Sour crop support needed

[FabulousMandy]

I've been battling sour crop with my Australorp for months and months and actually had to resort to home surgery yesterday. What I found is she apparently can't process anything other than her layena crumbles; her crop was full of grass and feathers that were all still perfectly in tact even though you could tell some of it had been sitting in her crop for a long, long time. I don't know if this is a 'lorp specific issue but I've read countless stories about 'lorp owners dealing with sour crop, and I'm starting to make a connection!

I admit I haven't read this entire thread so I don't know if your bird free ranges or not, but my advice is to not let her eat anything other than crumbles (or soft mash) and soft treats for the rest of her life once you get her crop size down, because its my experience that it'll come right back

. Better safe than sorry, trust me surgery was not fun!

 

[Pampered Hen]

Ipana, thanks for sharing your vet experience with us.
Thyme is not getting better. She has been seperated from the flock and is living in a dog crate inside our house for over a week now and is getting soft foods only (a coctail of yoghurt, apple sauce, cat food, cooked veggies, some oatmeal a little bit of layer crumble, poultry vitamins and probiotics). This is the third day at which I have been making her vomit in the mornings because her crop does not empty at all over night - and it is way distended. She continues to poop, but this morning it was mainly watery with lots of ureates. She also continues to be a very easy patient with a good appetite, but I'm at a total loss. I have a feeling she keeps loosing weight. If she burns more energy than she can take up, it is just a matter of time before she becomes lethargic and literally starves to death. I don't want this little hen to suffer, but yet am not ready to give up. If anybody out there has a suggestion for what else I can do, please let me know.

 

[cnj-tx50]

I am not too sure about the making her vomit thing. If anything I would cut back on how much you are feeding her and see what happens over a 24 hour period. I would worry that just like humans she may become dehydrated from the vomiting. I have put mine back in the coop but have switched everyone over to mash and adding some yogurt when I make it up for them in the mornings. They all love it. Her crop continues to be larger than everyone else but not near as swollen as it had been. I hope that Thyme will improve for you and know that you are doing your best to give her support and care.

 

[cnj-tx50]

I too am worried that this may be an ongoing thing with this bird. Out of 27 this is the only one to have problems!

 

[FabulousMandy]

If you're worried about dehydration you can inject STERILE saline solution under the skin on her back where her wings meet her body. Use a 25 gauge needle and inject until you form a little blister of fluid (the fluid will dissapate quickly); you should get about 10 cc per side. Depending on how dehydrated she is, you can generally repeat the procedure 4-5 times per day. Hope that helps!

 

[FabulousMandy]

Quote:
I would suggest two things. One- put her on Aureomycin for 14 days since it could be bacteria causing her crop to distend so badly. If she doesn't respond to the antibiotics then it might be necessary to do Two- surgery. There could be something in her crop thats blocking food from passing and if you can't break it up with massage you may need to surgically remove it. My hen's crop felt completely squishy but I could not get it to shrink. Once we opened up her crop we found a solid mass of feathers and grass. Now that her crop is completely clear we're giving her nothing but soft food to see if that was indeed the problem. It sounds horrible and disgusting (and it was!), but it was a last ditch attempt to save her life, and so far so good. If you're interested I can tell you how to do it.

 

[ipana]

Pampered Hen, I would be cautious with antibiotics if you're not certain that the problem is overblown bacteria growth. There will always be bacteria because the crop is not a sterile environment. Plus, there are bacteria that are important. Unless you know which one you want to eradicate, it would be overkill to just make a broad brush and eliminate them all. You could create more problems than solving them. Are you considering finding a vet with poultry knowledge? If there is an agricultural extension service or something similar in your area, they may know of a contact for you. Yes, it is an expense and it may not be possible for any of many reasons, but it is a suggestion. I don't think I would vomit her every day. Would you consider using a tube with syringe? My vet "gave" me a 12 French urinary catheter and a 60 cc syringe. You hold the tube to the chicken's crop and mark the distance on the tube so that you don't put it in too far. He said to put the tube in the chicken's mouth and let her swallow the tube. Don't force it. Using a little petroleum of some kind on it would make it slide more easily. Lastly, it would be something blocking. As Fancy Mandy said, those blockages can be removed by the owner if you're willing to do the surgery. From what I've read, and actually the vet acknowledged, it is not difficult and the chicken doesn't react like it's painful.

