Sour Crop

[Lacy Duckwing]

Well, the specific hen I mentioned is the lowest on the pecking order, meaning that there are times when the others won't let her eat properly, or even when they do, she's too skittish. Separating isn't completely necessary if the others don't seem to make her situation worse. I used a brooding box and only divided her from the flock at night, unless during the day, she acted sluggish and cold.
Do what you think is right- and I'm so glad to hear the positive update!!

Ok. I'm glad to hear that separating isn't completely necessary. Jewels is the bottom of the pecking order, too, but the pecking order isn't a really harsh one, so she's able to eat and doesn't show any signs of being skittish. I have a really small flock of just six hens who almost all get along pretty well. (Penny my Silver-Laced Wyandotte can be trouble sometimes to anybody when she isn't in a good mood.) I will keep her with her flock, and continue to massage her crop when necessary. I'd like to get her a chicken bra because I've heard that those are for hens who have a Sour Crop problem. Would you by any chance know where I could find one? Thank you so much for your help and encouragement @The Angry Hen !!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

@The Angry Hen , in one of your posts, you said to let her spit up as long as there is no food coming up. Why is that? When I came in here earlier after I had that situation that I'm telling you about in the paragraph below, I reread your post, I saw that you said as long as there's no food coming up. I either missed that when I first read your post, or forgot it. That's why I'm wondering.
This morning I was out with my hens, and I saw Jewels spitting up. So, I grabbed her and started massaging her crop. She spit up a lot and started spitting up grounded up feed. She started acting weird, so I quickly placed her down. When I placed her down, she seemed to be weak. So I picked her up and rocked her telling her that it's ok. I was concerned when she started acting weird that I was going to loose her because I had a hen of similar build and felt similar to her when I held her that started acting weird while I was holding her once and I thought that I was going to loose that hen. That hen snapped out of it thankfully, but I thought that Jewels wasn't going to. Jewels started acting ok after I rocked her, and I gave her some Flock Party treats because I felt bad about what just happened. She ate them up like she was starving! I gave her some more than placed her back with her flock. She didn't to her feeder, even with no birds around it, so I'm thinking that maybe she was excited for the treats. With her acting weak, looking back, I'm wondering if she was acting that way because she had just thrown up. Maybe it's like when people throw up, they're weak afterwards. She came all back to her normal self thankfully.

 

[tacosta1009]

I actually had recently experienced this as a first time with my Orpington hen. She was acting quite sluggish, and she's up there in age, so I thought for awhile I would lose her.
She was drinking a lot of water, but not eating much at all. When picking her up, she had the same issue as your Sussex hen, the crop was very soft, and when applying the slightest pressure, she'd spit up. (This was back in November).
As a routine, I'd gently massage her crop and very gently lift it upward. She'd spit up each day as much I could get her to, then I'd promote eating more food with nutrition, as opposed to just water.
What came from her beak always smelled sour, so I cut back on adding vinegar to her flock's water (I do this for immune system boosting, but halt when fermenting is an issue in the summer)...

I then separated her every night and fed her as she needed, so the others wouldn't pick on her while she ate, and continued keeping water very fresh, but not letting her crop get so full that holding her loosely would make her drool.
Here she is, her crop firmer and her feeding routine more energetic.
I'd recommend continuing the massaging, and maybe promoting the spitting, only if it's liquids that come out. If you see signs of food being spit up, set her back down and wait until she seems content and is properly digesting. She may need to regroup after the routine, but keep her in a warm spot, and watch her reactions to the regimen.

Best of luck and hope she feels better soon!

This JUST happened to me. I picked up my Egger and lightly touched her crop and all this liquid came out, so I came here!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

This JUST happened to me. I picked up my Egger and lightly touched her crop and all this liquid came out, so I came here!

I found this article by @TwoCrows and @casportpony the other day: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/
It seems very informational, so I'm hoping that I can help my hen by this article. The issues for me from this article, is first, due to the time of year, I can't separate Jewels. Also, I'm not too good with anything to do with medicine for chickens. I'm scared with chicken medicine because I had a hen die with the only explanation for me was, she must of been accidentally overdosed.
@The Angry Hen has been very helpful on this thread for me. She's giving me some great encouragement, too.
Have you ever heard of this? http://www.hensaver.com/Crop-Bra.html https://crazy-k-farm.myshopify.com/...ucts/birdy-bra-crop-supporter-chest-protector
I'm hoping to get Jewels one because I think that will help her out a lot. Just, I don't know what size to get her.
My Mom has told me to not give her have any carbs. I already knew to avoid feeding her bread, but things like corn in her grain could be a problem. I can't afford to switch her grain to avoid the corn. There is a grain that I think if grain is an issue, that this would help, but it's like $30 a 50lb bag, which is a little too expensive for me. As it is, I'm already spending more on grain because my flock has protein problems. My Mom says that carbs has a lot of sugar when broken down, and sugar feeds yeast, and with Sour Crop, yeast is the issue.

