What can I feed a chicken with sour crop that won’t feed the yeast?

[Courtney Jane]

I’ve had a chicken with an impacted crop that’s gone sour. It’s been about 5 weeks since the whole thing started. It used to be a tennis ball size and how it’s about the size of a golf ball and it is hard but still pliable at the same time. She’s lost a heap of weight and is very particular about what she will eat and what she likes one day she’s not interested in the next. The only thing she’s been eating the last few days is vegetables. She can’t get enough! I chop them up really small, add a probiotic and some apple cider vinegar. She’s also on garlic water. She has not been lethargic through out this whole thing. Just her normal self but much skinner and way less of an appetite (unless it’s veg).
So I want to start trying to feed her something else but just wanted to know what yeast feeds off so I can not make things worse. Obviously no bread pasta rice ect but I’m not sure about oats and her normal chicken feed? its got all the nutrients she needs so I’d like to start her back on that ASAP. She must be very malnutritioned. Am I also doing the right thing by not giving her fruit as it has sugar?

Thanks!

 

[OlympicChick]

I saw your other post and I'm copying and pasting @Eggcessive 's reply in case you hadn't seen it:

She may have some secondary problem that is causing her crop to stay doughy. Do the chickens have granite grit available for taking as they need it? Do you feed things other than chicken feed? I would separate her in a wire dog crate with water and only feed some plain yogurt. Tlhe second day, if her crop is a little smaller, give some cooked egg and the yogut. No whole grains or bread at all. Once her crop has gone down offer wet chicken feed only. Massage her crop downword several times a day, and do this from the beginning. Try giving some chilled coconut oil chopped into tiny pieces, and offer a tsp once a day. Make sure that she always has water, since that it needed to move the impaction on.

Here is a good article on crop impactions:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

 

[Courtney Jane]

ah thank you! I have been doing all of that but she isn’t interested in yoghurt so that’s why i went and bought some probiotics. I’m still doing the massages and she is still locked up. I sometimes let her out for a bit of a dig and dust bath because 5 weeks is a long time to keep a chicken locked up. I keep her away from any grass though. There is also grit in there with her.
I wasn’t sure if chicken feed would be good for sour crop as I figured it was full of grains and such that yeast would feed off? But perhaps I’m wrong. She doesn’t show much interest in cooked egg either but I mixed one in with her vegetables today so hopefully she eats that. She can’t just live on vegetables! I reckon if I put 5kg of vegetables in there she would get through the whole lot. She seriously can’t get enough.
I’ve also been adding coconut oil in to her food as well.
She is honestly acting completely fine apart from not wanting to eat things she used to want to eat. She’s much better than what she was a few weeks ago. I still notice a smell coming from her beak when she burps during her massages though.

 

[OlympicChick]

Hopefully some others will chime in.

 

[pozees2]

I would personally not give a chicken with sour crop any vinegar. I would feed plain yogurt, homemade if you have it, put a little baking soda in warm water and try to get a few CCs into her with a syringe (no needle) or just add a little to her drinking water, and massage the crop. We had one with crop stasis a few years ago I did this for, and also fed him a scrambled up raw egg, because it's pure protein and will pass through the crop in that form, and he recovered. It was a bit of a long haul but he lived another 4 or 5 years after that.

 

[pozees2]

Sorry had missed she won't eat the yogurt, maybe mix in some thawed frozen corn, or baby food. I have sometimes had good luck feeding baby food squash.

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is your chicken? I have never had much luck treating sour crop, since most times they have had an underlying problem, such as internal laying, cancer, or ascites. I am going to post a couple of links that you may have seen before on crop disorders:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

 

[Courtney Jane]

Thanks guys. She is only a year and a half... I let her out all day today and yesterday to free range. Crop was full as at night and pretty much empty in the morning except for a few tiny squishy lumps. I can’t work out what that might be. Small enough to pinch between thumb and finger. Haven’t had an egg in at least 6 weeks. I will do some research on the health problems you mentioned and see if she has any other symptoms. I have seen both of those links before but thank you, they are very helpful!

 

[Courtney Jane]

Hmm she doesn’t seem to be showing symptoms of internal laying, ascites or cancer. I think the sour crop has gone. Just the weird lumps in crop and still not interested in eating normal laying crumbs. She is doing way better than she was 6 weeks ago so hopefully she keeps on getting better. I’m surprised she’s made it this far. She has lost so much weight so I’m glad she was a fatty to begin with