Sour Crop

[littlefarmgirl9]

Tiger is a four year old Ameraucana hen. She has recently contracted sour crop. I isolated her and gave her just water with ACV for a few hours, after massaging and partially draining her crop (clear liquid with some feed was regurgitated). Then she wandered around for two or three hours, drinking like crazy but not eating much. She has pooped (attached picture). I have plain Greek yogurt with 5 active cultures and also dried oregano that I am planning on giving her. However, is it safe for me to wait until tomorrow? It’s 6 PM where I am, and she hasn’t really eaten since yesterday around this time, only a bit of grass and dirt outside. I would feel more comfortable just waiting until tomorrow, but I’m worried she’ll be weak with hunger. Should I feed Tiger now, or wait?

uick update: I just held her upside down and drained her crop again. It just blows up like a balloon after, though, as if I haven’t even done anything. She pooped again, too. Another picture below.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sounds more like a blockage instead of sour crop. Is there a foul smell out of her mouth?

 

[littlefarmgirl9]

Not much smell at all, no. I fed her some yogurt with dried oregano sprinkled on top and she loved it! Then I have her a crop massage. There were a few air bubbles that popped, and when they did, there was a bit of a smell coming from her beak.

 

[littlefarmgirl9]

Tiger has been sitting in the nest box all day. Her crop is still full.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I had this happen once to me. I gently massaged the crop a few times and it helped my bird, at least for a while. She ended up with a distended crop and passed a few months later.

@Wyorp Rock , @Eggcessive , any ideas?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

four year old Ameraucana hen. She has recently contracted sour crop

isolated her and gave her just water with ACV for a few hours, after massaging and partially draining her crop

I would let her have water, but withhold the food, she's not going to starve. If the crop keeps filling up, then adding food on top of that is not going to be productive.
Often there is an underlying condition that is causing a crop issue. The urates in her poop have a yellow cast to them, has she been laying eggs recently or having reproductive problems?

I would probably start treating her like she has a sour impacted crop, with vaginal yeast cream and coconut oil. Here's a couple of links for the details.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

 

[littlefarmgirl9]

Thanks for the replies, @oldhenlikesdogs and @Wyorp Rock ! She hasn’t had any noticeable reproductive problems—sometimes she lays weird shelled eggs, or a double yolker on occasion, but still lays. Her eggs always have an oblong shape. The only thing I’ve ever noticed her doing out of the ordinary is walking backwards. She walks backwards shaking her head often, but usually when she gets pecked, sees a bug, gets a bug on her head, or I pick her up and set her down (she doesn’t like to be held).
I recently had a hen die, presumably from reproductive cancer of some sort. She had sour crop off and on through her life, and her poop looked almost identical to Tiger’s.
I do have monistat on hand, but I have read that it is toxic to hens. Conflicting reviews, though, say it works wonders for sour crop, so I’m a little afraid to use it. What I’m doing doesn’t seem to be working, though. Should I give it another day or two before administering monistat? (I really don’t want to make her sicker ) Also, what’s the dosage for this?
Thanks again for your replies. You have no idea how much it helps to see helpful replies coming in.

 

[littlefarmgirl9]

I just did some more reading about miconazole/monistat. Apparently one of the inactive ingredients, propylene glycol, is what hurts hens. Mine is a generic brand and doesn’t have this, but miconazole is still the active ingredient. Attached picture of the label. I’ll probably give Tiger a little bit of this tonight.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

sometimes she lays weird shelled eggs, or a double yolker on occasion, but still lays. Her eggs always have an oblong shape. The only thing I’ve ever noticed her doing out of the ordinary is walking backwards. She walks backwards shaking her head often

I recently had a hen die, presumably from reproductive cancer of some sort. She had sour crop off and on through her life, and her poop looked almost identical to Tiger’s.

Have you looked inside her beak for any white or yellow plaques?
Interesting that you had a hen that had sour crop off and on throughout her life, I would investigate that further. A change in feed may be in order. Did you read the article by TwoCrows? Chronic crop problems usually have an underlying condition - some common ones are worms, coccidiosis, feed/mycotoxins, reproductive disorders, canker and infection.

The walking backwards shaking the head often, sounds neurological, but it would be a good idea to look in the ears for infection, mites or debris.

As for the yeast medication, dosing is in both articles. Do your research to determine what you feel is best as far as using it. Your vet can give you Nystatin if you think that would be the better way to go.

 

[littlefarmgirl9]

Funny you should mention the thing about a change in feed. Recently, I found some sweet smelling bits of brown in the bottom of my feed bag. Looking closer, it appeared to be pieces of the deer lick that my local farm store sells. The girls love it, though, so I think this is being caused by something else—specifically, when I feed the hens, I scoop some into the feeder and then a little pile elsewhere in the coop, for the ones lower on the pecking order. I’m gonna try not to do this anymore in case that’s what the problem is.
Yup, I read the dosage in the articles. I gave Tiger two small mouthfuls today, and try that for a few days. But I noticed something else. When I picked her up, I could her this gurgling, bubble-popping sound from her crop! Is this the yeast growing or dying? I’m worried it’s going to make it difficult for her to breathe...