Will sour crop resolve by itself? If not what treatment works?

[Samblast]

I believe that my hen has sour crop. She doesn’t seem egg bound and there is no impaction that I’ve been able to locate. She’s had an impacted crop in the past but I’ve been able to resolved it. I think this time it’s only sour crop and and not sure what exactly to do. She has ACV in her water.

 

[coach723]

Crop problems are often a symptom of something else that is affecting the digestive process. How old is your hen? How did you resolve her previous issue?
If it's not emptying and smells sour, then I would treat for sour crop. The following two links are good for crop problems and trying to narrow down what the issue is. Any impaction that is lower in the digestive tract than the crop won't be able to be felt.
The vast majority of my crop issues have been caused by reproductive problems and by internal parasites, which can cause blockages. I have had two that were caused by impacted gizzards, one of which was a congenital deformity.
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/

 

[Samblast]

She is a 4 year old EE. it’s not emptying and it doesn’t smell sour yet. She still lays 3 eggs a week. She hasn’t laid any eggs the last 3 days but I’m almost certain she isn’t egg bound because she has no other symptoms. When her crop was impacted before (3 months ago and over a year ago), I gave her many massages and eventually it passed.

 

[coach723]

Have you ever wormed your birds or had a fecal test done to check for internal parasites? I would suggest the test if you have a vet that will do for you. It's a common issue that can slow crops down. Since it doesn't smell sour I would use coconut oil and massage to see if you can get it to move again. What do you feed, and have you made any changes? I used a brand of feed once that some of my birds had trouble digesting, and I had some slow crops. When I switched to a different brand it stopped happening. If she's laid recently then it makes a reproductive problem less of a worry, but that can happen any time. Did she molt this year?

 

[Samblast]

I’ve never tested them for worms and I’ve never wormed them formally. I feed them layer feed. I did switch their food recently. Yes she molted.

EDIT: so their old food actually advertises that it has special pre and probiotics for digestion... I just switched the chickens off of the food because the feed store stopped carrying that brand.

 

[coach723]

Food switch could be a factor, it's hard to say for sure. Since she has had issues before that, that may not be it, but I would try something different to see if it makes a difference. Just like people, every bird is a bit different, what bothers one may not bother another. If you don't have a vet that will do a fecal for you (it's not usually terribly expensive) then you can use a mail in option like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5SOZ...colid=27RHKHAM35GO&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
I asked about molt since that is sometimes hard on them and issues can arise from that in some cases.

 

[Samblast]

I think I’m going to get a fecal test done by a vet. I will watch the hen to make sure her condition doesn’t get worse.

 

[Samblast]

She doesn’t have worms. Her crop is still full and squishy and now it’s sour smelling. She is also moving her neck around weirdly like she’s trying to move stuff along in her system.

 

[coach723]

The movement is likely her trying to move the stuff out of her crop, it's called adjusting her crop, and even healthy birds will do that if they have full crops. If it's not emptying, then the stuff will sour. The first link I gave you above is a very good article that covers about everything, and has treatment advice. Crop problems are very often from something going on farther down the digestive tract, and can be frustrating. If she still has not laid, then a reproductive problem is possible. I would follow the treatments in the article and see if you can get things moving, and treat for sour crop also. Sadly, sometimes the true problem is not known for sure until necropsy. There are many possibilities from reproductive problems, cancer, hardware disease, ingesting something that won't pass, etc. Ruling out parasites is good. If further vet care is an option for you then imaging might help to see what's going on, but sometimes it does not. In addition to the treatments I would not feed her anything that is not water soluble, no fiberous stuff, until things move, and make sure she's well hydrated. Mix her crumbles or pellets with water to make a mash. Lastly, I neglected to ask before, does she have access to grit all the time? Lack of grit can cause problems in the gizzard.

 

[Samblast]

She has access to grit. She hasn’t laid in 3-4 days now(about how long long I’ve noticed her crop acting up). She is still pooping. They are solid, brown/dark green, and smaller than usual though. I’m going to try to take her to the vet soon.