Sour crop

[Bogtown Chick]

Sometimes and somedays you need to let go. And maybe that crazy Bombie after her Pellets today will clear tonight. LOL. My fingers are crossed for you and your bird. Sometimes it's good for the caretaker to take a day and a break from what they are taking care of. Like you said, start fresh tomorrow with what you have.

I sense in your post you've had enough today, and I think that's okay too. Take care of yourself. Chin up, and know you're doing the best you can. That bird is lucky to have you, as you've told me many times about mine. xx

 

[shell3]

thanks bogtown x your senses are spot on. i have had enough today my car broke down, the dog has ongoing liver problems the cats got a cold and i slipped a disc in my back (over sharing sorry) anyways what with all that the chicken being ill again is what upsets me most.
shes outside now stuffed herself to bursting point with pellets! but a part of me hopes it might push everything through. you never know. for being bottom in the pecking order she dont seem to do badly getting her share of food! and everyone elses by the looks of her! lol x

 

[Tigertrea]

I haven't read all the posts, just the first and last few. I had a girl get sour crop around 4mo old. I treated her with flushing/vomiting her for a day then using monostat for about 10 days. She was eating, drinking and pooping but, her crop got no smaller. I decided to just put her back with the flock and see what happened. Well, that was 6 mo ago. She still has a pendulous crop but, she eats, drinks, poops, is not at the bottom of the pecking order and is laying eggs! She is still a little smaller than her siblings but, she is not overly skinny and is holding her own. I was shocked when I didn't need to cull her.

Hopefully yours comes around and does OK also!

(and all the other issues iron out too!)

 

[shell3]

tigertrea- thanks for sharing, hopefully ill have a good end result too its good to hear that they sometimes sort themselves out.thats what im hoping for today that letting her just do what she wants to do might be the best thing for her. sorry for the details of my bad day! sometimes i think of this as a diary and forget people are looking at these posts for answers not personal info lol

 

[Sunflowergirl]

Don't fret about sharing your bad day!!! It helps to share and get it off your chest!!! I think you did right to take a break and let it go for a bit!!!

 

[shell3]

sfg- thanks
she needed out i think i did the right thing cos she was really bored. shes happier now outside and any longer away and she would have been bullied again as it was she got chased a bit and now its done.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

No worries with this crowd here. Share away if you need. We've all been there, had those sorts of days and sometimes it's best to just vent in a "safe" environment. Take the evening. Enjoy your kids and husband. Let Bombie chook around with her girlfriends.

 

[pwand]

Shell3: hang in there. Your doing the best you can.

My hen is hanging in. She had another small normal poop. I emptied her swollen crop last night and gave her nystatin and waited a bit then feed her small amount of mush. Her crop didn't look so bad this morning, crossing my fingures.

 

[shell3]

pwand- thanks x its great to hear positive things about your girl. fingers crossed for two empty crops and two big smiles in the morning xx

 

[shell3]

Well todays a new day! woke up and went straight out to check on bombie, crop still bloated but reduced a little so hopefully some nutritions getting through. comb is dull again and droopy.
went to see the vet. he emptied the crop best he could but liquid in there was very thick and gloopy and full of darn feathers! he did what ghe could but couldnt empty it completely as she was starting to choke, so i was quite disapointed not to be starting from scratch but must soldier on. he has given more antibiotics. he also said she may pass some feathers but has fitted her with a collar to stop her plucking. so the only feathers she'll have access to is the ones that fall naturally, at least thats an improvement. she is not happy with the collar but im hoping she'll get used to it. i have given her water with electolights and a bowl of watery mash, she ate, had a drink with no problem, i did hook bowls up on the side so she could better reach them.
she was indoors in a cage but kept thrashing about because of the collar, i feared she would do herself serious injury in a small space so i have put her outside in the mini run which lets her have more space and be with the others, albeit on the other side of wire but at least she can see them. after eating the crop is hanging down low and feels very full , i will try to maggase as much as pos today but i think this crop is gonna need a second attempt at being emptied!! im becoming really scared of doing it now as she knows whats coming and struggles! no point in trying a tube as feathers are not gonna come out that way so just have to keep trying, my worst fear is that ill kill her while trying to get the stuff outa there. however if it stays in there shes gonna starve to death so i must try. it worries me that the vet couldnt empty it cos then i think 'what hope do i have' but no were being positive today!
today shes outside and i will give small meals of runny soft foods and massages and see what tomorrow brings, plan is if its still full tomorrow to try again to empty and then back to small soft meals. looks like that might be my daily plan until she finally brings up whats blocking her. i dont have any other ideas ! i have ordered the copper sulphate which is meant to inhibit fungus as far as i can tell so i may add some of that to water or food. but vet agreed that its not sour at present anyway which means its blocked!! im thinking about surgery as a last resort to clear the crop if shes starting to stave to death but i dont know if its worth the risk as she only has to pick something else up and then we'll be back to square one! hubby is helping redesign the coop and run this weekend (he's got off work specially

)
so its getting a roof and a new coop, smaller than previously planed but still much larger than what they have now. and i think im gonna try and rake out all the wood chunks from the floor of the run so they are back to just dirt floor, this was a problem before because of rain pooling and causing boggy run, but with the new roof we should be good with dirt. hopefully this will go some way to stop this problem reoccuring in the future.