Vet needs help....sour crop

[SW31]

Please see link re “hens in the hall” and “hens in the hall part two” for background.

I spoke to our vet this morning. She is very concerned that despite operating and emptying the crop the problem is still continuing. Remember the birds have had a lot of antibiotics after the attack. Our vet is in contact with specialists in Toulouse but she freely admits she is on a learning curve but we do trust her. They will not be available until tomorrow.

Our hen is still reluctant to eat and despite one day pooing is back to squirting water again. Our vet doesn’t want to force feed the hen in case it aggrevates the crop more. She is regularly massaging the crop but still hears gurgling. I was thinking about this. We have another hen who is also a heavy drinker and she always gurgles towards the end of her drinking spree, so perhaps it’s normal. She has also said the hen looks alert. We discussed feeding her raw egg as she wouldn’t eat cooked egg recently, just to get some protein in her. Our vet asked how long does it take to settle a sour crop, what else should she do. Can you provide advice please.

 

[azygous]

Could it be she also has impacted crop? When your vet drained her crop, did it feel perfectly empty? How does it feel now? Do you detect any lumps or irregular mass feeling like bunched up grass?

If you do feel some solid matter, I would introduce some oil, (I like coconut oil for ease of administering it) then massage. A stool softener can do wonders with stubborn cases.

After treating for impacted and sour crop, I give a probiotic or yogurt to restore the crop and intestines. Often constipation accompanies impacted crop. The first food I feed is boiled egg.

If the crop continues to refuse to empty, it may be due to a condition called pendulous crop which needs to be treated with a support device called a crop bra. http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2016/02/pendulous-crop-in-backyard-chickens.html

 

[Eggcessive]

Hopefully TwoCrows or others with more sour crop experience experience will chime in. Her thread, “Slow, impacted, sour crop treatment and prevention” which you can Google may help. I would guess there could be a fungal infection from antibiotics or another underlying reason for the crop problems. You vet can try Nystatin or fluconazole for fungal infection. Some BYCers have used yeast infection suppositories ( miconazole) given 1/3 daily by mouth as a treatment as well.

 

[SW31]

She took out a load of stuff on Friday evening and said it stank out the whole practise. I think she’s already giving her some anti fungal drugs as recommended by the specialists in Toulouse. She’s only giving her a little water at the moment but is also injecting her under the skin with fluids. She doesn’t know what’s the turning point of when you can tell that she’s solving the problem.

 

[SW31]

She took out a load of stuff on Friday evening and said it stank out the whole practise. I think she’s already giving her some anti fungal drugs as recommended by the specialists in Toulouse. She’s only giving her a little water at the moment but is also injecting her under the skin with fluids. She doesn’t know what’s the turning point of when you can tell that she’s solving the problem.

 

[SW31]

Ops, sorry for multiple postings above.

 

[SW31]

We visited the vet today. Our hen, Pauli, was not eating much and not pooing much either. The vet has given her some clover, weeds, a little bread and some of her usual pellets to tempt her.
As per a number of your comments we took along a boiled egg, laid this morning. She was clearly happy to see us, started eating some clover when fed by hand and started to slowly eat the egg white when hand fed. She wouldn’t touch anything else.
By the time we left she had eaten most of the yolk and was gaily tucking into everything else. We are concerned if there is any further obstruction so the vet said she will not feed her anymore tonight but she has ordered the French equivalent of your Nutridrench to get some protein into her. She is still taking the antifungal medication mentioned on BYC.
Pauli looked alert and was tackling the cardboard but around the cage to minimise droughts, she was also wagging her tail and doing a little honking that she does when she likes her food. So, fingers crossed still!

 

[azygous]

She's clearly turned the corner and is on her way back!

 

[Eggcessive]

Yea, good news! Will look for more news tomorrow or next day.

 

[SW31]

She’s back home today as the vet thinks she is now stable. She had been eating and pooing better, not wonderful but better. Simple food only - pellets, some bird seed, boiled egg and hay in the run. We cleaned out the run, emptying it of any existing food and put lots of fresh straw in.
She’s been quite amazing. Firstly when she got home she started kicking and scratching the straw to find the food, terrorised the other small bird and using the material in the nesting area for a bird bath!
She’s now happily laying in the straw having a rest. The smaller bird is disgusted as she had been starting to get used to having the run to herself and she already had a best friend in the kitchen (her reflection in the glass door of our wine cooler). Poo is still very watery but vet doesn’t think there is an obstruction further in the system.
We have to continue with 5ml of Mycostatine (Nystatine), mixed with a little water, for two more days - price 2.36€ for 100,000 ul/ml?.
The vet asked us to NOT massage her crop as she wanted it to start working on its own, she has been massaging it several times a day.