Sour/Impacted Crop

[ManedWolf]

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.View attachment 3376540

This is a mixed flock, some are 8+ years old. This chicken is part of a new batch I got over the summer, so she's only around 7 months old. I've lost a handful of chickens to crop disorders, which is why I'm worried about this one's chances.
I'll admit I've considered tube feeding her but was intimidated, as I've never done it before!
Question, is it possible to use tubing to syringe the contents out of her crop? It's mostly water and yogurt. I don't want to vomit her again because she is very weak. I fear that if the stuff in her crop remains for much longer it will ferment and I'll go right back to the sour crop issue.

 

[azygous]

Yes, tubing works in reverse just as well.

Tubing is scary the first time. But it's very safe and virtually fool-proof. Justbe sure the tubing had to sharp ragged edges. Heating it slightly to melt the ragged edges is helpful. Slightly extending the neck to insert the tube helps. Once the tube is in, the chicken is comfortable and they will enjoy the filling of the crop. If she struggles, just wait her out and continue.

 

[ManedWolf]

Yes, tubing works in reverse just as well.

Tubing is scary the first time. But it's very safe and virtually fool-proof. Justbe sure the tubing had to sharp ragged edges. Heating it slightly to melt the ragged edges is helpful. Slightly extending the neck to insert the tube helps. Once the tube is in, the chicken is comfortable and they will enjoy the filling of the crop. If she struggles, just wait her out and continue

I tube fed her once and it went well but she was super weak. Yesterday morning I just made her comfortable and she passed away later that evening. I appreciate all your help though! I just hope I can use what I learned to save the next one (I don't want any more illnesses, but I know it's bound to happen again sometime, that's just how chickens are).

 

[ChknMama50]

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.View attachment 3376540

Had NO idea where I'd seen this photo but it saved MY life in worrying about how to orally dose my chickens when we gave them Valbzen this past Feb...
This is the BEST photo- I had NO idea that their trachea was RIGHT in the middle of their mouth essentially- when open like this anyway! This helped SO much!! Thank you thank you!!