Sour/Impacted Crop

[ManedWolf]

I have a Ameraucana hen who has sour crop. I can feel seed and pellet chunks in her crop but she hasn't had access to these in days (as I've had her in a cage indoors). She has a foul smell coming from her beak, which is how I know she has sour crop. When I discovered it her crop was quit mushy and watery. She must have a blockage in her crop which is allowing the contents to sit and fester.

So far I've tried olive oil, garlic, and apple cider vinegar to kill the yeast. I've also attempted to feed her yogurt (for probiotics) mixed with molasses (for energy) and "chicken Gatorade" (water mixed with chicken specific vitamins and electrolytes). I've also had her throw up a few times as her crop keeps getting larger.

She is malnourished, I didn't catch it until she was very frail. I'm also very concerned about dehydration.

Is there anything else I can do? I'm not sure if I should be putting my energy towards clearing the blockage or the yeast. I know if her crop was allowed to drain that she'd be able to beat the yeast, but will curing the yeast allow the blockage to clear?

One more thing, I know antibiotics intended for fish work for chickens (when dosed correctly), does the same apply for fish antifungals? I have some and am unsure if they'd be of any use, or safe for that matter.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

How old is your girl? What is her poop like? Is it just liquid are there some solids? Is she laying? Any swelling or lumps in her belly?

If her poop is just water, it's likely she has a serious obstruction somewhere in her digestive system (not necessarily her crop) that needs to be dealt with before you can successfully treat sour crop. An antifungal isn't going to help with the obstruction and unfortunately it's difficult and sometimes impossible to get rid of an impaction. I would empty her crop then feed her some oil. You can also try an epsom salt flush.

I don't know about fish antifungals... Monistat cream from the pharmacy works well. It does sound like an obstruction is your main problem though.

Be sure she still has access to grit in case the blockage is a knot of grass or something.

 

[ManedWolf]

How old is your girl? What is her poop like? Is it just liquid are there some solids? Is she laying? Any swelling or lumps in her belly?

If her poop is just water, it's likely she has a serious obstruction somewhere in her digestive system (not necessarily her crop) that needs to be dealt with before you can successfully treat sour crop. An antifungal isn't going to help with the obstruction and unfortunately it's difficult and sometimes impossible to get rid of an impaction. I would empty her crop then feed her some oil. You can also try an epsom salt flush.

I don't know about fish antifungals... Monistat cream from the pharmacy works well. It does sound like an obstruction is your main problem though.

Be sure she still has access to grit in case the blockage is a knot of grass or something.

She around 7 months old. Her poop was all water yesterday but today there are some solids (still pretty wet though). I'm not even sure if she's started laying yet, but she hasn't since I've brought her indoors. I don't feel any swelling, but her breastbone is getting very prominent.

How do I preform an epsom salt flush?

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

It's good that there are some solids--means she's doesn't have a complete blockage. I would keep giving her oil and start an antifungal cream and see if she keeps improving.

An epsom salt flush is one teaspoon epsom salt mixed into a 1/2 cup warm water. If her crop is already full of liquid you will need to empty it either by getting it to continue down the digestive tract or by vomiting her. Syringe the flush into her crop and wait. It should cause mild diarrhea and help clean out her system, though if her system is really slow it might just sit in her crop and not help much.

 

[ManedWolf]

It's good that there are some solids--means she's doesn't have a complete blockage. I would keep giving her oil and start an antifungal cream and see if she keeps improving.

An epsom salt flush is one teaspoon epsom salt mixed into a 1/2 cup warm water. If her crop is already full of liquid you will need to empty it either by getting it to continue down the digestive tract or by vomiting her. Syringe the flush into her crop and wait. It should cause mild diarrhea and help clean out her system, though if her system is really slow it might just sit in her crop and not help much.

I gave her Monistat, took a lot of work to figure out how to dose her correctly but I think I've got it. Hopefully she improves!

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

I gave her Monistat, took a lot of work to figure out how to dose her correctly but I think I've got it. Hopefully she improves!

Make sure you treat her with Monistat twice a day and don't stop immediately even if she seems better or it might come back. I keep giving the cream for a day or two after the crop seems normal. Usually you need to treat for about a week.

 

[ManedWolf]

Make sure you treat her with Monistat twice a day and don't stop immediately even if she seems better or it might come back. I keep giving the cream for a day or two after the crop seems normal. Usually you need to treat for about a week.

I've been treating her with Monistat twice a day and the yeast infection seems to have gone away but her crop still won't drain in a normal time frame. She weighs less than 2 lbs now and is losing her will to live. I am super worried, she doesn't have much fight left.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

How much has she been eating? Are you having to force feed or tube feed? I'd give sugar water a few times a day to help keep her energy up.

Did you ever try a crop flush? At her age I think an intestinal obstruction from something she ate is the most likely reason her crop is slow, but it could also be a tumor, infection or some other disease.

Let's see if the resident expert, @azygous, has any thoughts on how to proceed...

 

[azygous]

Is this a new flock? Or have you had chickens for enough years that you've lost a few? If the latter, were any suffering from crop disorders?

Prolonged crop dysfunction can cause severe weight loss and subsequent weakness, hurting natural appetite. The priority is to get fluids and nourishment into this patient as quickly as you can. She's likely at a point now where she is too weak to have a desire to eat, so you must tube feed her.

If you've never tube fed, the idea may panic you, but I assure you that it's much easier than you think, and doing it one time will make you an expert.

What you need to do is either put together a tube feeding kit from plastic tubing, oxygen or aquarium and find an oral syringe with a large capacity that the orifice will fit into the tube. Or, the easiest way to get a kit is to ask a vet to sell you one for small animals. I got one for just $3.

I also put together a kit from discarded oxygen tubing I got from a friend who uses O2 at night. I cut a ten inch length and got a syringe free from a pharmacy to fit it.

First thing you need to do is, as @Razzlefrazzle suggested, is to syringe warm sugar water into your pullet. Try to get a fourth of a cup of fluid into her every hour until you're ready to call it a night. Add a little Poultry Nutri-drench to it if you have it. It's developed especially for very sick chickens. This should revive her and may even make her interested in eating some soft boiled egg.

Then tomorrow make it a priority to find a tubing kit or supplies to make one. This is how you feed fluids with a syringe and also how you insert a tube into the esophagus of a chicken to put fluids or liquid food into them.

 

[ManedWolf]

How much has she been eating? Are you having to force feed or tube feed? I'd give sugar water a few times a day to help keep her energy up.

Did you ever try a crop flush? At her age I think an intestinal obstruction from something she ate is the most likely reason her crop is slow, but it could also be a tumor, infection or some other disease.

Let's see if the resident expert, @azygous, has any thoughts on how to proceed...

I feed her small amounts multiple times a day, but by the end of the day it's all built up anyway since her crop isn't draining normally. Her crop won't even drain half over night. I'm syringe feeding her since she won't eat on her own. For energy I've been mixing plain yogurt with molasses.

I've done a few crop flushes in the beginning but lately I fear she's too weak to try anything like that.