Anyone remember the name of the anti fungal treatment you get at the vets for this? I've been treating a hen with it for a couple of days and cannot get any more out of her crop even though there appears to be more in there and its hot to touch. Given live yogurt but want to be a bit more aggressive and nip this in the bud.
Sour crop
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Tim
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I've not heard of the anti-fungal treatment - The vet someties cuts the crop open, emptying the contents before stitching the opening back up and covering it to prevent infection but I haven't seen any prescriptions with this.
You can pour warm water into the crop through the beak (in small quantities to allow the chicken time to breathe) then massage the crop gently to loosen the contents before tipping the chicken upside down and emptying the crop contents through the beak - but I'm sure you've done this, reading your post!
Let us know what your vet says.
Tim
You can pour warm water into the crop through the beak (in small quantities to allow the chicken time to breathe) then massage the crop gently to loosen the contents before tipping the chicken upside down and emptying the crop contents through the beak - but I'm sure you've done this, reading your post!
Let us know what your vet says.
Tim
I've dealt with impacted crop before, twice, once with a good outcome, once with a not so good. This hen has a soft almost fluid filled crop that is very squishy and I've syringed in water, massaged and turned her upside down and emptied it. But its just filled back up again. Will see how it is in the morning.
Nystatin is used to treat infection in the crop. I've a great poultry vet who is a font of information and has always been very happy to spend a bit of time showing me how to treat my chooks. I've used it in the past. Shall talk to him tomorrow.
Nystatin is used to treat infection in the crop. I've a great poultry vet who is a font of information and has always been very happy to spend a bit of time showing me how to treat my chooks. I've used it in the past. Shall talk to him tomorrow.
Tim
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OK - let us know what the vet says, it would be good to learn a little more about this.
I'm wondering if there's a blockage a bit lower down which could cause it to refill?
Tim
I'm wondering if there's a blockage a bit lower down which could cause it to refill?
Tim
Well trip to vet and an injection of Nystatin instead of having to syringe it down twice a day for 5 days. Longer lasting and should be enough to combat an fungal infection. Also less stressful for the hen. One jab into her leg muscle was all.
Her crop seems to be far less fluid filled tonight and she has pooed fine today so am hoping things are improving. I'm giving her live yogurt but also small grains and letting her graze on grass and soil where she can pick up more grit. Vet said it was also important if she was still bright and feeding/drinking ok to keep her moving and let her forage to get what she needs. So am doing just that. So far so good.
Her crop seems to be far less fluid filled tonight and she has pooed fine today so am hoping things are improving. I'm giving her live yogurt but also small grains and letting her graze on grass and soil where she can pick up more grit. Vet said it was also important if she was still bright and feeding/drinking ok to keep her moving and let her forage to get what she needs. So am doing just that. So far so good.
Tim
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Great, I'm pleased she's doing well.
I'll look up Nystatin too for future reference.
If your vet is a good poultry vet, would you be prepared to divulge who it is so I can add them to the Poultry vets list on poultrykeeper.com?
Tim
I'll look up Nystatin too for future reference.
If your vet is a good poultry vet, would you be prepared to divulge who it is so I can add them to the Poultry vets list on poultrykeeper.com?
Tim
A
Anonymous
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Hi there- Thank you ahead of time for any idea's you may have in helping us with our chicken.
We have one 3 year old Araucana chicken, Sylvia, that came to us as a rescue. Below is a short history of her health challenges. We think she has some sort of preexisting condition that effects her ability to absorb calsium. This deficit may be the root to all the other problems she is experiencing.
Year 1- Seems well after she is separated and recovers from being "hen-pecked" by the flock. She lays great green eggs.
Year 2- She starts to lay soft shelled eggs. Some eggs have no shell at all, just membrane. We talk with the vet and try all the calcium supplements we learn about (none help.) She is on and off with egg production and the shell is still thin or absent. Has her first problem with egg peritonitis. She also came down with sour crop. We eliminated the chopped parsley she loves and used antibiotic to cure the sour-crop.
Year 3 - 6 week ago Sylvia had another egg break inside. We used antibiotic to help her. She stopped laying her shell-less eggs. It's been a week now that her crop has stayed about half full with what feels like silly putty (it does not smell like the sour crop problem last year.) We discovered last year she could eat chicken crumble if served up in water and this sustained her (she free ranged out side summer months in addition to the crumble.) Now we suspect this putty feeling stuff in her crop may be the crumble and old greens. She is very thin. We stopped feeding her solids and had been only giving her a mineral electrolyte fluid this week. We started feeding her people food she likes yesterday. She has been pooping mostly fluid, and a little undigested greens (from that impacted crop) all week.
She is bionic stomping around talking alot. Her comb is not pale. Can a chicken still get nourishment even when the crop is seems impacted? Any suggestions on how to help her unstuff her crop? We are trying massage and fluid. We can't do the massive fluid hold upside down or surgery to remove the stuff.
Thank you for reading this long post and for any guidence you may have. Marlow
We have one 3 year old Araucana chicken, Sylvia, that came to us as a rescue. Below is a short history of her health challenges. We think she has some sort of preexisting condition that effects her ability to absorb calsium. This deficit may be the root to all the other problems she is experiencing.
Year 1- Seems well after she is separated and recovers from being "hen-pecked" by the flock. She lays great green eggs.
Year 2- She starts to lay soft shelled eggs. Some eggs have no shell at all, just membrane. We talk with the vet and try all the calcium supplements we learn about (none help.) She is on and off with egg production and the shell is still thin or absent. Has her first problem with egg peritonitis. She also came down with sour crop. We eliminated the chopped parsley she loves and used antibiotic to cure the sour-crop.
