Sour crop

[casportpony]

@JacksonPearce , hopefully your vet will want to do a gram stain on the crop contents and poop to check for bacteria and/or yeast (she might have both). If your vet doesn't suggest this, pleas do ask them about it. This test should not cost too much, maybe $25 to $35. To save her clients money, my vet prepares both samples on the same slide, so maybe suggest that if your vet wants to charge you for two.

Your vet might also want to do a fecal float to check for worm eggs and coccidia. This test should cost $15 to $25.

 

[JacksonPearce]

Thank you so much! I’ll make sure to ask. I went ahead and took another hen who has had trouble gaining weight, so perhaps a number of illnesses and questions will be answered.

 

[casportpony]

Are you back yet?

 

[JacksonPearce]

Whew, I've returned! That office was a hike, but holy cow, those country vets charge a lot less than their city counterparts.

He took a look at my sour crop hen along with another hen who has had trouble gaining weight and currently has an URI. For the sour crop girl, he gave me a broad spectrum antibiotic (SMZ) for her water, told me to massage her crop several times a day (and gave me some tips on how to do it), give her a little olive oil, and said that the nystatin was certainly worth an effort and so to continue it. He said he tended to feel like the bigger problem with sour crops/impacted crops was the obstruction, then the secondary lung infections, rather than the yeast infection, and thus likes to treat them in that order. She did indeed have both yeast and bacteria, though (which he said is usually the case-- that one leads to the other or vice versa). It's worth mentioning that her crop has also hardened quite a bit since I started this post-- it seems to be more impacted now and less water-balloon-like.

I'm so glad I took her in! It was an all day endeavor since I woke up early to get there at 12:01...only to discover they go on lunch from 12:00-2:00. Killing two hours in a town so small they only have one gas station was tricky, but the vet was a great guy who grew up on a chicken farm and clearly knew his stuff. He also went ahead and gave me a pretty significant about of the SMZ when I told him how far I'd had to drive, so I wouldn't have to return if the problem returned with another chicken.

Any thoughts? I am so, so appreciative to all of you for your help and feedback on this. I've gotten through a lot of chicken issues, but this was a new one to me and I was feeling rather helpless.

 

[casportpony]

I'm guessing that SBZ is a sulfa antibiotic?

 

[JacksonPearce]

I'm guessing that SBZ is a sulfa antibiotic?

Ack, it was SMZ-- I corrected my post! And yes, it looks like it is (though I'm not sure what that means): https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail...ec9R7Vhu9slL-IewomsoCNW2uIGhoKvcaAvgvEALw_wcB

 

[casportpony]

Is she drinking enough water for it to work?

 

[JacksonPearce]

Is she drinking enough water for it to work?

Yes, definitely! She’s still got her appetite and has been drinking like normal. I’ve been withholding food save a hard boiled egg at night to mix the monistat (now nystatin) with.

 

[rjohns39]

Kathy correct me if my advice will conflict with the meds, but I'd also add some canned pink salmon, mackerel or tuna in oil to the eggs. Just a table spoon or so. Eggs have a perfect balance of amino acids and are fairly low protein. Fish has the vitamins minerals good omega fats and protein, but lacks the amino acids.

 

[JacksonPearce]

Kathy correct me if my advice will conflict with the meds, but I'd also add some canned pink salmon, mackerel or tuna in oil to the eggs. Just a table spoon or so. Eggs have a perfect balance of amino acids and are fairly low protein. Fish has the vitamins minerals good omega fats and protein, but lacks the amino acids.

Thanks! I actually have tuna I'd bought for the chicken who hasn't been putting on weight, I'll add a bit to the eggs. I can't imagine there'd be a conflict. It's in water, but I'll mix in some olive oil to the whole concoction.