jacquie879 Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Hi there One of my older chickens Miranda has been a bit quiet for about a week ( nothing too unusual there) but today I noticed that after being let out of the pen she hasn't come up the garden and is standing in one place just closing her eyes and occasionally moving her neck side to side in exaggerated movements. When I have picked her up clear liquid has come out of her mouth. Once I put her down more has come out also I massaged her crop and even more greeny clear liquid has some out.Her crop feels fine - soft & spongy... Anyone have any ideas what's going on or what should I do???? Thanks Jacquie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedle Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 sounds like sour crop to me. Her crop will feel soft and squishy when its sour. You really need to empty it for her if you go to the little hen rescue site and check out the medical section and go down to sour crop there is a diagram of how to empty her crop. The sour crop could be a sign of other problems maybe she has a blockage causing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alet_chicken Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Tweedle has given some good advice about checking for and dealing with sour crop. How large is her crop? Does the liquid smell fermented? Does her crop empty overnight? I've had elderly girls before with similar symptoms (head shaking, squishy not-too-large not-smelly crop, clear liquid coming from beak) and in my experience they invariably have some underlying health problem (such as a respiratory infection), and the crop issue is just a secondary symptom caused by their digestive system slowing down. I hope that sour crop is the only issue here, but if your girl looks poorly in herself then my advice would be to take her to the vet as she may need medication for the underlying problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I have similar opinion to Alet although not personally ever had resp infection as a cause. Good luck, keep her empty, by the time they do their heads movements they are in some trouble . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacquie879 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Thanks for the advice. I have emptied her crop a few times today & have given her 5ml of water with a little acv and sugar in it. A couple of hours later she brought up more liquid so I gave her a solution of warm water, vegetable oil, sugar & salt. Shortly afterwards she brought up brownish clear liquid with a couple of meal worms & a few strand of grass. The liquid doesnt smell, neither does her breath. She can't hold herself up,If she survives the night I'll take her to the vet tomorrow. Jacquie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 oh please do look up the treatment for sour crop.. no sugar.. just plain water with ACV no salt either does not sound good if she cant stand . good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacquie879 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Thanks Sandy. re the salt/sugar, that advice came from experienced chicken keepers ...or so I thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Do go to the little hen website under the health section. There is something on here too.... Sugar is no go as it encourages the fungal growth the makes the crop go sour. I may be wrong about the salt although in general salt is a just a no no for chickens.. I have heard use bicarbonate soda. Live yogurt can be good. I had a really poorly girl and I had to empty her 3 times during the night. thinking of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 It sounds like blocked crop rather than full on sour crop which invariably smells 'beery' it could be that the crop is blocked with grass if she bought some grass up with the liquid I think your plan to take her to the vet is a good idea, home treatment is always worth a try but there are some things its not worth mucking around with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
