Treating for sour crop

[Maureen in Chesterton]

Our (1st ever) chickens are 6 months old. We noticed an australorp hen not quite moving around right maybe a day or 2 ago, today figuring out it's a problem with her crop. All the articles say to separate her from the flock, keep in a cage. So she's in a dog kennel in the garage, away from the flock. Is that correct? Or should we have her in the dog crate in the chicken yard where she can see her flockmates?
I was able to feel her crop, it feels softish, not hard. She did NOT like me feeling it. Our chickens are not used to being held or handled by us - we cleaned their bottoms as chicks, but otherwise we will sit with them and let them jump on our laps, arms, or armrests...but we don't normally handle them.
Some articles say give her water only for 24 hours, others say no water or food for 24 hours.
We put a little bowl of granite grit in with her, which of course she overturned, and has pooped twice so far - in less than an hour, watery greenish splats.
I found an article here that said to return her to the roost at night - so we move her back into the coop? And try to catch her again in the morning to monitor / control what she eats? That'll be a challenge - she screamed like a cat howling when we captured her using a sheet, and carried her wrapped (entirely) in the sheet to the garage with the dog crate. I can't see her allowing us to get close to her again for a long while once we let her out of the crate...
I'm leaning towards giving her water (seems like all creatures need water!), trying to massage her crop top-down every hour or so, I suppose if there's some improvement by tomorrow morning give her a mashed-up hard boiled egg? With a little home-made yogurt? Do that 3x / day for ....2 days? If her crop returns to normal size before then, would I change the plan?
I also found some articles about providing some fennel seed tea...would that be if she's doing well, or if the initial treatment isn't working?
Taking care of chickens is quite new to me....we thought that by giving the (15) chickens lots of room, vegetation, food, grit, oyster shell, crushed egg shell, water...they'd just naturally be healthy. I didn't think we'd get a sick chicken this fast!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Check her crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink - it should be empty. If it's not empty then start treating her for crop issues.

You mention she was moving "not quite right" what does that mean? Could be a leg issue, she's standing awkward in the cage, but that may be due to the slick flooring in there. If you feel she must be caged, then line the cage with shelf liner or a rug so the floor is not slippery.

I rarely separate a bird unless I absolutely have to - either they are too sick and need specialized care or they are being picked at. If you are having to chase her all over the place, then she likely is not that sick and the added stress to her and you is not worth it. If you need to catch her to treat her, then go out very early or very late while she's roosting and take her off the roost.

You always want to provide water during waking hours, never leave a bird without water.

Personally I would put her back with the flock, let her calm down. Observe her. Check the crop in the morning, if it's not empty, then start treating. You can easily get her very early and treat, then repeat the process after she's roosting at night.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Maureen in Chesterton]

"Check her crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink - it should be empty. If it's not empty then start treating her for crop issues."

Her crop looks bigger, more pendulous than the others - and I noticed it looking that way yesterday afternoon, as well. We didn't know (until now) to look closely at their crops when we let them out of the coop in the morning. So I'm reluctant to assume everything is fine for another day - because we've assumed that for a day or more.

"You mention she was moving "not quite right" what does that mean?"
Sorry, I was trying to be specific...but didn't describe my mental image well. She's somewhat lethargic. While she will walk around the yard, and my husband let them free-range our yard today she was walking around with the flock then as well. But she also tends to squat on the ground more; my husband thought perhaps she wasn't flying up to the roost bar. When I closed up the coop last night, after sunset, there was 1 bird still hadn't gone up to the roost yet, but because it was dark I couldn't tell who; my husband was suspecting it was an Australorpe.

"If you need to catch her to treat her, then go out very early or very late while she's roosting and take her off the roost."
..that would imply that I would only be massaging her crop early or late, and not manage her food intake at all...

"You always want to provide water during waking hours, never leave a bird without water."

