Sour crop problem. Hen is dying! please help! update- post #12

[oliviad51]

Ok, a lot has happened since I last posted. I found ANOTHER (yes, another!) hen throwing up everything. ( this was on Christmas morning) I think I know why because It was raining a few days before this whole mess happened and some food got wet. Maybe they got into the food there?

Anyway, I tried the method where you turn her upside down and make her throw up. It actually worked. She threw up a TON! It was the most smelly, terrible, horrifying, discusting thing I have ever done but she seems to be doing much better. I let her out this morning to free-range with the girls, and she's doing great.

I'm still concerned about the Barred Rock (the one I was talking about in the first few posts). I have been feeding her mainly scrambled eggs and applesauce. She has been on the ACV water since she first started showing signs of this. She is eating OK. She isn't throwing up EVERTHING like she used to, but she still isn't like the other hen who recovered fast. She is still having trouble eating. She eats very slowly, and slings food everywhere and is just acting very weak. Should I keep trying to make her throw up or do you think too much of that could hurt her? I may go get some electrolytes.

 

[oliviad51]

She has been getting worse and worse. I think she is on her last few days, but I'm still trying to get her better. Again, she has had this since Christmas and she will not get better. (being on ACV the whole time)
I gave her some scrambled egg this morning, and she didn't even attempt to eat it. I have been giving her apple sauce as well but she has been throwing it all up. She is getting so weak, she can barely walk. This morning, I help her upside down to try to get her to vomit. A little came out, but I don't think it helped much. I opened her beak and could see a big ball of food in the back of her throat. Not knowing what else to do, my dad got a Q-tip and got it out. I put her back in the hutch she is staying in under the heated lamp afterwards.
She is SO very calm, and she doesn't even attempt to walk away when she sees me trying to get her. Her eyes are closed a lot, and she is extremely calm- actually, probably too calm.
I put some ACV in her water with some Poly-Vi-Sol vitamin drops and a little sugar. I tried giving her a little yogurt as well after everything happened this morning. She didn't eat much at all. Any other suggestions? I really like her and I want to save her so bad. Any advice or suggestions will be VERY helpful.

 

[artsyrobin]

my guess would be impacted, rather than sour crop- that would explain why she isn't getting better...

 

[oliviad51]

Ok. thanks so much. I will search BYC to try and fix this

 

[artsyrobin]

Ok, had to go look for info on impacted crop- here is what i have- keep posting- i don't know if that is what is going on- will email threehorses(the bycer i have alot of info from) and see what she suggests

What i did with my pullet was put her on just water and vinegar for a day, then mixed baby oatmeal with the oil, gave that to her for a day, in small amounts with massaging the crop- the next day i kept her on yogurt- it took a couple days to work through- then added unsweetened applesauce, today her crop was close to normal, so have added a little of the regular feed- this is my first experience with crop problems, not sure if i've licked it yet- keep us posted on your girl - do a search for sour crop and lots of info comes up


https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/search.php?search_id=550587880

what you need do is to use the crop flush
the baking soda makes the sour crop neutralize

FLUSHING FOR SOUR OR IMPACTED CROP IS THIS

very simple
mix the 1 pt of warm water
1/2 cup of baking soda
mix good and fill a child'sd ear syringe with the baking soda water

put the chicken on the table in front of you
if there is some one to hold the chicken it is easier to do

now take the filled syringe and put it in the back of the throat of the chicken
ex[ell all the water
now lay the syringe down
take your hand and bring it up tightly against the crop of the chicken
all the while pushing on the hand to breing up the spoiled feed etc out of the crop
the chicken will not hold it back but as chickens do not vomit you are the one bringing the spoiled feed out the beak

do not turn the chicken upside down
chickens do not throw up but you have to push it out the beak


do the flushing at least three times and let the bird rest
DO NOT FEED IT FOR 24 HRS
let it rest and then only feed it
one sliced of bread soaked in milk
into the milk cut a 1000 mg capsule of Vitamin E
feed this twice a day for a week

also have 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar in qt of water
by now she is getting better

then you can see if she does alright on the crumble chicken feed


DO NOT FEED her ANY WHOLE OR CRACKED GRAINS ALL THIS TIME

IF IT IS A LARGE BALL OF GRASS IT WILL NEED SURGERY
the surgery is best done when you have some one to hold the chicken on a table

I had no problem doing this as I did it on young pigeons which get large grains stuck in the crop hole

remember that there are two layers of skin to cut
the outter skin and the skin over the crop

make sure the insision is large enough to take out the large size ball of grass

then use 1 pat water and 2 parts iodine wash to clean the crop be fore stiching the flesh up again
and keep the skin flushed twice daily and it will heal


***
YOU NEED TO STUDY AND DO THIS NOW
CROP SURGERY???
AT WORST SIDE you may have to do this: A
friend of BYC made this up for impacted crop surrgery
more professional than mine

Items Needed:

Betadine solution
Isopropyl Alcohol
Gauze Pads
Razor blade or Exacto-knife
Tweezers (surgical - if available, find at Vet Supply or Pet)
Hand Towel
Sutures or Heavy weight Thread
Sharpie sewing needle that will accommodate thread
Scissors
Antibiotic ointment
access to warm water, preferably a kitchen sprayer

To perform the surgery, a "surgeon" and "assistant" are needed. The assistant holds the bird, wrapped in a hand towel,from behind being sure to keep the wings secure and unflapping.

