Sour/pendulous crop

[Eddie12109]

Alright so it’s been a bit but she is getting back to eating. She hasn’t gained weight but her crop is big at night and digests mostly overnight. The one thing I have noticed though is that there is the one piece in her crop that doesn’t digest. It is squishy and stringy... I’m not sure how to describe it but it is smallish. I am starting to think it is a grass blob just sitting in her crop but not blocking anything, could this be possible? Also when i squeeze her crop it occasionally makes this wet squishy noise. Like it’s water but it makes this noise like it’s a bit fermented. I have started her back on miconazole but it doesn’t seem she has sour crop there is just this one piece that doesn’t go down. Any ideas?

 

[azygous]

I suggest, first thing in the morning while the crop is still small, introduce some oil and do a massage with your finger tips targeting the center of that stringy mass, and see if you can get it to break up. Do this before she eats or drinks anything. Use more oil if necessary.

 

[Eddie12109]

Ok so for the past few days, her crop seems to only have water in it. I can’t feel anything resembling food in her crop. She will eat a tiny bit of grass but she isn’t interested in eggs or watermelon or lettuce. She isn’t gaining weight and might even be losing some. She still
Moves around but when I let them out a few days ago she just stood there and started to fall asleep. I don’t know how to help. She still has a slight amount of water in her crop in the morning but not enough to make her not want to eat. She doesn’t have the weird mass thing in her crop anymore, the day it went away was when she was only drinking water it seems.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Hmmm...what about unsweetened applesauce? My chickens act like it is the best thing ever when I let them have leftovers of it, and I know some people give it to chicks to help with digestive issues like pastey butt?

 

[azygous]

She's sick, obviously. She has a slow crop so there may be an obstruction somewhere. She's not eating, either because of the obstruction slowing down the crop, or she's not eating because she's getting ready to check out due to cancer, which can cause an obstruction, or chronic infection.

Could you please remind me what you've done so far to treat this hen? Save me the time it takes to review your thread.

 

[Eddie12109]

basically she had sour crop constantly and I got the bra to help and I gave her miconazole to help too. I’m not too sure... the crop bra was the main thing I did. She is 8 years old. I have forgotten to give grit lately though so that might be some of the issue.

 

[Eddie12109]

Also, I am not sure if I have been fitting her bra correctly. I’m not sure if it is too loose... I know it’s not too tight because I’m scared it will push the contents of her crop up and aspirate her.

 

[azygous]

See if she goes for the grit. It makes a big difference if a gizzard has grit or not. Once the grit gets worn down and pooped out, it would be the same as you expecting your garbage disposal to work without blades.

The bra is adjusted each morning after you see how well the crop emptied or didn't empty over night. If the crop didn't empty, tighten it up a little. If the crop is emptying , the bra is just right.

 

[Eddie12109]

Alright so i offered grit and she doesn’t seem interested. I put some in the food but also offered her some from my hand. offered treats including applesauce and she ate a bit of watermelon. She will graze and I see her peck at things but her crop mainly consists of water. I tightened her crop but there still is a bit left over in the morning. I have been giving her electrolytes and coconut oil.
she still has her personality but she is kind of out of it plus not eating.
any more recommendations... also I have another hen that isn’t doing well but I will just make a new thread about her soon.

 

[azygous]

Maybe that's the best you can do with this girl. I have had older hens with crop issues, and their crops were reluctant to return to normal emptiness, some material lingering in the mornings. It didn't seem to cause them any problems, and they eventually returned to normal.

On electrolytes, they are not to be give over long periods as they can lead to gout.