Vet put my hen with sour crop on antibiotics… should I/can I also give her monistat?

[ChickInnMama]

I have several other threads for this hen, but I was worried that no one will see my newest response since it’s been a few days since I posted. I ended up taking my hen Charlotte to the vet and because she had diarrhea and we’d already lost our hen Evelyn to the same symptoms the vet tested her little bit of poop I could collect. It didn’t show signs of coccidia but that is what she was worried it might be and she said they did see two little suspicious looking things in her poop. So she put Charlotte and all my hens on antibiotics in case it was that. I am worried about them all being antibiotics if they don’t need them, but we didn’t want to lose anymore hens so we’re doing it. Charlotte is also on an anti inflammatory for 5 days. But her sour crop is still big, watery and squishy. She drinks a ton of water but won’t eat and I’m concerned that the antibiotics are just making it worse. Can I also give her monistat (spelling?) to treat the yeast in her crop at the same time as the antibiotics? She’s on SMZ I think the antibiotics are called. I also ordered digestive enzymes that will be here today because someone mentioned that that helped start moving things along for their hen. I have been trying to massage her crop for 5 mins every few hours, but the poor thing is molting and I’m sure it hurts her and stresses her out more. I’ve been wetting some feed for her and making it super soft but she still won’t eat it. I just wanted to know if I can give her the monistat at the same time as the antibiotics or should I wait until she finishes them? It’s only a 3 day one and we started her on it Thursday evening, so she will be done tomorrow morning. Thank you!

 

[ChickInnMama]

@Eggcessive @dawg53 any advice? Sorry if I shouldn’t tag you, I just know that y’all know a ton about chickens and I want to make sure I’m doing the best I can for my girls thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, I would give the Monistat twice a day to treat the sour crop symptoms. The SMZ TMP is good for coccidiosis and other infections.

 

[ChickInnMama]

Yes, I would give the Monistat twice a day to treat the sour crop symptoms. The SMZ TMP is good for coccidiosis and other infections.

@Eggcessive she has been on the monistat twice a day since Sunday (so today is day 5) and now her crop is not squishy really, it’s getting full again and not emptying because she’s finally eating again. This is what happened to our other hen, impacted crop, sour crop and back to impacted. Charlotte’s isn’t fully impacted again but it’s full and when we got her off the roost this morning her crop hadn’t emptied overnight. We made a makeshift crop bra for her until the one we ordered comes and she’s been wearing that at night. So should I now go ahead and do a molasses flush? Can I do that at the same time as she’s being treated for the sour crop (we still have one more time today and then two more days of that) or should I wait until we finish the monistat treatment? I saw where someone else had given digestive enzymes at the same time as a molasses flush and that cured her hen. So I bought digestive enzymes with cellulase like the other person suggested and we gave her one of those this morning. Thanks so much for any advice! We did end up putting her back in her run with her little coop mate, she’s so much happier out there than stuck in a crate. I hope that was okay, I’ve seen where people have said they don’t separate a hen with crop issues and some that do. Thanks again!

 

[Eggcessive]

I don’t usually separate for crop problems, since they are more comfortable with flock mates. However, to control what she eats, you can place her inside a wire crate with water and whatever food you allow her to have. Have you tried chilled coconut oil cut into small pieces, then massaging the crop several times a day? Some also use generic Colase softgels to help with crop problems. Azygous is very good with crop problems. Here is her article:https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[ChickInnMama]

Yes thank you that’s the article I read and got the idea for molasses initially… I can look for the colase and try that. Can I give that at the same time as we finish the monistat? We tried the chilled coconut and massaging for our other hen and it just never worked, it never emptied fully so I haven’t tried that with Charlotte at all yet. I’ll put a crate in the run for her tomorrow and separate her from Josephine so I can make sure she isn’t eating too much. Thank you!

 

[ChickInnMama]

@azygous I read your article on crop issues! Thank you so much! We are already treating our hen for sour crop with monistat twice a day and her crop is now getting full again and not emptying (I don’t think it ever emptied completely but it was hard to tell because it got so full of water/fluid). Can I give her the stool softener at the same time as the monistat? Or do I need to wait until Sunday to do that (we finish the 7 days of monistat on Saturday). Thank you SO much!!

 

[azygous]

You can treat with the anti-yeast med at the same time you're giving an antibiotic. It is the antibiotics that end in "...cillin" that tend to aggravate a yeasty crop.

A stool softener is for an impacted crop, one that is rock hard with solid material in it. A stool softener would be of no value to a liquid filled crop.

When a crop issue doesn't resolve with treatment, then you should suspect another underlying issue that is slowing down digestive action causing a backed up crop.

Worms can cause it. Impacted gizzard can cause it. Cancer can cause it. Did the vet rule out worms? Were any x-rays taken?

What does her poop look like? Does she seem to be pooping regularly?

 

[ChickInnMama]

You can treat with the anti-yeast med at the same time you're giving an antibiotic. It is the antibiotics that end in "...cillin" that tend to aggravate a yeasty crop.

A stool softener is for an impacted crop, one that is rock hard with solid material in it. A stool softener would be of no value to a liquid filled crop.

When a crop issue doesn't resolve with treatment, then you should suspect another underlying issue that is slowing down digestive action causing a backed up crop.

Worms can cause it. Impacted gizzard can cause it. Cancer can cause it. Did the vet rule out worms? Were any x-rays taken?

What does her poop look like? Does she seem to be pooping regularly?

The vet was very nice, but I felt like we were just kinda in the dark when it came to understanding what was wrong. She put her on antibiotics SMZ I think it’s called? Because I told them that she had diarrhea and the vet said her poop showed a few “sketchy” things but didn’t show coccidis (spelling?) but that didn’t mean they didn’t have it. She did mention to me deworming them, but then she never mentioned it again so I just figured that I would do that when Charlotte is better, but maybe she’s not getting better because of worms… I dewormed all of them except Charlotte back in the spring (she was on another medication at the time and I didn’t want to double up and then we just got busy and never did it) we used the Safeguard Goat Dewormer in the spring. I lost another chicken a few weeks ago to this same issue, her crop started off like Charlotte’s is now where it was almost empty but then it got impacted again quickly when we gave her food. So I can get dewormer and deworm them all again? I found Valzaben on a vet website so it’ll take a few days to week to get here but I can get it at least. Should I do a molasses flush while I wait for that to come? Her poop was looking decent but now it’s seeming more watery again now that her crop is more full. Almost like diarrhea, like it’s just going around what ever seems stuck in there and it’s not all coming out. If that makes sense? Thank you so much for your help, all of you!

 

[azygous]

Yes, go ahead and worm the chickens. Not only will worms cause nutritional deficits but it can also cause blockages.

Worming is safe. It won't interfere with the antibiotic. Wormers mainly sedate the worms so they stop feeding in the intestines and then they are generally absorbed as "protein". However, with this hen, I suggest some precautions.

The day before you begin worming her, give her an electrolyte solution instead of plain water. One cup water with one teaspoon sugar and a pinch of salt and baking soda. This will stabilize her in the event she has a heavy worm load, which I suspect, and this will prevent her going into shock. Continue the electrolyte solution until you're finished worming her.

If there is a heavy worm load, she may need a heavy duty flush when worming is completed to flush the dead worms out so they don't form a blockage. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Please stick to this thread and don't go starting a new one. I'll never find you to help you complete this treatment.