 

[The Angry Hen]

@The Angry Hen , in one of your posts, you said to let her spit up as long as there is no food coming up. Why is that? When I came in here earlier after I had that situation that I'm telling you about in the paragraph below, I reread your post, I saw that you said as long as there's no food coming up. I either missed that when I first read your post, or forgot it. That's why I'm wondering.
This morning I was out with my hens, and I saw Jewels spitting up. So, I grabbed her and started massaging her crop. She spit up a lot and started spitting up grounded up feed. She started acting weird, so I quickly placed her down. When I placed her down, she seemed to be weak. So I picked her up and rocked her telling her that it's ok. I was concerned when she started acting weird that I was going to loose her because I had a hen of similar build and felt similar to her when I held her that started acting weird while I was holding her once and I thought that I was going to loose that hen. That hen snapped out of it thankfully, but I thought that Jewels wasn't going to. Jewels started acting ok after I rocked her, and I gave her some Flock Party treats because I felt bad about what just happened. She ate them up like she was starving! I gave her some more than placed her back with her flock. She didn't to her feeder, even with no birds around it, so I'm thinking that maybe she was excited for the treats. With her acting weak, looking back, I'm wondering if she was acting that way because she had just thrown up. Maybe it's like when people throw up, they're weak afterwards. She came all back to her normal self thankfully.

Hello and hope all is well!
I'm glad the Jewels is doing alright now and I'm sorry I didn't see your reply sooner.
I haven't allowed my hen that had sour crop to spit up food as I was worried she'd end up choking on it, and something would make it worse. So far just allowing the hen to spit up liquid has helped, but I imagine that in a severe case of sour crop, you may want your hen to get any bad food and undigested solids out of her system/crop.
If there is some food coming from her beak when massaging the crop, you may try encouraging it and see how the hen reacts. It all depends on what's causing her the discomfort. In my Buff Orpington's scenario, there was too much ferment-smelling liquid in her crop. The promotion of removing that unhealthy stuff eases the hen a great deal.
As with the snacks, I'm unsure of what you've been feeding since the last post here. How is she doing?

Edit: I also remember you asking me about the hen bra. I haven't tried one for my girls, but it may be a good investment if you ever noticed further problems with sour crop.
Also, I'm really happy that the info I've posted has been encouraging to you. I hope what I share is still of help!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Hello and hope all is well!
I'm glad the Jewels is doing alright now and I'm sorry I didn't see your reply sooner.

Hello. I'm well and I hope that you are too! Thanks for your reply! That's ok, I've been without wifi for about a day, so I wasn't able to get to response sooner.

I haven't allowed my hen that had sour crop to spit up food as I was worried she'd end up choking on it, and something would make it worse. So far just allowing the hen to spit up liquid has helped, but I imagine that in a severe case of sour crop, you may want your hen to get any bad food and undigested solids out of her system/crop.

Ok. Yeah, that's why I was trying to get everything out. I haven't seen any white spots yet, so I'm hoping that it is just slow crop right now.

If there is some food coming from her beak when massaging the crop, you may try encouraging it and see how the hen reacts. It all depends on what's causing her the discomfort. In my Buff Orpington's scenario, there was too much ferment-smelling liquid in her crop. The promotion of removing that unhealthy stuff eases the hen a great deal.

I think that whatever is in her crop is causing the discomfort. She loves her water, so I think that is part of the reason. She drinks a lot of water at a time, then she'll start spitting up. When I massage her crop when she's doing that, she spits up a lot of water and her crop feels like it's full of water.

As with the snacks, I'm unsure of what you've been feeding since the last post here. How is she doing?

I've been mainly feeding her her grain only, and rarely some Flock Party treats. I enjoy giving my hens treats, so when I do, I've been doing it behind her back, but then I feel bad cause she'll find out so I'll try hiding it. This is things like bread, which I do try to not give too much at a time to whoever I am feeding. Jewels is doing ok, but she does still spit up when she drinks too much water. I have been removing the feeder and water at night to give her a chance to empty her crop in the morning.

Edit: I also remember you asking me about the hen bra. I haven't tried one for my girls, but it may be a good investment if you ever noticed further problems with sour crop.

