Sour Crop resulting from Egg Yolk Peritonitis?

[Chula Boola]

EDITED TO ADD: Hello! I am a long time lurker/first time poster. I love sense of community y'all have built here and am thrilled to always have a site to reference when diagnosing chicken problems


I have a 2 year old Easter Egger who has been visibly ill for the past three days. We have isolated her and put her inside my home in a cage where I can keep an eye on her. The first day, I noticed she was expelling liquid from her beak. I picked her up and out comes approximately 3ml of foul smelling liquid. Must be sour crop, right?

I helped vomit her to empty out more of her crop and brought her inside. I am only feeding her egg yolk with olive oil on them. I have been giving her a solution of lemon juice, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and ground ginger per Two Crows wonderful article titled Sour Crop, Impacted Crop, Doughy Crop- Prevention and Treatment of Crop Disorders. She is somewhat readily eating and drinking still. She is still active, perhaps just being stoic. I can tell she wants to scratch around, but only does one little half scratch before giving up and laying down for a while.

In the mornings her crop has still been not entirely full, but half full of the sour liquid and I can still feel some rocky bits inside of it like it hasn't emptied fully. I help vomit her in the mornings, then give her egg yolk and probiotics in her water. The first day I suspected sour crop only so also tried giving her some warm/damp crumble feed. She didn't care too much for it. I have tried massaging her crop with coconut oil doses. But what concerns me now is the color of her poop. As you can see in the pictures below, it has a yellow tinge to it. Could it be Egg Yolk Peritonitis? I have read this condition can slow down her digestive system and cause sour crop. I have palpated her abdomen but do not find that it's hard or too watery like a water belly case I've had previously. Can anyone tell by looking at her poop if it's indeed EYP? I have no access to veterinarians who treat chickens. I don't want her to suffer too long and am ready to dispatch her if/when necessary.

The picture of the singular poop is from the first night inside. That is egg yolk and some damp crumble feed above and to the left of the poop. The pic with the multi-poop ring is from last night.

My question is - if this is indeed EYP, should I even been treating her sour crop, or giving her antibiotics, or both? I have considered going to the store for some monistat for her but I need to know if I even should, or should I be more concerned with the possibility of EYP and focus on antibiotics for that? Is it even worth trying to save her? I've researched and it seems EYP is pretty much a death sentence.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC!

When is the last time she laid an egg?

The poop is not normal. And yes, I have found that the crop issues I've encountered were related to reproductive disorders. Peritonitis is a possibility or she may have some other reproductive problem that is similar.

What you are doing to treat the crop issue may be helpful, but I agree, I would use miconazole or clotrimazole to treat her, I've found yeast creams work pretty well. I would follow the @TwoCrows article it's very good.

As for using an antibiotic in conjunction with treat for sour crop, it's possible that an antibiotic may work against that. If you do decide to treat with antibiotics I would make sure to give probiotics or a little yogurt as well.

As for recovery, with some hens I've been able to treat hens and they live for a good while longer while others declined, each "case" can be different. If I can get them to rally and be relatively active, eat/drink on their own and still remain with the flock then great, I do monitor them daily to see where they are and once they are not doing well decide whether to attempt to treat again or let them go.

 

[Chula Boola]

Welcome To BYC!

When is the last time she laid an egg?

The poop is not normal. And yes, I have found that the crop issues I've encountered were related to reproductive disorders. Peritonitis is a possibility or she may have some other reproductive problem that is similar.

What you are doing to treat the crop issue may be helpful, but I agree, I would use miconazole or clotrimazole to treat her, I've found yeast creams work pretty well. I would follow the @TwoCrows article it's very good.

As for using an antibiotic in conjunction with treat for sour crop, it's possible that an antibiotic may work against that. If you do decide to treat with antibiotics I would make sure to give probiotics or a little yogurt as well.

As for recovery, with some hens I've been able to treat hens and they live for a good while longer while others declined, each "case" can be different. If I can get them to rally and be relatively active, eat/drink on their own and still remain with the flock then great, I do monitor them daily to see where they are and once they are not doing well decide whether to attempt to treat again or let them go.

She last laid an egg mid January. I have 16 hens/3 of which are EEs and I am certain I have their egg colors identified to each bird. But I haven't seen her go into the nest boxes for sure since mid January. She was slow to get down from her roost in the morning which also led me to bring her in for a few days.

I will go ahead and get her the yeast cream today and begin treatment. She is definitely wanting to go back outside with her sisters. Should I keep her inside, or do you think it would be okay to let her roam the pen with her sisters and maybe just bring her in at night to monitor her droppings?

I have been proactively giving her probios in her water since the first day she came inside. I am hesitant to give any antibiotic injections in conjunction with yeast cream for the reason that they might work against one another. I think I will pursue the sour crop since it's more prevalent, unless anyone else has other ideas?

Thank you for your response!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I rarely separate a bird unless they are getting picked at, they seem much happier with their flock, but use your judgement.

Let us know how treatment goes, I would start the yeast cream and if the crop improves after a few days, then I would be tempted to go ahead and start abx if her poop is not improving too. Continue with the cream for the full 7 days even if the crop issue seems resolved.

 

[Chula Boola]

I rarely separate a bird unless they are getting picked at, they seem much happier with their flock, but use your judgement.

Let us know how treatment goes, I would start the yeast cream and if the crop improves after a few days, then I would be tempted to go ahead and start abx if her poop is not improving too. Continue with the cream for the full 7 days even if the crop issue seems resolved.

