Sour crop

[casportpony]

Shell, FWI, I just thought that your vet might want some resources since I don't know how much avian experience he has.

 

[shell3]

thabks for the info
i think he has got quite a lot of experience with chickens so maybe he will want to operate next.
my appt was cancelled as he was called to a 'life or death emergency' so ive been bumped to tomorrow morning. hopefully the next step will be the cure xx

 

[seminolewind]

I can't believe that this has gone on for 4 months!!! Seems like a long time. Wow.

 

[shell3]

feels even longer!
not looking good for my baby, crop has ballooned to a huge size! she had mouth open and gasping. i tried to empty crop,got some out, mass of feathers got stuck coming out her mouth so i grabed them quick and pulled them
out with my fingers! she can now breathe comfortably but crop is still massive she had tiny poop mostly water thou she has been pooping all day some watery others more normal. she has been eating and lively til tonight now shes just laying down. this change happened about an hour ago. i dont dare feed her! i know she'd eat but it wouldnt do her any good. if she makes it through the night i have vets at 10:00 tomorrow. i just dont know what more they can do for her. ill see what he says but im very scared im going to loose this fight
shes been happy and energetic til now so i wont give up but also i wont have her suffer. x

 

[pwand]

Im so sorry to hear her turning worse Shell. What about suctioning her out if you can just to try to get some of the fluids out. What ever happens, you gave her the best care and love any chicken would ever love to have. Hugs.

 

[shell3]

thanks pwand x i thought about suction but i wasnt very successful last time and im on my own tonight hubbys working til 2am shes settled now so im going to hope it reduces over night and get her to vets asap. see if he thinks theres something he can do for her. i think she must still be eating feathers! i havnt seen her do it but she must be

 

[pwand]

What colour is her comb?

 

[shell3]

sorry pwand missed your last message last night. it was really dark red last night but this morning its red again. crop has emptied a little
bit over night and lots of normal poops in the cage she also has her fight back ,up and aboutand talking to me. ive given her breakfast. she ate like she was staving! but just allowed her a small dish. so off to vets at 10. birdy bra people emailed back too. its normal to walk backwards at first they said it is just getting used to it. they said its the presure on the crop,makes them feel they are being pushed. makes perfect sense really but i never thought about it!

 

[shell3]

Ok, just got back from vets, he is actually pleased with the crop, obviously not pleased its not emptying but please that there appears to be movement . he weighed her and shes hasnt lost any significant ammount of weight. he is convinced this is a compacted gizzard, theres not real treatment for that however he feels the blockage has been moved by the procedure and being upside down during it, the hope is that things will appear in the crop and i will either empty it out or he will repeat enoscopy to 'grab whatever it is. so plan is to carry on best i can and empty crop as much as is possible as soon as its enlarged enough. so probly evenings. food is getting through but just moving slowly so shes not starving or loosing weight at any dramatic rate. the crop is emptying some over night but again just slowly. theres no quick fix im afraid just a long treatment plan and hard work but im willing and so it seems is she. we may win we may loose but at least we can be sure we did what we could. this bra support should help and its on today for her to get used to it. it also seems to stop her stuffing herself as the more she eats the more pressure she feels and it pushes her away from the food until theres room for more.
im hoping to feel some bits of wood appear in the crop so i can have a go at getting them out.

should i start a new thread for compaction or just keep posting on here? what do you guys think? dont want to freak any one out whos looking into sour crop!! as this is not usually followed by compaction unless it was the cause to begin with.

 

[pwand]

Hi Shell, stick with this thread. Everybody that is subscribed wont know where you went.

I hope the bra works out. I read to give them oils to help the impacted gizzard. Sounds like she had a rough night. Glad she is better today. When Empting the crop, I decided to do it differently. I take my hen by her legs with one hand and gently flip her forward upside down, I find you get more out that way. Here is a good video how this farmer does it. As usual it's risky.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=fkiVnHWK_p4&desktop_uri=/watch?v=fkiVnHWK_p4

Here's another link with X-ray picture. To do with impaction.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/633614/x-ray-photos-impacted-chicken-from-crazy-eating-habits