Those are my thoughts and, of course, I readily admit that I don't know much. My heart is certainly with you. My hen is doing well right now but she did well for ten days the last time. So far, we're into the 5th day. I have my fingers crossed. And, I do hope that you can find a solution for Thyme. She's a lucky little girl to have an owner who cares.

 

[Pampered Hen]

Thank you all for your support! I really appreciate it!
Thyme came to the office today and all my peers think I’m a crazy chicken lady

. If she could be potty trained, she would make a real good pet chicken!
Is there a way to tell that a chicken gets dehydrated? I rather not give subcutaneous fluid injections if not necessary. I have to admit I'm a bit squeamish about doing it as I have no experience and am afraid of doing something wrong... Same goes for tubing my bird. I'm horrified in causing internal injuries or sending the tube into her trachea. Are there instructions somewhere? I scouted our farm store. They have ¼ aquarium tubing and large syringes. I just need to learn the proper technique and I’m willing to give it a try. As far as crop surgery – oh my I would need hands on support… Would I be able to notice an obstruction by just feeling out her crop from the outside? I have handled her crop so much by now, but have never felt anything large of hard in it.
According to http://www.drugs.com/vet/aureomycin-soluble-powder.html, Aureomycin is used for conditions that don’t seem to be related with my bird’s problems: Chronic Respiratory Disease (Air-sac infection), Infectious Synovitis, control of mortality due to fowl cholera. I don’t see how this antibiotic would help?
There is no bird vet in my area, but I found a couple further away. If my finances would look better I would get professional care, but at the moment, this is not an option – unfortunately.

 

[Quillgirl]

Aquarium tubing is too stiff and might injure her. It must be soft like the cath tubing. Check a medical supply store/drug store or order online. To check for dehydration, begin with her comb to make sure it is springy and not soft-- if you pinch it gently it should spring back and not keep a dimple where your finger held it. Also pinch some skin up under her wing and release. It should spring back very quickly, if not then she might be dehydrated. Eyes should be clear and shiny, not gummy or dull.

 

[FabulousMandy]

Quote:
The aureomycin is what my vet suggested, and it did shrink her crop down to a normal size- I don't think it's contraindicated for sour crop, I think it's just not widely used for that purpose so it's not mentioned on the package. The crop crap came right back for us since my chicken did in fact have a blockage, but since you aren't sure if there's a blockage or not it's worth a shot, especially since it sounds like you've tried practically everything else to clear this up.

If you're squeamish you probably shouldn't do the surgery lol it was pretty gross, BUT if you can handle holding her in a towel and not watching while someone else makes the incision and clears her crop then maybe you should think about it. My chicken is acting like a whole new bird since we did it; you can tell she's finally not suffering. She has energy and a very healthy appetite (she is loving her diet of yogurt and baby food!) and it's only been two days post-op! Her crop was way too large and squishy for us to feel the mass from the outside; we were working on total assumption that there was a blockage and there just happened to be one, and hopefully the removal of that blockage means we're done with sour crop! Also everything I read about backyard chicken surgery said the chicken will remain calm through the entire procedure and it's true, my girl cried out a bit when we first cut her but was very calm and stoic for the rest of it and doesn't seem to be in any type of serious pain now. I will say, though, that surgery should be the absolute last resort, consider it once you've exhausted all other options or when you know there's something in there. I really hope you find the solution thats best for your chicken soon! I know how frustrating this is

.