(1. Approximately 1/3 of the way down the crop, located on the right the breast; push back the feathers and have the assistant hold the feathers away from the site. Place a few drops of betadine solution on a gauze pad and clean the dermis of the crop at the site of the incision.

(2. Wipe the area with an alcohol pad. Allow to dry.

(3. Holding the skin slightly spread, cut through the outer dermis with the cutting tool. The opening needs to be only 3/4" - 1" in length. (The incision that we made was more horizontal than vertical.) The skin is fairly tough, so you may have to apply several strokes. The tool will pass through the outer dermis and you might encounter adipose (fat) and then flesh before entering the crop.

(4. Once the crop has been opened, material may start to be seen through the opening. Place the bird over the sink and massage the crop so that the contents move towards the opening. The surgeon can grab the contents and dispose in the sink. Once the material is removed, rise the site thoroughly with warm water. Additional material may come to the surface, massage the crop to feel if there are any additional contents. (Tweezers may be needed to remove blades of grass or in our case a cigarette filter.)

-Be careful not to tear the skin around the site with the massaging.

(5. Rinse the site again. Pat dry with a gauze pad. Take a minimum of a dime size dose of antibiotic ointment and "pack" the site - lightly smearing the cream or ointment into the site.

(6. Thread your needle, cutting a 12" section of doubled thread. Knot the end, leaving a 1/2" tail. Place 3-4 stitches through the dermis, catching the lining of the crop. End the stitches with a knot on the opposite end from which you started.

(7. Allow the "patient" to recuperate isolated from the flock. Use newspaper for bedding, offer water and withhold grain. Offer plain yogurt 6-8 hours after. Yogurt and mash/grain can be offered on day 2. Water at all times.

(8. Keep an eye on the incision, being sure that there is no tearing or redness. The stitches can be removed 7 days after surgery. Apply antibiotic ointment to the site.

We put our girl back with the flock on day 4, watching her closely.

I hope that this helps for future reference.​

 

[math ace]

Quote:
I am watching this thread - - - Same bird is still on crumbles. She got her crop empty and I kept her on scambled eggs, canned cat food, canned green beans, canned green peas and other soft non starchy foods for about a week. The minute I put her back on crumbles we had issues again. She had been on crumbles since. . . about 2 weeks now. She is doing fine - - eating, drinking, socializing - - - (No eggs though). She just has the stomach convulsions after eating. I just put her with some youngings - - about 10 week olds - - so that she would be eating her crumbles with others.

She still spends the nights in a dog carrier in the garage so that she does not eat hay or mulch or other bedding materials. I think she will eventually be ok - - - but this is where she is now!

 

[ipana]

chickenlvr97

Your hen is weak because she isn't getting any nutrition. She isn't getting any nutrition because her crop will not allow food to pass. It is critical that you get out what is clogging her. If the crop is hard, you will not be able to get it out by causing her to vomit. If the crop is squishy, you may be able to get it out. If it is squishy, you need to use a syringe + feeding tube to get some warm water into the crop and cause her to vomit. One poster said not to hold the bird upside down when it is vomiting. If you do not, you may cause the bird to aspirate some of the crop contents and it will kill the bird. You must hold that bird upside down. As you are doing so, gently work the crop with your hand so that you are helping "push" the contents out of the chicken. The crop is not a muscle so the bird cannot do this on its own. If you can begin getting some of the contents out, flush again...and again...until the crop is as empty as you think you can get it. Allow the bird to rest for a few minutes between flushes. Once you've gotten the crop as empty as you can, let the bird rest for a couple of hours. No food, no water...nothing. I would not use baking soda and vinegar as that foaming action could cause fluid to come into the mouth and the bird will aspirate it. There is an opening for the lungs in the mouth so you must not let fluids get into the mouth when the bird is struggling to breathe. After the rest, use the feeding tube to put some diluted baby food into the crop, hopefully to get a little nutrition going. You will need to watch the bird to see if it is pooping and checking the crop, especially in the mornings. If you can get some poop, the hen may be able to make it. Then, it's a process of doing all this over again until that crop is down flat every morning. She should get only the diluted baby food...and it will take 4-5 jars/day to provide enough nutrition. She needs to be fed the baby food slurry every 2-3 hours during the day.

This is a process, chickenlvr97. Do not keep giving the bird solid food when she can't get anything going through. Don't give up but as you can see, the bird is starving to death. The crop must be brought back to functioning again..

 

[oliviad51]

Thank you all so very much for helping me with this. I went out to check on her this morning and found her laying there dead. Good news is, she is now 100% cured running around up there in the big chicken heaven, no longer suffering. Thanks again so much for everything.

 

[math ace]

Sorry about the loss

 

[chickenlady08]

Gosh I am so sorry, but you are so right about her not suffering any longer.