I'm hoping to order one soon. This is what I'm hoping to get her, but I don't know what size to get: https://crazy-k-farm.myshopify.com/...ucts/birdy-bra-crop-supporter-chest-protector What size should I get?

Also, I'm really happy that the info I've posted has been encouraging to you. I hope what I share is still of help!

Yes, I'm very happy too. What you shared is still a help. Thank you so much!

 

[Blue Raptor]

This works for my hens, none of the ones have died that I do this for.
1 massage her crop and tip her head down, but only let her throw up for 20 secs. Then take break before doing it again.
2 isolate her and let her have plenty of water.
3 make some feed “oatmeal” out of chicken feed and water.
4 then, pour a some kefir yogurt “frosting” on top, the amount should last her about half the day, then make her some more when she runs out. The other chickens will willingly eat leftovers, and it is not medicated, so they can have it.
5 give this to her 2 times a day until she seems to bet better, and If she gets sick again, make her throw up. The kefir has bacteria in it that will clear up the sour crop.
If this doesn’t work, I’m sorry, but it does for my chickens. We literally just had a sour crop named Obe-Wan that got better a couple days ago. Hope it works!!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Thanks for the reply @Blue_Raptor! I do have some questions if you don't mind.

1 massage her crop and tip her head down, but only let her throw up for 20 secs. Then take break before doing it again.

Ok. I've already been massaging her crop.

2 isolate her and let her have plenty of water.

I can't separate her right now due to weather and stuff, but Spring is coming, so if she's still dealing with this then, I might be able to separate her then. As far as plenty of water, I've been noticing this is what appears to be causing her to throw up. At night, I take away both food (so Jewels can hopefully empty her crop) and water (water because it'll freeze). When I bring in the food and water, my flock all go for the grain except for Jewels. She goes for the water. She'll refuse to eat any grain. I can't even trick her into eating her grain. Then, she'll drink so much water that she'll start spitting up. I've been wondering if it's Sour Crop, or if she's just drinking way too much water. So, as far as plenty of water, she's already doing that.

3 make some feed “oatmeal” out of chicken feed and water.
4 then, pour a some kefir yogurt “frosting” on top, the amount should last her about half the day, then make her some more when she runs out. The other chickens will willingly eat leftovers, and it is not medicated, so they can have it.

As far as all of this, do you have a recipe that I can follow? And what brand of Kefir yogurt are you using (a picture would be helpful if possible)? Is there a certain type of oatmeal that you use (rolled, steel cut, and/or quick cooking)? Also, I've heard that yogurt can lead to mucas build up, was that a problem for your hens? I probably would want to make certain that there is no added sugar in the yogurt, right? Due to sugar feeding yeast anyways?

I hope that you don't mind me asking these questions. Jewels has been doing good, except for her drinking until she spits up though. I think that massaging her crop and separating the grain at night so her crop can empty has been helping her a lot.

 

[Blue Raptor]

Thanks for the reply @Blue_Raptor! I do have some questions if you don't mind.

Ok. I've already been massaging her crop.

I can't separate her right now due to weather and stuff, but Spring is coming, so if she's still dealing with this then, I might be able to separate her then. As far as plenty of water, I've been noticing this is what appears to be causing her to throw up. At night, I take away both food (so Jewels can hopefully empty her crop) and water (water because it'll freeze). When I bring in the food and water, my flock all go for the grain except for Jewels. She goes for the water. She'll refuse to eat any grain. I can't even trick her into eating her grain. Then, she'll drink so much water that she'll start spitting up. I've been wondering if it's Sour Crop, or if she's just drinking way too much water. So, as far as plenty of water, she's already doing that.

As far as all of this, do you have a recipe that I can follow? And what brand of Kefir yogurt are you using (a picture would be helpful if possible)? Is there a certain type of oatmeal that you use (rolled, steel cut, and/or quick cooking)? Also, I've heard that yogurt can lead to mucas build up, was that a problem for your hens? I probably would want to make certain that there is no added sugar in the yogurt, right? Due to sugar feeding yeast anyways?

I hope that you don't mind me asking these questions. Jewels has been doing good, except for her drinking until she spits up though. I think that massaging her crop and separating the grain at night so her crop can empty has been helping her a lot.

I use normal layer pellets and get them soggy in the water to make an oatmeal-texture like food. Not real oatmeal. I will do a pic of the Kefir brand.

 

[Blue Raptor]

I use normal layer pellets and get them soggy in the water to make an oatmeal-texture like food. Not real oatmeal. I will do a pic of the Kefir brand.

It has probiotics in it that will help get rid of the chemicals in the crop that is giving her sour crop.