Surgery a few days ago, was doing great, now lethargic

[artbykarenehaley]

It sounds like she is perking up a little bit. Keep up the good fight, little hen.

You got this, you are doing all you can do for her which is commendable and admirable.

She's probably not out of the woods just yet but any progress toward being more alert is still progress.

If she does pass on, take comfort knowing you did all you could do to help her. You're a super chicken keeper

 

[Ccort]

She responded to me talking to her today and is awake more. Still very lethargic but definitely better this afternoon. BUT I put some sunflower seeds in there with her and she attempted to peck at them BUT seemed like her depth perception is off and did not get any. Thoughts?
Vet visit later tosay. Am about to tube feed again.

 

[Ccort]

Vet isn't sure what's wrong but does have sour crop. Is hoping her crop will empty soon. Gave medicine for motility but takes a few days to work and an additional antibiotic and two other meds. One for the yeast in her crop. Said to stop tube feeding her until crop empties. Said may be septic and glad she's looking better but with sour crop the next two to three days will determine if she survives this.
Advice always appreciated. Sour crop is new to me too.

 

[Becks Chicks]

Vet isn't sure what's wrong but does have sour crop. Is hoping her crop will empty soon. Gave medicine for motility but takes a few days to work and an additional antibiotic and two other meds. One for the yeast in her crop. Said to stop tube feeding her until crop empties. Said may be septic and glad she's looking better but with sour crop the next two to three days will determine if she survives this.
Advice always appreciated. Sour crop is new to me too.

No advice. I'm glad she's improving, even if it's baby steps at this point.

 

[Ccort]

Sour crop ..do you with old food and water? Grit? I'm reading things saying either way! Vet seemed uncertain too.

She is now Wanting to drink and eat. Please advice.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would still try to give her fluids with electrolytes by tubing if nothing else. @azygous has more experience and success with sour crop than most of us. Is her crop puffy and soft round the clock with a sour or bad odor from the beak? That is my understanding of sour crop. If it is not emptying, no bad or sour odor, then it is a slow crop. That can progress to sour crop. If it feels firm and round early in the morning after she has not been fed or watered, that is an impacted crop. Impacted crop will eventually lead to sour crop. So glad that she was more alert today.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Sour crop ..do you with old food and water? Grit? I'm reading things saying either way! Vet seemed uncertain too.

She is now Wanting to drink and eat. Please advice.

I usually withhold food to empty the crop as much as possible, but I've not had one who was doing very poorly. I don't really know what to do for a hen who is already so ill. I've treated a case of sour crop with Medistatin and another case of it with yeast infection meds.

 

[Eggcessive]

@casportpony is a good authority on tube feeding, and she could probably give advice on checking the crop before feedings. Or whether or not to withhold feeding. Fluids are needed, I think, even if the crop is not emptying. I probably would not worry with grit at this point. Baby bird feed and chicken feed does not require grit, but seeds or whole grains, grass, bugs, etc would.

 

[Ccort]

The vet did a yeast test and said it's sour crop. I just gave her the motility drug bust vet said it can take a few days to even take effect. She gave a script for the actual yeast issue too, which I'm waiting on the drug store for. It's supposed to be ready anytime. But I'm reading how birds can just die super fast with sour crop. Vet said she would "probably" withhold water for now completely because she has so much liquid stuff in her crop but allow tiny bit of food. But seemed uncertain.
Her crop feels distended some and fluidy. As of late afternoon, she seemed so much better and was drinking all by herself and wanting to eat a little on her own, making me more unsure of how to handle sour crop.
I just desperately want this to clear up and her to be great.

 

[azygous]

I've always left it up to my sour crop patients to regulate their food and water intake. Generally, they do not wish to eat and drink until the yeast is becoming under control.

I feed fermented feed, but for some reason I don't understand, the sour crop patients prefer dry feed when they do feel like eating. When the yeast is coming under control, they decide when they're ready to try eating again.

Water is something I never restrict. If a crop disorder happens to have a compaction component, water is critical in resolving it. The patient knows this and will drink on their own while a sour crop patient may avoid water. This distinction isn't always obvious, so that's why I continue to provide water in all cases.

Occasionally, a sour crop patient will not respond to the treatment and gets worse. Those are almost always older hens with serious underlying issues such as chronic reproductive infection or poor immune systems due to the leucosis virus they carry. Euthanasia is usually the end game.