So now she's in her crate, but in the 'small' fully enclosed chicken yard (as opposed to the adjacent much larger yard, but which is not covered on top), with her own waterer. I have the rest of the flock in the small yard with her as well - they flipped out when the saw The Sheet (I had it draped over the crate as I carried it with her inside to try to calm her more). I figure just keep them inside the most protected area, and close to her.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Her crop looks bigger, more pendulous than the others - and I noticed it looking that way yesterday afternoon, as well. We didn't know (until now) to look closely at their crops when we let them out of the coop in the morning. So I'm reluctant to assume everything is fine for another day - because we've assumed that for a day or more.

I would definitely check (feel) to see if it's still full in the morning before she eats/drinks.
If the crop is Sour, then you don't really want to massage it. If it's hard or doughy, then massaging may help.

A normal crop *should* look fullish/bigger late in the day since the bird should have been eating/drinking all day. It's not uncommon for a hen to have a full looking crop at the end of the day some really fill up. It's a problem when that crop is not empty by morning.

She's 6 months old, has she started laying eggs? Have you felt for an egg?

LOL I bet they did flip out over the sheet. Next time if I had to catch her I would wait until she's roosting or it's dark, then grab her. If you feel she needs to be secured somehow then swaddling her in a towel would work well.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Maureen in Chesterton]

This morning her crop was 'better' according to my husband....I guess we just keep a close eye on her?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This morning her crop was 'better' according to my husband....I guess we just keep a close eye on her?

Does better mean empty? If not, then I would continue to treat the crop issue.
Is she laying eggs?

Often a crop problem is a symptom of another underlying condition - reproductive issues, worms, coccidiosis, blockage and infection are a few. So there's a reason why it's not emptying.

 

[Pumpkin 'n Noodle]

Our (1st ever) chickens are 6 months old. We noticed an australorp hen not quite moving around right maybe a day or 2 ago, today figuring out it's a problem with her crop. All the articles say to separate her from the flock, keep in a cage. So she's in a dog kennel in the garage, away from the flock. Is that correct? Or should we have her in the dog crate in the chicken yard where she can see her flockmates?
I was able to feel her crop, it feels softish, not hard. She did NOT like me feeling it. Our chickens are not used to being held or handled by us - we cleaned their bottoms as chicks, but otherwise we will sit with them and let them jump on our laps, arms, or armrests...but we don't normally handle them.
Some articles say give her water only for 24 hours, others say no water or food for 24 hours.
We put a little bowl of granite grit in with her, which of course she overturned, and has pooped twice so far - in less than an hour, watery greenish splats.
I found an article here that said to return her to the roost at night - so we move her back into the coop? And try to catch her again in the morning to monitor / control what she eats? That'll be a challenge - she screamed like a cat howling when we captured her using a sheet, and carried her wrapped (entirely) in the sheet to the garage with the dog crate. I can't see her allowing us to get close to her again for a long while once we let her out of the crate...
I'm leaning towards giving her water (seems like all creatures need water!), trying to massage her crop top-down every hour or so, I suppose if there's some improvement by tomorrow morning give her a mashed-up hard boiled egg? With a little home-made yogurt? Do that 3x / day for ....2 days? If her crop returns to normal size before then, would I change the plan?
I also found some articles about providing some fennel seed tea...would that be if she's doing well, or if the initial treatment isn't working?
Taking care of chickens is quite new to me....we thought that by giving the (15) chickens lots of room, vegetation, food, grit, oyster shell, crushed egg shell, water...they'd just naturally be healthy. I didn't think we'd get a sick chicken this fast!

