Squishy crop, but no smell and is empty in the morning

[TheFugitivePen]

New chicken keeper here! I have a 9-month-old Australorp whose crop is squishy at night.
I noticed it two evenings ago as I put our hens to bed. However, earlier that day and the next, she was running around with the flock, happily eating, scratching, and free-ranging.

Even though she was acting fine, I didn't like how her crop felt, so I did some research (https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/ was so helpful!) and discovered I might be dealing with sour crop or an impacted crop.

On the third evening (last night), her crop still felt squishy and bumpy--like a balloon with rice in it. She didn't smell bad, and I didn't hear any bubbling. But I knew her crop didn't feel right, so I took her off the roost and isolated her, giving her a gentle crop massage before bed in case it was impacted. This morning, her crop was empty. Still no bad smell from her beak, and she seemed fine.

Because her crop was flat, I fed her a wee bit of yogurt, 2 tsp of cold coconut oil, and another gentle crop massage, just in case. I also gave her some layer pellets softened with water. Her poop looked normal except for one very watery cecal poop. She gobbled down the oil, nibbled the yogurt, and she ate 1/3 of the softened pellets (I gave her maybe 1/4 cup--not much). She did not lay today.

When I checked on her tonight, her crop was small and felt squishy but not bumpy. Still no bad odor from her beak or her. Poop still looks normal.

Is her crop squishy tonight because she's just had soft food today? Or should I begin treating her for sour crop with miconazole?

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is her crop squishy tonight because she's just had soft food today? Or should I begin treating her for sour crop with miconazole?

A crop should feel like it has food/water in it at night when the hen has been eating/drinking.
The best way to gauge function is to check the crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink. If the crop is empty in the morning, then usually there's not a crop problem.

 

[Saaniya]

New chicken keeper here! I have a 9-month-old Australorp whose crop is squishy at night.
I noticed it two evenings ago as I put our hens to bed. However, earlier that day and the next, she was running around with the flock, happily eating, scratching, and free-ranging.

Even though she was acting fine, I didn't like how her crop felt, so I did some research (https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/ was so helpful!) and discovered I might be dealing with sour crop or an impacted crop.

On the third evening (last night), her crop still felt squishy and bumpy--like a balloon with rice in it. She didn't smell bad, and I didn't hear any bubbling. But I knew her crop didn't feel right, so I took her off the roost and isolated her, giving her a gentle crop massage before bed in case it was impacted. This morning, her crop was empty. Still no bad smell from her beak, and she seemed fine.

Because her crop was flat, I fed her a wee bit of yogurt, 2 tsp of cold coconut oil, and another gentle crop massage, just in case. I also gave her some layer pellets softened with water. Her poop looked normal except for one very watery cecal poop. She gobbled down the oil, nibbled the yogurt, and she ate 1/3 of the softened pellets (I gave her maybe 1/4 cup--not much). She did not lay today.

When I checked on her tonight, her crop was small and felt squishy but not bumpy. Still no bad odor from her beak or her. Poop still looks normal.

Is her crop squishy tonight because she's just had soft food today? Or should I begin treating her for sour crop with miconazole?

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

I face this earlier so what i did i am sharing with u and hope it helps .
One of my rooster when he was 6 month old face this issue when i check the crop first in the morning it was empty but squishy so i bring a Pre-Probiotic powder with Yeast and enzyme i started this 1 pinch in small amount of water once a day for 7 days regularly and this thing cleared up within 3 days never came back .
Also pre-probiotics with enzymes is very useful for chickens crop and it prevents sour crop as well

 

[TheFugitivePen]

Posting an update for anyone who also comes here looking for advice.

We kept the hen separated for about three days. We let her fast for the first 12 hours to make sure her crop was emptying and then reintroduced gentle foods. We gave her a little bit of Greek yogurt for the probiotics. She also received a scrambled egg each day and moistened layer pellets. In the mornings, her crop felt empty but squishy--like there was a thin layer of puddy underneath the skin.

She never smelled sour or even "off," and she did not act lethargic or droopy. She showed a healthy appetite. However, she was not laying. I don't know if this was due to stress from being quarantined, shorter winter days, or because she wasn't feeling 100%.

I think she may have had a small blockage that was turning into sour crop. Even once the blockage seemed to have cleared, the sour crop was still brewing. Had we not noticed early and found the resources on this site, she might have gotten very sick.

We followed the tips in this post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/.
I gave her half an inch of vaginal yeast cream 2x a day. After starting the yeast treatment, her crop felt normal! We've continued the treatment over the course of a week as recommended, and her final doses will be tomorrow.

She's been running around with the flock, eating normal feed, and free-ranging. She pooped as I gave her her medicine today, and poop looks completely normal. She's a happy chicken! Though I know she'll be relieved when I don't have to catch her anymore. She's a good, gentle girl, but she's never loved being handled--far too independent lol.

I'm so grateful for this forum, its knowledgeable members, and its resources! Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

In the mornings, her crop felt empty but squishy--like there was a thin layer of puddy underneath the skin.

I gave her half an inch of vaginal yeast cream 2x a day. After starting the yeast treatment, her crop felt normal! We've continued the treatment over the course of a week as recommended, and her final doses will be tomorrow.

I'm glad she is doing better.

What you describe as an empty crop but squishy with puddy underneath, I'd call that a doughy crop, which if left, would turn sour, so good call on treating as sour.

Hopefully the crop issue will not become chronic. Sometimes they can be due to underlying conditions. I'd keep monitoring her.

Thank you for the update.

