Sour Crop??

[Coturnix Quail]

My 3 y/o australorp hen has lost a lot of weight over the course of a few months, her comb is pale, her poop is very liqudy, small, and green, she also doesn’t lay anymore. I checked her crop after keeping her without food and water, and it feels squishy like memory foam, even after she hasn’t eaten anything. Her abdomen feels normal, but i’m no expert. She’s starting to become more and more lethargic. I’m thinking it’s sour crop because her crop isn’t tough to be impacted.. But her mouth doesn’t smell?? Please help, i don’t know what to do and her condition keeps getting worse.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

This probably has nothing to do with the current issue, but just thought i might put it out there that she had a vent prolapse a year or two ago which i treated, but she was fine after it.

 

[Sahraschweiss]

Can you get a fecal test? Could be parasites?

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Can you get a fecal test? Could be parasites?

How? If it requires a vet i don’t have any poultry treating vets near me. Is there any other way to tell if they’re parasites?

 

[Sahraschweiss]

Try here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/doing-fecal-floats-at-home.1047614/

 

[DuckYouMan]

Just as a precaution if you dont have a vet near, I'd start doing some medical prevention like adding colloidal silver to the water as well as vitamins and niacin. Keep her isolated in case its contagious. Pre biotics and pro biotics are good choices to add as well.

The silver will rule out most bacterial infections. The vits and niacin will booster her energy and the pre+pro biotics will help stabilize her gut. I would then start feeding eggs with her normal feed to get her immune system and weight coming back. If she's not eating, you can force feed her eggs through a syringe. Just open her mouth, put it in and close the beak. She will automatically swallow.

Give her a nice little dust bath by herself and keep her happy. If you're not able to get to a vet, it's largely a guessing game. There are some antibiotics I think you can get at a feed store, but without knowing whats wrong, its hard to know if that'll do any good.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Just as a precaution if you dont have a vet near, I'd start doing some medical prevention like adding colloidal silver to the water as well as vitamins and niacin. Keep her isolated in case its contagious. Pre biotics and pro biotics are good choices to add as well.

The silver will rule out most bacterial infections. The vits and niacin will booster her energy and the pre+pro biotics will help stabilize her gut. I would then start feeding eggs with her normal feed to get her immune system and weight coming back. If she's not eating, you can force feed her eggs through a syringe. Just open her mouth, put it in and close the beak. She will automatically swallow.

Give her a nice little dust bath by herself and keep her happy. If you're not able to get to a vet, it's largely a guessing game. There are some antibiotics I think you can get at a feed store, but without knowing whats wrong, its hard to know if that'll do any good.

Alright, can you give me some specifics on what i should add to her water? Should I leave the eggs raw or cook them? I just went out to check on her, i hadn’t realized this before, but she is so thin, i can feel her breast bone and when i looked underneath her i could see the outline of it very clearly. Should I try to fatten her up? But her crop still seems full?

 

[DuckYouMan]

Normal vitamins and electrolytes you would give chicks. Same for pre/pro biotics, colloidal and niacin. Everything can be found on amazon. I will give a few links down below. You can cook the eggs however you want. I wouldn't give them raw. If you wish, you can mix in some plain yogurt. I basically will mash the end of the syringe down on the eggs over and over and it'll must it in there. I'll link a video on how to feed as well.

How to feed a sick chicken

Amazon stuff

Pro/pre biotics and nutrition powder
https://www.amazon.com/UltraCruz-Po...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Silver additive: can be used in just about everything. Drinking water, wounds. It's very anti bacterial and was used as a form of antibiotics before antibiotics were around. You'll only need a few drops per gallon of water.

https://www.amazon.com/Colloidal-Si...vative+Natural+Products&qid=1598908069&sr=8-1


Lastly, this is the niacin I use for my chicks. One capsule per gallon of water.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I4AIUK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I hope it all goes well. All of this is really a preventative, but I hope it can at least help her get through whatever it is she has. I feed pretty much like this woman does it in the video but I will use the syringe for the eggs because its much easier to open the beak, squirt it in and close the beak. Balling the egg up and stuffing it in does definitely work though. In the syringe, it comes out in much smaller pieces all mushed up as well so less chance of choking on large pieces of they dont have the energy to swallow.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My 3 y/o australorp hen has lost a lot of weight over the course of a few months, her comb is pale, her poop is very liqudy, small, and green, she also doesn’t lay anymore. I checked her crop after keeping her without food and water, and it feels squishy like memory foam, even after she hasn’t eaten anything. Her abdomen feels normal, but i’m no expert. She’s starting to become more and more lethargic. I’m thinking it’s sour crop because her crop isn’t tough to be impacted.. But her mouth doesn’t smell?? Please help, i don’t know what to do and her condition keeps getting worse.