Year 3 - 6 week ago Sylvia had another egg break inside. We used antibiotic to help her. She stopped laying her shell-less eggs. It's been a week now that her crop has stayed about half full with what feels like silly putty (it does not smell like the sour crop problem last year.) We discovered last year she could eat chicken crumble if served up in water and this sustained her (she free ranged out side summer months in addition to the crumble.) Now we suspect this putty feeling stuff in her crop may be the crumble and old greens. She is very thin. We stopped feeding her solids and had been only giving her a mineral electrolyte fluid this week. We started feeding her people food she likes yesterday. She has been pooping mostly fluid, and a little undigested greens (from that impacted crop) all week.
She is bionic stomping around talking alot. Her comb is not pale. Can a chicken still get nourishment even when the crop is seems impacted? Any suggestions on how to help her unstuff her crop? We are trying massage and fluid. We can't do the massive fluid hold upside down or surgery to remove the stuff.
Thank you for reading this long post and for any guidence you may have. Marlow
Ah my area of knowledge. Not by choice, just for some reason I've had numerous chooks suffer with crop problems.
I doubt much is getting through if she does have crop problems.
Firstly can I ask why you are afraid to massage her crop and turn her upside down to squeeze it out? If its because you've never done it before I can talk you through all the steps and with two people it can be done well enough. You just need to be confident and follow it all carefully. Check with your vet about the cost before hand and see how much they charge. I opted to do this as a last resort as my hen was on chicks but alas although I had it done she still grew weaker and we felt that she had problems further down also.
Also I don't know where you get the idea having her crop snipped open will cost a fortune in vets bills. Its a really simply procedure (and doesn't require a lot of anaesthetic if any at all) and last time my vet did the procedure it cost me £32 total for the op. I dropped her off around lunchtime and picked her up at 5pm. A few stiches and you'd never know she'd had her crop cut open.
If her crop is impacted (and it sounds to me like its this, not sour crop) it will mean there is actually a blockage and therefore food is only getting through in small amounts. Eventually she will probably develop a secondary infection on top of this, usually if the foods ferments and sour crop or other nasty stuff sets in. Or else she will develop something nasty within her system. Once that happens because of her weakend state she probably won't pull through.
Impacted crop can be best treated by having the crop cut open and the contents removed and then being very careful for at least 2 weeks with what she is eating, ie easily digestable, small food, not hard stuff. I feed chick crumb, ready break, a bit of live yogurt and things like that. Then gradually introduce other foods back into the diet.
If cutting the crop open isn't an option then syringing down a bit of olive oil, massaging it gently but firmly and then mix down a bit of water also, massage again before turning her upside down and empying the crop. If you want to know how to do this I can write another post later to explain how. All being well with this process you can empty the crop of its contents and repeat it 12 hours later to ensure its empty.
You can also have some antibiotics injected (better than orally) by the vet and this should help prevent any nastiness. But you need to empty the crop also as one without the other is pointless.
If you don't do one or the other if it is impacted then chances are you will loose your hen. Sorry to be so blunt but there usually isn't a pretty end to this sort of thing. And if regular massage on its own hasn't worked then you are running out of options.
With regards to the egg laying problem does she have oyster shell in her diet?
Anyways, let me know whats what and I am more than happy to write a post to explain how to empty a chickens crop of its contents.
I doubt much is getting through if she does have crop problems.
Firstly can I ask why you are afraid to massage her crop and turn her upside down to squeeze it out? If its because you've never done it before I can talk you through all the steps and with two people it can be done well enough. You just need to be confident and follow it all carefully. Check with your vet about the cost before hand and see how much they charge. I opted to do this as a last resort as my hen was on chicks but alas although I had it done she still grew weaker and we felt that she had problems further down also.
Also I don't know where you get the idea having her crop snipped open will cost a fortune in vets bills. Its a really simply procedure (and doesn't require a lot of anaesthetic if any at all) and last time my vet did the procedure it cost me £32 total for the op. I dropped her off around lunchtime and picked her up at 5pm. A few stiches and you'd never know she'd had her crop cut open.
If her crop is impacted (and it sounds to me like its this, not sour crop) it will mean there is actually a blockage and therefore food is only getting through in small amounts. Eventually she will probably develop a secondary infection on top of this, usually if the foods ferments and sour crop or other nasty stuff sets in. Or else she will develop something nasty within her system. Once that happens because of her weakend state she probably won't pull through.
Impacted crop can be best treated by having the crop cut open and the contents removed and then being very careful for at least 2 weeks with what she is eating, ie easily digestable, small food, not hard stuff. I feed chick crumb, ready break, a bit of live yogurt and things like that. Then gradually introduce other foods back into the diet.
If cutting the crop open isn't an option then syringing down a bit of olive oil, massaging it gently but firmly and then mix down a bit of water also, massage again before turning her upside down and empying the crop. If you want to know how to do this I can write another post later to explain how. All being well with this process you can empty the crop of its contents and repeat it 12 hours later to ensure its empty.
You can also have some antibiotics injected (better than orally) by the vet and this should help prevent any nastiness. But you need to empty the crop also as one without the other is pointless.
If you don't do one or the other if it is impacted then chances are you will loose your hen. Sorry to be so blunt but there usually isn't a pretty end to this sort of thing. And if regular massage on its own hasn't worked then you are running out of options.
With regards to the egg laying problem does she have oyster shell in her diet?
Anyways, let me know whats what and I am more than happy to write a post to explain how to empty a chickens crop of its contents.