Sour croup

[Little Fuzzy]

I threw out some mixed nuts for the squirrels and I saw the chickens went crazy over them so I tried to break them up into smaller pieces but my favorite chicken "STAR" is sick this morning. She won't come out of run, so I picked her up to look at her vent and she vomited clear liquid. She had a full croup so held her upside down and she vomited a lot of water. Her croup feels ok but I'm worried she has a nut stuck in there. She is breathing fine. Maybe she needed that water in her croup. Her breath is not sour smelling really she just looks like she does't feel well.I will keep her from food today but should she have water?

 

[IvanK]

Hi!
I've been through something similar before and while I'm no expert on the matter my past experience may help.
To begin, emptying her crop was ok. She should take water as she needs it and at least you were able to verify that her crop contents were not smelly. This would indicate that her crop is not yet sour but that it is impacted. If she won't take water again, you may need to give it to her with a dropper if too much time elapses and she begins to dehydrate.
You can try to massage it a few times a day trying to loosen the blockage.
If this is impacted crop, you will need to isolate her from other food sources and give her only water for about 24 hours. I had a roo in this situation and after 24 hours of a water only diet, I started feeding him saturated bread with olive oil...I mean saturated! He happily accepted this and I believe the oil provided the lubrication necessary for his blockage to pass. Once I felt his blockage had cleared for the most part I put him on a soft diet of scrambled eggs drenched with olive oil. After 4 days I returned him to the flock and he's fine. This is a home remedy and others here will most definitely have other great suggestions. I think because you are noticing this early, you will have a chance at trying to find the right solution.
Isolating the girl will also let you examine her poo to determine if any solids are passing or if she is totally plugged up...it's good to have reference points so you can see if there are improvements daily.
Best of luck!

 

[Little Fuzzy]

The oil and bread is excellent idea. She is locked in run with water, but now is pecking at the dirt after she vomited. Should she still be kept from food?

 

[IvanK]

The oil and bread is excellent idea. She is locked in run with water, but now is pecking at the dirt after she vomited. Should she still be kept from food?

I personally wouldn't give her any food for at least 24 hours and I would massage her crop every once in a while to help move things around.
Chickens can go several days without food so don't be worried that she'll starve. Seems cruel but you are trying to make her better. Give her water only at this point. If her crop is blocked/impacted, giving her more food to jam in there will just make things worse. Check her crop again in the morning. It should be completely empty if the blockage has passed on it's own or you may notice a difference if it has partially passed.
If after 24 hours there doesn't seem to be any progress, you can try the olive oil soaked bread idea. If she isn't totally blocked, at least some of the ultra soaked bread may be able to pass, giving her some sustenance and the oil can help provide lubrication.
If nothing improves, you can go back to a water only diet for another day and keep trying. I really hope some other people here come on to share their ideas/solutions. This worked for me but every case/chicken is different.
I hope it all works out for the best