Very cool. I just put her back out with her sisters. So far no one is picking on her and she ran back to the ones she was always closest to. They have accepted her which I am thankful for.

I will start the cream treatment today and stick with it for the full 7 days. I will be sure to update this page with results!

 

[TwoCrows]

Sorry your girl is having trouble.

The yellow urates look to me like something far worse is going on and the sour crop is a secondary infection as a result of another issue. It appears to me she has some type of internal infection going on and needs antibiotics. Yeast infections do not cause yellow urates.

Have you felt her belly? Reach through her legs from the front and feel her belly with your entire hand. Compare her belly to another hen and if you feel it's big and squishy she very well may be internally laying, possibly have heart disease. Both will can leak fluid into the belly cavity resulting in E.coli infections.

If she does not have a squishy belly, she may have a kidney infection or some other infection causing the kidneys to malfunction.

If she were my bird I would do a few things. Rather than completely separating her out, I would cage her within the flock and get a heat lamp on her, infra red if you have one. Next I would get her on Acidified Copper Sulfate. https://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=340 While there, I would order Amoxicillin powder to be put in her water. https://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=1196

Only allow her to eat her chicken feed, you can feed protein with yeast infections so mealworms are fine for a treat. Apples are anti yeast and you can finely chop up a bit of apples for a treat as well.

Keep us posted!

 

[Chula Boola]

Sorry your girl is having trouble.

The yellow urates look to me like something far worse is going on and the sour crop is a secondary infection as a result of another issue. It appears to me she has some type of internal infection going on and needs antibiotics. Yeast infections do not cause yellow urates.

Have you felt her belly? Reach through her legs from the front and feel her belly with your entire hand. Compare her belly to another hen and if you feel it's big and squishy she very well may be internally laying, possibly have heart disease. Both will can leak fluid into the belly cavity resulting in E.coli infections.

If she does not have a squishy belly, she may have a kidney infection or some other infection causing the kidneys to malfunction.

If she were my bird I would do a few things. Rather than completely separating her out, I would cage her within the flock and get a heat lamp on her, infra red if you have one. Next I would get her on Acidified Copper Sulfate. https://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=340 While there, I would order Amoxicillin powder to be put in her water. https://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=1196

Only allow her to eat her chicken feed, you can feed protein with yeast infections so mealworms are fine for a treat. Apples are anti yeast and you can finely chop up a bit of apples for a treat as well.

Keep us posted!

I was afraid the yellow would be a sign of something bigger going on internally. In that case, I would assume it to be wise to treat with antibiotics for that instead of pursuing the sour crop as it's secondary.

Feeling her belly, I do notice a slight squishiness on left and right sides, but not a full on bloat. I have had one Sexlink hen pass away from water belly two months ago. That one had to waddle. The EE is only slightly squishy on the sides, but no pad of liquid in the middle like I experienced with my prior girl.

I will cut the yolks and let her eat her feed outside. We have plenty of mealworms. I will also chop and offer some apples for her.

On hand, I have Bacitracillin G, Liquimycin LA-200, and Tylan 50. Would any of those assist without waiting for shipping times? I can try again at my local feed stores, but I don't think I've seen Amoxicillin in soluble powder form. I will go today and check to be sure, though. EDIT: Same for the copper sulfate
I think my only concern is time when it comes to ordering from an online source. Do you know if this store is quick with shipping?

Thank you for your response!

 

[Chula Boola]

Okay I called around and I have one store who carries the Copper Sulfate, unable to find the water soluble amoxicillin locally.

 

[TwoCrows]

I was afraid the yellow would be a sign of something bigger going on internally. In that case, I would assume it to be wise to treat with antibiotics for that instead of pursuing the sour crop as it's secondary.

Feeling her belly, I do notice a slight squishiness on left and right sides, but not a full on bloat. I have had one Sexlink hen pass away from water belly two months ago. That one had to waddle. The EE is only slightly squishy on the sides, but no pad of liquid in the middle like I experienced with my prior girl.

I will cut the yolks and let her eat her feed outside. We have plenty of mealworms. I will also chop and offer some apples for her.

On hand, I have Bacitracillin G, Liquimycin LA-200, and Tylan 50. Would any of those assist without waiting for shipping times? I can try again at my local feed stores, but I don't think I've seen Amoxicillin in soluble powder form. I will go today and check to be sure, though. EDIT: Same for the copper sulfate
I think my only concern is time when it comes to ordering from an online source. Do you know if this store is quick with shipping?

Thank you for your response!

Twin City is pretty quick to ship, they usually get things out same day and use Priority. You can also check Valley Vet, they are quick too. It doesn't take much fluid to make infection however sometimes it's even hard to know how bloated they really are. Some hens just have bigger bellies. But it never hurts to treat by even one symptom which is the yellow urates.

Okay I called around and I have one store who carries the Copper Sulfate, unable to find the water soluble amoxicillin locally.

Make SURE you get Acidied only and it is approved for poultry. Plain Copper Sulfate is used in the agricultural industry, even in swimming pool industry and all sorts of chemicals are to it that are toxic. Poultry approved Acidified Copper Sulfate is a dietary additive that is safe to use.

 

[TwoCrows]

The antibiotics you have are more for respiratory ailments, I don't think they will help enough. You need a deep tissue type medication like Amoxicillin or even Doxycycline. You can use the human medication as well.