thinking some kind of crop issue...please help!

BierHuhn

In the Brooder
Oct 20, 2015
45
7
44
ive read some stuff but idk what to do. didnt get out to the chickens until about 10:30am. one of the hens, meatball, who i believe had just previously in coop to lay (tho im not sure if she did...didnt check until a bit afterwards, and there was 2 eggs, 1 of which was broken. i have 3 chickens. and there was yesterday & today some poop around that had a yolk color in it) was sticking to the corner, not showing enthusiasm like the others that i was coming with treats. she came to the bowls i put down, but barely made a go for anything. she was a bit puffed up too.

her comb seemed to be a bit more floppy than usual (its been semi-floppy for a while now). it looks a little more ashen too, and there a bit of blood on top. i knew because of that i needed to separate her for sure. she pooped a few times before i got her separated and into garage. they were somewhere between solid and liquid. her crop feels like a mushy balloon , which according to my readings would appear to be either sour or slow crop, but also readings suggest that it cannot be truly determined other than first thing in the morning.

she had also been jerking her head/neck a bit here and there, once when she was out of pen (before catching her and putting her in a box to bring her to garage) it looked like she was swallowing water, tho she wasnt near any. pretty sure i heard her gurgle a couple of times earlier too. she was jerking here and there once in garage too and i swear i saw her crop move a couple of times on its own. she has been in garage now for somewhere between 5-6 hours. still puffed up, a bit of diharrea, occasionally closes eyes for a few seconds.

at first when i brought her in i gave her some food/treat mix of which she pecked a few things out of but no more than that, and she has zero interest in water. had offered her some plain, some with nutri-drench and some with apple cider vinegar. after reading stuff decided not to give her any food. have tried massaging her crop, but its hard to reach into the little half coop that shes in and its not all that possible for me to do as it causes me pain. she doesnt seem to like me doing it either. id have to take her out of there and sit with her which i can try but she's generally hard to keep a hold on, more so than the other chickens.

we were thinking to vommit her when my husband got home from work (cuz i certainly cant manage that, especially with her), but apart from reading about that being dangerous...im unsure whether it is the proper thing to do, or if we need to wait until morning to better see if it is sour or slow crop. or in a few hours, as she hasnt eaten so crop should be empty by then, if its emptyable.

she is an isa brown. she was 2 years old in august abouts. im pretty sure she has been egg bound a few times, or maybe has had interal laying issues. can she wait til morning or should we try vomiting her in a bit?! should i offer her damp layer feed?! please help. thanks.
 
Sounds like sour crop. I would also strongly warn against vomiting. There are other methods to make your chicken better.
 
thanks for the reply. do you have any natural/home-remedy type suggestions, or as to what i might get from tractor supply tmrw?!
Yes I do! Separate the sick bird first. Then remove all food for 24 hours. Give them only clean water or ACV water. Make sure they drink. Make sure there isn't any bedding the chicken can eat. Massage the crop every hour for 5 minutes each time. After 24 hours, check if the crop has emptied. If so, give some plain Greek yogurt and chicken food with water in it. Make sure the crop keeps emptying. If it didn't empty, give a little bit of food and start over. It may require a vet visit. Best wishes and good luck!

-Chatty :)
 
I am sorry about your hen. :hugs Is she pooping at all, even if its diarrhea? If she is not pooping at all, she may have an egg or shell shell blocking her vent, hence the slow crop. If so, you will need to do an internal exam, with a latex glove, gently go into her vent, straight back an inch or so and see if you feel an egg or shell. They usually get suck about a inch or so from the vent.

If she is pooping, she is probably not egg bound or with a stuck shell. There are a few things you can do.

Only vomit if you are comfortable doing it, don't do it if you are apprehensive. Lean her forward supporting her at the crop, once the gunk comes up, only hold her forward for 1- 2 seconds max, stand back up. You dont want her breathing it all in. Let her catch her breath. Repeat a couple of times until nothing comes up. Keep in mind some birds refuse to let it out even with a full crop.

If you have any monistat or other vaginal cream, this can be used orally to prevent more yeast. 1ml, 3 times a day.

Also, mineral oil....1ml orally, massage crop well and many times the crop moves over night.

(When giving liquids or solids orally, always go under the tongue to prevent aspiration. )

Acidified Copper Sulfate is always a yeast buster, good for doughy and sour crops. 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water, change daily for 7 days.

Water soluble foods only....hard boiled eggs, damp layer feed, yogurt, mealworms. No hard seeds, grains, grass, other such stiff food.

If you have a crop bra, get it on her. This will help keep the crop moving.

This may be a simple case of sour crop to which following these tips you can cure in 1 weeks time, or it maybe secondary to something else...worms, coccidiosis, canker, an impaction somewhere deeper in the intestines, an internal infection, internally laying or even reproductive cancer.

Good luck and keep us posted!
 
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I am sorry about your hen. :hugs Is she pooping at all, even if its diarrhea? If she is not pooping at all, she may have an egg or shell shell blocking her vent, hence the slow crop. If so, you will need to do an internal exam, with a latex glove, gently go into her vent, straight back an inch or so and see if you feel an egg or shell. They usually get suck about a inch or so from the vent.

If she is pooping, she is probably not egg bound or with a stuck shell. There are a few things you can do.