Hi Maureen!
I lost two and almost a third from sour crop this year!!!! I didn’t know what was going on for the first sweet girl. I tried to save the second unsuccessfully. The third is now recovered but greatly diminished. Bottom line info to share-
1. You have to get Nystatin from a vet and administer once or twice a day. Use a syringe from the pharmacy to suck up the correct amount of Nystatin (per weight of hen- usually 3 or 4 ml) and shove it gently down her throat to avoid the breathing hole or you will drown her!!! You will probably need help to hold her and to open her beak.
2. If you scale back the carbs/chicken food altogether you will invite chicken gout. My survivor still suffers from the after effects from this and wobbles around. She can’t jump into the chicken house and sleeps by herself underneath at night. Sad.
3. I thought the cause was (invisibly) moldy bedding. Turns out that (because I like to go organic all the time) IT WAS INTESTINAL WORMS which are tiny parasites (not earthworms) from moist soil in the chicken run! I had never wormed my chickens in 3 years except by using natural remedies. Start with a broad spectrum wormer for your other birds and follow the dosage instructions from backyard chickens members posted at this site. I like Wormout Gel. 47 ml per water dose for two days, then again in ten days. (Also give it to your sick girl when she recovers before she returns to normal coop life.) Remember the worms develop resistance so in a year you have to switch to other dewormer options. Order the deworming pharmaceuticals online. You can see charts of which dewormers work for which parasites. The Nystatin may help with some of these worms too. Add occasional ACV treatment to your chickens’ drinking water as it discourages, but does not kill, future worm overload.
4. Keep her spirits up and the blood flowing while in her box convalescence by allowing her to walk around on grass a couple times a day since she will feel discomfort and worry as to her plight and will need the diversion
5. Give her pro-biotics, chicken vitamins, and electrolytes in her water, rotating between. Give her what she wants to eat like egg yolk but scale way back on carbs. No sugar. Do not do protein only! It causes gout! Chickens lack a protein processing enzyme.
6. Don’t be surprised if the yeast moves to her gut for a while after the crop begins to clear. You can keep the Nystatin treatment going for 10-14 days and if her poop doesn’t go back to normal you may have to do another several days’ application of Nystatin. Be prepared for time consuming additional chores with all the work required to nurse your girl.
7. I did “tip” her but if it took more than a couple of seconds she risked getting the liquid gunk into her lungs which could mean death. It was very stressful for her. I got out encrusted seeds and such. Be prepared for gross with old towels and disinfecting wipes as needed, or go outside with her. Best of luck! Be brave! Get the Nystatin!!!

 

[Pumpkin 'n Noodle]

It possible your girl did not get her sour crop from intestinal worms since she is so young but keep it in mind for future. Maybe my post will help someone else someday!

 

[Maureen in Chesterton]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with me, and your advice (both of you)! I'm sorry to hear your 2 chickens didn't make it. Hopefully the third will thrive.
I checked the chickens this morning. We have 3 australorps, so it's still a little hard to tell them apart as they're coming down the ramp (our coop is raised up, not a person-walk-in). The not-feeling-so-good one of course was very flighty, didn't want me handling her, so I didn't get a good check - but definitely the crop was much smaller. I just don't know if it was entirely empty. She will get up on the roost at night, but she also tends to just sit on the ground during the day more than the others, it seems. I believe she's not feeling so well because her feathers are a bit more fluffed up, her wing feathers aren't all smooth against her body. I stopped isolating her after the 1st day, since I'm not really doing anything just now. It was kind of sweet how the other chickens clustered around her crate while she was in it.
I don't know if she's laid an egg yet. We have 13 hens, and the most eggs we've collected in a day is 12. We watched an australorp be very surprised as a double-yolked, soft-shell, egg come out of her about 2 weeks ago - we were letting them range in the yard while we sat with them, and this one obviously didn't know what was happening. I don't know which of the australorps that was, though. I'm just now figuring out who's who by their combs. But it could be an egg-laying problem....so more research for me.
I doubt it's worms, if the worms develop in mud - it's been so dry here, we've only had mud conditions for 1 day at a time, 1 - 2 x / month for the last couple months.
I'll give them all some yogurt, and use a small waterer we have to rotate between raw ACV and electrolytes. That sounds like a good preventative at the very least.
My inclination right now is to not give her prescription, or even OTC, stuff just yet, try the yogurt & ACV to see if that helps, and maybe see if I can do something to check on her egg system.