 

[mac853]

Posting an update for anyone who also comes here looking for advice.

We kept the hen separated for about three days. We let her fast for the first 12 hours to make sure her crop was emptying and then reintroduced gentle foods. We gave her a little bit of Greek yogurt for the probiotics. She also received a scrambled egg each day and moistened layer pellets. In the mornings, her crop felt empty but squishy--like there was a thin layer of puddy underneath the skin.

She never smelled sour or even "off," and she did not act lethargic or droopy. She showed a healthy appetite. However, she was not laying. I don't know if this was due to stress from being quarantined, shorter winter days, or because she wasn't feeling 100%.

I think she may have had a small blockage that was turning into sour crop. Even once the blockage seemed to have cleared, the sour crop was still brewing. Had we not noticed early and found the resources on this site, she might have gotten very sick.

We followed the tips in this post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/.
I gave her half an inch of vaginal yeast cream 2x a day. After starting the yeast treatment, her crop felt normal! We've continued the treatment over the course of a week as recommended, and her final doses will be tomorrow.

She's been running around with the flock, eating normal feed, and free-ranging. She pooped as I gave her her medicine today, and poop looks completely normal. She's a happy chicken! Though I know she'll be relieved when I don't have to catch her anymore. She's a good, gentle girl, but she's never loved being handled--far too independent lol.

I'm so grateful for this forum, its knowledgeable members, and its resources! Thank you!

We have a chicken that seems like she has sour crop (huge squishy crop) but it doesn’t smell. We did crop massage and epsom salt down her throat and we’re not sure what to do. She had a yeast infection over Christmas and we had to apply cream to her vent. How did you get your hen to swallow the cream? She’s had this for almost a week

 

[TheFugitivePen]

We have a chicken that seems like she has sour crop (huge squishy crop) but it doesn’t smell. We did crop massage and epsom salt down her throat and we’re not sure what to do. She had a yeast infection over Christmas and we had to apply cream to her vent. How did you get your hen to swallow the cream? She’s had this for almost a week

I hope she feels better soon!

I honestly put it on the tip of my finger, and she just ate it. Sometimes, I put tiny bits on the end of the beak, and she'd lick it off tiny bits at a time. One time, I added little bits of scratch to the little bit of cream, and she ate it right up.
I did roughly half an inch of cream per dose.

I could not get her to hold still and open her mouth for me to just insert the cream. If I did get her mouth open, she fought and wiggled her head away. I had to get her to eat it of her own free will .... which is very par for the course for this hen. She's incredibly independent.


Good luck!

 

[mac853]

I hope she feels better soon!

I honestly put it on the tip of my finger, and she just ate it. Sometimes, I put tiny bits on the end of the beak, and she'd lick it off tiny bits at a time. One time, I added little bits of scratch to the little bit of cream, and she ate it right up.
I did roughly half an inch of cream per dose.

I could not get her to hold still and open her mouth for me to just insert the cream. If I did get her mouth open, she fought and wiggled her head away. I had to get her to eat it of her own free will .... which is very par for the course for this hen. She's incredibly independent.


Good luck!

Thank you so much for the advice! I really appreciate the answer, sometimes people don’t reply ever on this forum. We will try the cream tomorrow. So that should help the crop be less full?

 

[TheFugitivePen]

Thank you so much for the advice! I really appreciate the answer, sometimes people don’t reply ever on this forum. We will try the cream tomorrow. So that should help the crop be less full?

Happy to help! But I will be honest: I am VERY new to chicken keeping and no expert. This article really has the best advice and I followed it when checking and taking care of my hen: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

The cream is to help kill any yeast bacteria that is overgrown in her crop. To rule out a blockage, you will need to check her crop in the morning to ensure it empties. If it still feels full in the morning, her crop isn't emptying.

My girls have an automatic coop door, so, if I want to check them in the morning, I either need to get to them before the door opens or take the sick one off the roost at night and isolate her in our basement/garage. We have a large rabbit cage set up with a roosting bar for ailing hens. It just makes it easier for me to handle her and thoroughly check her in the morning and at night.

If the crop isn't emptying, you can feed her chilled coconut oil (it's solid when cool, which makes dosing easier) and massage her crop in a circular but gently upward motion for a few minutes. Isolate her so she won't refill her crop by eating for about 30-60 minutes, I think. Check her again in to see if her crop feels smaller. If not, feed her more coconut oil and massage again.
You may need to isolate her and keep her from eating for 8-24 hours until the crop empties.

I let my hen fast for a day to ensure her crop was fully emptying, and then started feeding her small portions of gentle food--scrambled egg, Greek yogurt, and pellets softened with water. Her crop was continuing to empty, so then I let her reunite with the flock. I'd catch her in the morning and take her off the roost at night to give her the yeast cream for a total of one week.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We have a chicken that seems like she has sour crop (huge squishy crop) but it doesn’t smell. We did crop massage and epsom salt down her throat and we’re not sure what to do. She had a yeast infection over Christmas and we had to apply cream to her vent. How did you get your hen to swallow the cream? She’s had this for almost a week

Thank you so much for the advice! I really appreciate the answer, sometimes people don’t reply ever on this forum. We will try the cream tomorrow. So that should help the crop be less full?

Your thread is found here. I'll take a look at it.
I'm sorry you did not get any replies. It looks like you made 3 posts on your own thread just a few minutes apart, when that happens the thread shows as having replies, so most would just assume the thread was being answered.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/egg-bound-or-egg-yolk-peritonitis.1566217/#post-26580124