Treating Sour Crop in my Rhode Island Red. Please Help!

[ChickenLover_65]

A few days ago my RIR, who is a little over year old, started feeling under the weather. This was the second time she got sick, the first being a case of bumblefoot we treated way back when we got her. I could instinctively tell that something was wrong with her because she didn't perform her usual routines, she didn't scream to be let out, she didn't come looking around anytime she heard someone eating, and she was laying by herself in strange places instead of with the dogs or us.

We eventually realized it was sour crop that next morning and struggled to choose a treatment among the many existing on the internet. We first tried massaging the crop from top to bottom and that seemed to help lower the swelling, but eventually we started putting ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) in her water. She reached the point of 'vomiting' out a brown liquid which I read could be the yeast in her crop, even though it wasn't extremely swelled up. The next day she perked up a bit more and started wandering around again, but we didn't let her free range. Instead we gave her some probiotic plain yogurt mixed with minced garlic. She didn't really care for it after an initial interest, but we got her to eat a bit more by putting in on our fingers and letting her eat off of that. She had very small amounts of brown liquid leak out of mouth during this day as well, but only once or twice. The plan was to see if her crop was flat and empty today and then move on to yogurt and a bit of scrambled eggs, but I woke up this morning to find out someone let her free range! When I went out and grabbed her she was eating a big black bug, and I saw liquid leaking out of her mouth for a second, and I can't tell if it was just a very juicy bug, or god forbid, more of the brown yeast liquid.

She was apparently out for an hour, doing all her normal stuff, eating, scratching, dust bathing, and sunning herself, but when I felt her crop it was still squishy like a water balloon again. However, the swelling was extremely minimal. I read that the chickens might go back to normal after a short treatment, but aren't actually cured until you fully get rid of the yeast in their crop. Is this my situation right now? Should I restart the process and only give her water with ACV for a whole day and then move on to probiotic yogurt like I did previously? Or can I just stick with giving her yogurt right now? I read that they have to come out in the morning with a flat crop before moving on to solid foods, is this true? As you can see, I'm a mess and I just don't know what to do. I'm terrified the sour crop will come back in full force even though she's gone completely back to normal. Thank you for any help you can provide, and have a great weekend.

 

[coach723]

There are quite a few things that can cause crop problems, so narrowing it down as much as you can will help. It could be only a crop issue, or it may be a symptom of something going on farther down. I'm linking two good articles with loads of information which will hopefully help.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[ChickenLover_65]

Thank you so much for the two articles. They're extremely robust and helpful. I was wondering if I could hear your opinion on the health of my chicken as well. Does she sound severe if she is running around like normal, or will she probably respond well to treatment?

Also one other thing, in one of the articles they tell you to give your chicken miconazole two times a day for seven days. Am I not supposed to feed her anything while administering this treatment? Or do I give her the recommended water, boiled eggs, and yogurt after administering the medicine?

I'm sorry for asking so many questions, but I'm so worried I can barely think straight. This chicken is a pet for us and has become a dear member of the family, and the thought of her passing is almost too much to bear.

Again, thank you so, so much for your help and have a great day.

 

[coach723]

During treatment I would only give water soluble things, her regular feed mixed with water to make a mash is good. Nothing fiberous. If the crop is emptying at all, small amounts and then let her digest. If nothing is passing, then adding more is just going to cause more problems. In that case I would do water only for 24 hours, see if it goes down. The crop sours when things don't pass through and sit there. So finding out what the underlying issue is needed to see why things aren't passing through. How do her droppings look? Have you ever had a fecal done to check for internal parasites, or ever wormed her? Parasites are a common reason for crop back ups, but there are many other things it could be also.

 

[ChickenLover_65]

Perhaps a month or two ago, we wormed her for what we thought were roundworms. Unfortunately, Wazine was discontinued so we had to get another pet dewormer with the same chemicals needed to kill those worms. We only ever saw the initial droppings with them in it, but after treatment they never showed up again.

Her droppings this morning were clear liquid with some white and black dropping in it. Later today however, I saw a dropping that was yellowish liquid with a small amount of normal black and white droppings in it.

I have to ask, is sour crop a sudden killer? I haven't been able to sleep well since this started because I'm afraid I'll wake up to find her passed away in her cage. We've had a couple of cats die that way, and it's become a bit of a trauma. I've read stories about sour crop being around chronically for months, which makes me feel better about the idea of her having a fighting chance, but I can't help but have that thought creep into my head.

 

[ChickenLover_65]

I've also attached a couple images of her just so you can see what she looks like. She's mostly in good spirits. She doesn't walk around as much as she used to, but she'll still stand up and walk over if it's to get food. She's on the floor since she's is just walking around the house right now.

 

[coach723]

It's not usually a sudden cause of death in itself. Depends on what the underlying reason is. She doesn't look near death in your pictures. You have some time, and it can take some time to figure out what may be going on. You can also try giving her coconut oil and massaging the crop, that sometimes will help get things moving.
Wazine has been discontinued. You can use safeguard liquid goat wormer or Valbazen cattle wormer to worm her. Those are given orally.

 

[ChickenLover_65]

Thank you so, so much for your help. You're a saint. My family and I are eternally grateful for the help you've given. If you don't mind, I will come back here in case I have any other questions on what to do with her.

 

[coach723]

I should get alerts, and will do my best to help. Some others may chime in also with suggestions. Crop issues can be frustrating.

 

[ChickenLover_65]

Hello again, I was writing this post in the hopes of getting a couple of answers on some strange things with my chicken that's going on. We've noticed that about once or twice a day she still 'throws up' clear liquid, even though the swelling in her crop goes down more every single day. We also realized that neither her beak nor the liquid she ejects smells sour. We've started to wonder if she has slow crop instead of sour crop. Does this sound possible to you? If so, what do you do different for slow crop than you do for sour crop?

We will still be going ahead with starting treatments of miconazole today by giving it to her with bits of boiled eggs. Boiled egg will also be the main thing we feed her since she has always hated her pellet feed and won't eat it no matter how wet me make it. Is this a good thing to do, or should we try to find a feed she likes to eat wet instead of just giving boiled eggs? How much food should we be giving to her? I've felt really bad about not giving her too much food because I didn't want to aggravate her sour crop further, but surely she needs to eat something before she starves? Also is a cessation in egg production normal during this type of illness because of stress or lack of nutrition?

Again, sorry for all the questions, but thank you for answering any one of them if you can. Have a great weekend and I hope all your birds do well!