will clear up when the good bacteria begin to regrow.

She will not starve to death in this short period of time. As long as she has some layer feed, and wet it down so not only is it tastier for her to eat, but it will break down faster, but you can offer her yogurt, hard boiled eggs drenched in this yogurt or even a few soda crackers. Nothing hard to eat! Only water soluble foods for a week.

Once she gets her crop moving, you won't need to vomit her. Usually 24 hours after you have been working on her, will the need to vomit stop. When she awakes in the morning with an empty crop, for 2 days in a row, you can safely say you have it under control. Continue with the ACV for 2 weeks. You can also add human grade probiotics to her water for 2 weeks as well. One capsule in her quart of water, changed daily.

Becareful with the free ranging if you have a lot of grass. If you have this problem again in the future, she will probably need to be kept confined. You can offer her alfalfa hay leaves for forage a few times a week. This is what I do for my girls.

Good luck!

Edit to add: Any dampened layer feed will need to be replaced the nex day. You don't have to dampen it at all, but it makes it easier for them to eat. Replace it daily with new freshly dampened food.

 

[PurpleLotus]

So two days of complete day isolation (I tuck her in with her sisters for bed). Her crop was still palpable this morning but again, nothing like it was. Seriously pooped all day today, poops looking 97% back to normal. Couple of thoughts here...1) Could the enlarged crop have stretched out her crop or muscles? Do I need to restrict food at all until it shrinks back down? Could she have a 'pendulous crop' now? Will she need a 'birdy bra' to prevent future problems? 2) She's a brahma, so she's sort of chesty anyway, maybe the way she felt this morning was normal and I just never really noticed before? I only noticed several days ago because it was HUGE first thing in the morning. 3) You mentioned the restricted ranging. This is literally a backyard chicken, just access to regular mowed grass, bugs and occasional treats from the garden, no hugely tall grasses or anything that might get her bound up. You don't think I'll have to restrict her from just being in a regular yard, do you? 4) If you don't think regular grass is a problem, can I now let her day range with the other girls tomorrow? Her crop is improving, but I think she's going to fall ill to loneliness if she's not back with her girls soon.

Thanks again, I was so panicked a few days ago...your help has been such a relief to this mother hen!

 

[TwoCrows]

How is the crop this morning? The crop is a muscle that can become stretched over time. But a few days will not stretch it beyond it's ability to return back to normal. I have a hen that is very prone to sour crop, and I have to watch what she eats constantly. The first case she ever got was when she was 6 months old. This crop issue lasted for 2 FULL months, of nearly wearing a baseball around her neck, that is how big her crop was. She nearly died and it wasn't until I figured how not only how to feed her, but how to medicate her, did she survive.

Well after this incident, I was sure she was going to go pendulous in the crop. But it did return back to normal. Every few months after this, she continued to get sour crops and I believe that she does have some sort of digestive issue. I have to watch what I feed her....not too much scratch seeds, hard to break down foods, sweet foods like berries or watermelon, no grass, hay, etc...

I have finally figured out how to care for this bird. She is still prone to it, but gets it less frequently.

Now, if the crop has really gone bad and you do not get it under control after a week, then you can turn to fungal medicines. I keep plenty of it on hand for her and if my hen's sour crop is not gone in 3 days, I usually turn to meds. (I would never do this for any other bird, but I know her track record).

I use the vaginal cream, Clotrimazole, or Gyne-Lotrimin. I know, doesn't sound right. LOL But this ingredient as well as the ingredient in Monostat is used for fungal/yeast infections in humans and is also used for oral thrush in babies. So, it is ok to use this stuff.

I load up about 1 1/2 cc's in a syringe, (stick the tip of the syringe, without needle of course, in the tube and squeeze while opening the plunger on syringe) and squirt this down the throat 3 times a day. This stuff will speed up the healing of the sour crop, which actually IS a yeast infection, and can heal the crop up in a week.

You will need to decide how to treat your bird and when to let her out with the girls. Doesn't sound like there is anything too bad for her crop in your yard, and maybe she has something else going on other than eating something that is not agreeing with her. I would advise that you keep ACV in all the chickens water every day for a week, 2 or 3 tablespoons per gallon of water, (until she gets the crop flora back to normal). Keep up with the plain yogurt. You can always let her out for a few hours a day and then re-cage her so she doesn't get into much. You will need to figure out what is causeing her crop to go bad and if she becomes prone to sour crop, work with her from there. I check my hen's crop each morning while still on the roost bar to keep tabs on her condition.

Good luck!