Sour crop

[JacksonPearce]

I know there are mixed opinions on how safe it is to induce vomiting in a chicken, but holy cow, am I glad I did-- she had SO much fluid in her crop. It was nearly back to the original water balloon size (and definitely felt that way). I vomited her a few times and the amount of fluid for a chicken of her size was insane. She clearly feels SO much better now. She also had a pretty substantial bowel movement, so things are moving.

BUT, this has me wondering if perhaps the impaction isn't at her crop, but is farther into her intestines. Someone on these boards mentioned a similar problem, and they gave some dulcolax, which helped. Has anyone tried this?

 

[rebrascora]

If fluids are not draining down out of her crop then there is clearly a blockage somewhere. Whether that is in the crop itself or further down is difficult to assess. The problem is that if fluids are not moving through her system, then how do you expect the dulcolax to get through her system either to take effect?
A plug of soggy fibrous material in her crop is still the most likely cause in my experience, particularly when the crop is so distended.

 

[JacksonPearce]

If fluids are not draining down out of her crop then there is clearly a blockage somewhere. Whether that is in the crop itself or further down is difficult to assess. The problem is that if fluids are not moving through her system, then how do you expect the dulcolax to get through her system either to take effect?
A plug of soggy fibrous material in her crop is still the most likely cause in my experience, particularly when the crop is so distended.

True! Though barring surgery— which I’m not comfortable doing on my own and don’t believe I could afford to have a vet do— what’s the best solution here? How to roto-rooter a chicken? :-D

 

[casportpony]

If she's still pooping that means something is getting through. You could try the stool softener (docusate), or you could try the mineral oil, but you should not attempt to vomit them if you've given mineral oil, or oil of any type, because if they do aspirate any oil they can get lipoid pneumonia, which would be almost impossible to treat in a chicken.

I like mineral oil because if the poop comes out oily you know it's it's getting through.

Warning - Do not give mineral oil and docusate (Dulcolax) at the same time.
Warning - Do not give the Ducolax that contains bisacodyl!

 

[casportpony]

I gotta add that one should only give miner oil if they are 100% sure they can do it safely!

 

[rebrascora]

As Kathy says, something is still moving through her system, so try one of those options. You are getting to the stage that you have nothing to lose. If it is a tangle of fibrous material they will probably not help but none of us can know what it is at this stage.

The idea of surgery is more intimidating than the reality. Do you have any friends who have nursing or biology experience that could help you if it came down to it. I got to the stage with one of mine that I knew she would die unless I did surgery, so I had nothing to lose. I have no medical training and it was terrifying and mesmerising doing it but the feeling of euphoria afterwards was amazing, especially when she jumped up and started eating the moment I finished gluing her closed! I have mentored someone else through it here on BYC and she too was extremely apprehensive. When you open them up and see that tangle of stuff and start trying to tease it out, you realise that there was no way anything was going to shift it short of physically tugging it out with forceps/tweezers.

I'm not intending to put any pressure on you, but I'm here to encourage and support you if you decide that route is your only option left to try.

 

[TwoCrows]

I would try all other options before attempting surgery on the crop as that has it's own risks. I would definitely give the dolculax a try first. Mineral oil can work wonders for moving stuck things as well. Chances are if this IS an impaction, it's most likely in the gizzard, which is a very common place for impactions. And doing surgery on a crop won't fix an impacted gizzard. The gizzard is much deeper within the body, places a vet with anesthesia would need to get to.

 

[rebrascora]

I agree that crop surgery is a last option, but I disagree about the gizzard impaction. There are plenty of cases where crop surgery removed a wad of long tangled strands of grass/straw and the chicken recovered. My own pullet was back up to weight and started laying eggs again 2 weeks after surgery. If her gizzard had also been impacted she would not have made such a speedy recovery. I had tried for a fortnight to shift the crop impaction prior to surgery and she was becoming emaciated which pushed me to take such drastic action.

 

[casportpony]

I guess all of us have had different experiences. None of mine have ever had a true crop impaction, and I've been able to get all to clear with a combo of medication and/or supportive care.

One had cancer in his intestines, which caused everything to back up.

A friend brought one to me to try to save, but I couldn't. Was able to get her crop to clear, but a necropsy revealed she had swallowed a needle that punctured her gizzard, and a piece of fence that was stuck in her proventriculus.

One turkey had a crop full of nasty black water, which was from a bacterial infection in her intestines. Only antibiotics were given and she recovered.

 

[JacksonPearce]

Hm, I’m not sure things are improving— it seems we’re holding steady. Her crop is squishy again, though she’s back on Nystatin after having to take two days off (ran out), so hopefully that will help. I’ve had to vomit her a few times. I’m also going to put her on grower crumbles— I don’t want to stay on a restricted diet much longer since I can tell she’s lost weight after a week on one hard boiled egg daily. I think I’ll mix some chick grit with the crumbles just so I know she’s getting some. Two steps forward, one back...

I do think that I’ll go to surgery as an option if nothing has improved in the next week. My sister is a nurse, so I suspect she can help, but that will definitely be a last resort since...eek! It scares me.