I'm sorry your hen is not well.

I too would suspect she's got a crop issue since it feels like memory foam (doughy maybe?). Likely the crop issue is a symptom of an underlying condition since she doesn't lay eggs anymore.
Read the article below for crop treatments - I have used these methods several times, so yes, these are products/methods I would personally use.
I would first start by giving the coconut oil, lightly massage the crop and see if you can manipulate it a bit, a doughy (memory foam?) crop can also be sour or turn sour quickly. If she's not pooping well, I would probably give her 1 stool softener as well. Make sure it's stool softener stimulant free not a laxative. IF the crop has not emptied by morning, then I would start her on the yeast medication. I use Clotrimazole because I found some cheap LOL Miconazole is fine too - either one works. Follow the instructions in the article, but make sure you are giving 2X a day for 7 days. Finish the yeast medication even if she drastically improves.

I have found that hens that have reproductive problems (which I'm guessing is your hen's main problem) can have crop issues due to inflammation, cancer or matter in the abdomen or the reproductive system. Sometimes I can give supportive care and the hen does do well for several months. The weight loss is concerning for sure, so I would provide her with some extra protein (chick starter, egg, fish or meat). Poultry vitamins for a couple of days to give her a jump start. Then once a week I would direct dose her with vitamins.

Hopefully she will start to feel better for a while. Sometimes there's more going on and they just are not able to bounce back. This is when I put mine down and perform a home necropsy to see if I can figure out the cause of decline. It may sound a bit morbid, but for me it's part of learning and I have been able to recognize symptoms and understand what may be happening, whether I can help or if I just need to go ahead and put a hen out of their misery.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Coturnix Quail]

I'm sorry your hen is not well.

I too would suspect she's got a crop issue since it feels like memory foam (doughy maybe?). Likely the crop issue is a symptom of an underlying condition since she doesn't lay eggs anymore.
Read the article below for crop treatments - I have used these methods several times, so yes, these are products/methods I would personally use.
I would first start by giving the coconut oil, lightly massage the crop and see if you can manipulate it a bit, a doughy (memory foam?) crop can also be sour or turn sour quickly. If she's not pooping well, I would probably give her 1 stool softener as well. Make sure it's stool softener stimulant free not a laxative. IF the crop has not emptied by morning, then I would start her on the yeast medication. I use Clotrimazole because I found some cheap LOL Miconazole is fine too - either one works. Follow the instructions in the article, but make sure you are giving 2X a day for 7 days. Finish the yeast medication even if she drastically improves.

I have found that hens that have reproductive problems (which I'm guessing is your hen's main problem) can have crop issues due to inflammation, cancer or matter in the abdomen or the reproductive system. Sometimes I can give supportive care and the hen does do well for several months. The weight loss is concerning for sure, so I would provide her with some extra protein (chick starter, egg, fish or meat). Poultry vitamins for a couple of days to give her a jump start. Then once a week I would direct dose her with vitamins.

Hopefully she will start to feel better for a while. Sometimes there's more going on and they just are not able to bounce back. This is when I put mine down and perform a home necropsy to see if I can figure out the cause of decline. It may sound a bit morbid, but for me it's part of learning and I have been able to recognize symptoms and understand what may be happening, whether I can help or if I just need to go ahead and put a hen out of their misery.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Thank you, i’ve been giving her egg daily, and she eats it right up. Do you think it’s a possibility that she may have worms or maybe a parasite? I know her crop isn’t normal, but she’s been eating, not putting on any weight though. Is that because of the crop not being able to digest or a parasite eating her intake? Do you think deworming her just in case would be harmful, or would it be alright?