Only vomit if you are comfortable doing it, don't do it if you are apprehensive. Lean her forward supporting her at the crop, once the gunk comes up, only hold her forward for 1- 2 seconds max, stand back up. You dont want her breathing it all in. Let her catch her breath. Repeat a couple of times until nothing comes up. Keep in mind some birds refuse to let it out even with a full crop.

If you have any monistat or other vaginal cream, this can be used orally to prevent more yeast. 1ml, 3 times a day.

Also, mineral oil....1ml orally, massage crop well and many times the crop moves over night.

(When giving liquids or solids orally, always go under the tongue to prevent aspiration. )

Acidified Copper Sulfate is always a yeast buster, good for doughy and sour crops. 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water, change daily for 7 days.

Water soluble foods only....hard boiled eggs, damp layer feed, yogurt, mealworms. No hard seeds, grains, grass, other such stiff food.

If you have a crop bra, get it on her. This will help keep the crop moving.

This may be a simple case of sour crop to which following these tips you can cure in 1 weeks time, or it maybe secondary to something else...worms, coccidiosis, canker, an impaction somewhere deeper in the intestines, an internal infection, internally laying or even reproductive cancer.

Good luck and keep us posted!


thanks! she pooped a few times before separating her, which was more on the solid side, and twice has had diarrhea. i am currently making a hard boiled egg that im going to mix a little yogurt and the b.soda ginger cinnamon etc mix you talked about in your article. i will have to get some monistat and mineral oil tmrw (possibly even tonight still). not really comfortable with administering orally, tho id be more comfy trying that than vomiting. if i can get acidified copper at tractor supply i can get it tmrw, otherwise hopefully amazon has it and can get in a couple of days.

which would be best to administer first, the vaginal cream or the mineral oil?! and how long in between them?! is feeding her the things you said (hb egg, yogurt, wet feed, etc) ok to do asap?! cuz im about to get it ready for her...wanna give it asap if it may help. or should i try orally administering some water first, since i at least have that right now (non-food wise)?! im overly bummed and stressed out about all this. really really appreciate your help!
 
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Yes I do! Separate the sick bird first. Then remove all food for 24 hours. Give them only clean water or ACV water. Make sure they drink. Make sure there isn't any bedding the chicken can eat. Massage the crop every hour for 5 minutes each time. After 24 hours, check if the crop has emptied. If so, give some plain Greek yogurt and chicken food with water in it. Make sure the crop keeps emptying. If it didn't empty, give a little bit of food and start over. It may require a vet visit. Best wishes and good luck!

-Chatty :)
she is separated. she refuses to drink. working up the courage to try and orally administer. no vet. thank you.
 
a little before 11pm i checked on her. her crop seemed to be a bit less. she squirted out some clear liquid from her butt. i decided to give her less than 2 tbs mashed hard boiled egg, with maybe half a tsp of the b.soda ginger cinnamon etc mix, with a dot of acv water. she ate it all and wanted more, she even got up and walked over to where i put the bowl down (to see if she would) but thats all im giving her for now. she decided to move to the box i have in there but ended up half on the box edge, half on the roost bar we put in front of it. have a little heater blowing some warmth in there (its was 52 degrees F before i left her), shut off the light again, and we'll see what the story is in the morning. will have to get some cream and mineral oil after that. tho, im a bit iffy on the mineral oil, being its petroleum based.
 
a little before 11pm i checked on her. her crop seemed to be a bit less. she squirted out some clear liquid from her butt. i decided to give her less than 2 tbs mashed hard boiled egg, with maybe half a tsp of the b.soda ginger cinnamon etc mix, with a dot of acv water. she ate it all and wanted more, she even got up and walked over to where i put the bowl down (to see if she would) but thats all im giving her for now. she decided to move to the box i have in there but ended up half on the box edge, half on the roost bar we put in front of it. have a little heater blowing some warmth in there (its was 52 degrees F before i left her), shut off the light again, and we'll see what the story is in the morning. will have to get some cream and mineral oil after that. tho, im a bit iffy on the mineral oil, being its petroleum based.
I’m glad she ate. But I still would suggest not giving her food for a FULL 24 hours. It insures the crop is emptying. You wouldn’t want to cause a bigger problem. If we wont drink, everyone time you go to massage her, dip her beak in the water a few times. Make sure she’s swallows. If you do decide to orally give her water, let me know and I can tell you how. I am giving antibiotics to my chicken right now and it’s not very hard. My mom was too afraid to do it though. But it’s honestly not scary or hard. It’s also pretty lucky that when a chicken is sick, they are usually calmer. It makes giving the medicine/water much easier. Let me know what you decide to do. Best wishes!!!

-Chatty :)
 
How is she this morning? If you feel comfortable vomiting, do so this morning. I only like to vomit once in the morning so that during the day they can absorb water and food. The stuff in the crop right now is pretty toxic and they do feel better getting it out of there.

She isn't contagious and doesn't need to be kept separate, however don't let her get to any hard foods the others might be eating. We don't want to slow the crop waiting on the gizzard to grind hard foods, we need food to move as fast as possible. Soft foods today and until the crop moves normally.

If you can get get some Acidified Copper Sulfate today, get that going. It will help to combat a few things along with the sour crop and help greatly. Skip the mineral oil but the vaginal cream can't hurt either.

Keep this program up for a week, she should start to improve in a few days. If not, we may need to try other things like worming or cocci meds.

Keep us posted! :)
 

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