Omlet Smart Autodoor - New in box

[Lavenders_Blue]

Yesterday, I found that Fair Isle has sour crop I hope I have caught it early enough. She took herself off to the nest box Saturday afternoon (unusual as she doesn't lay!) but didn't seem poorly. Yesterday morning she was distinctly off colour and a quick examination revealed sour crop.

I emptied loads of gunky brown fluid out of her crop yesterday and offered her mash mixed with probiotic yoghurt. However she doesn't seem interested in eating. She has had her crop emptied again today (less gunk thank goodness) but she is still off her food.

Is it likely that she will pick up from this? I am very willing to keep going, but not sure if it is normal for the hen to be off her food?

I can feel a tiny bit of food in her crop (I think she is picking a little bit) but nothing that feels like an impaction, so I don't think there is a blockage further down the line.

Do I just keep going with emptying her crop and offering probiotic yoghurt or is there something else I can try? I don't imagine trying to syringe anything into her is going to go down well as she is a real feisty wriggler!

[Daphne]

I'd carry on treating her until no more brown liquid appears, this shouldn't be too much longer. Its not unusual for them not to be very hungry, and you are offering the right type of diet - ie soft and acidic; you could also try offering mashed up egg with the yogurt, but nothing hard like grain which is hard to digest when the crop isn't working properly. Some people starve the bird for 24 hours offering only water with ACV and then perhaps something like Lifeguard/Nutridrops as a pick me up tonic.

 

I do always put ACV in the water during sour crop treatment - can't remember if its supposed to restore the natural gut balance or make the gut inhospitable to the development of more bacteria, anyway this is the right time to use it! As a general maintenance I usually offer ACV in the water for a few days every month.

 

If the sour crop doesn't clear up in the next few days she may have a blockage or an underlying health problem which is manifesting as sour crop. Normally sour crop is very treatable, but it can reoccur at annoying intervals - at least I have found this, but only in birds which are slightly feeble to start with, my good 'doers' never get it.

[Lavenders_Blue]

Thanks Daphne, I will keep going with what I am doing at the moment then. I have just been out to look at her again and only managed to massage the smallest amount of fluid from her crop, which must be good. There is also definitely some food in there - it's moving around when I massage the crop and isn't hard so I'm fairly certain there is no impaction, not in the crop at least.

However, since I posted earlier in the afternoon, her whole comb has turned purple - really dark. This can't be good, normally this suggests the heart is under strain I think?

I will keep going with the emptying and offering yoghurt mash and hope that the outcome is a positive one rather than a negative one...

[Lavenders_Blue]

She didn't make it, we had to put her to sleep this afternoon

 

I didn't realise sour crop could be so fatal. This morning she didn't even get out of the coop. I emptied her crop again, she didn't eat or drink all day, then this afternoon her breathing sounded very rattly. I don't know if some of the fluid got onto her lungs or if there was another infection going on. Either way, letting her go was the only option Sleep well little one.

[HennyPenny59]

Very sorry to hear your sad news ... RIP Fair Isle

[Daphne]

I'm also sorry to hear it its possible some of the liquid went down into her lungs whilst you were expelling it, or alternatively that she did have an underlying problem and the sour crop was a secondary presentation. Purpling of the comb does often indicate a heart problem, but in fact I have had that occur in a bird whilst I was treating for sour crop, although it went away in a matter of minutes and she is still with me many months on. I wonder if the stress of being tipped upside down at reasonably frequent intervals - not to mention being caught and handled extensively - and possibly some liquid going where it shouldn't, causes this. RIP Fair Isle

[Lavenders_Blue]

I think it could be any of those reasons. She certainly wasn't used to being handled (usually impossible to catch unless she was roosting!) and was not terribly co-operative with the crop emptying process, refusing to put her head down which made it rather difficult to massage the fluid out. I hope I didn't cause her to take any of the fluid onto her lungs - I was careful only to empty in short bursts and let her breathe inbetween, but I guess it's not an exact science. Either way, at least she is not suffering any longer, even if it wasn't a happy outcome.

[The Dogmother]

I'm so sorry to hear that L_B, you did everything that you could.

 

It may just have been that the sour crop was a secondary problem and just a symptom of something more serious.

 

Emptying the crop is a good move, I then recommend syringing her with neat ACV (about 3ml is fine) 3 times a day for a couple of days, then putting them on dried food only, no treats but access to the old yoghurt and Bokashi treatment. I did this on one of my older lasses the other week as she blurked up some nasty fluid when I picked her up. Both Life-Guard and Nutri-Drops contain probiotics, as does the Nett-Tex tonic, so they are an excellent pick-up afterwards.

[Lavenders_Blue]

Thanks DM, it would perhaps be worth me getting a small amount of ACV for situations such as this. I don't use it routinely as I have galvanised drinkers, but I expect you can buy a small amount, which might be helpful to have in the first aid box.

 

I do have Life Guard though - I didn't realise it containes probiotics. I could perhaps have tried syringing some in as she wasn't eating so yoghurt probably wasn't doing any good. Oh well, I will know for next time!

[The Dogmother]

I'd offer to bring you some on the 13th, but my own stocks are low.

 

I use the NAF Life-Guard/horse one as it's the live version and much more beneficial.

 

[Lavenders_Blue]

Thanks, that's a kind offer but I am sure I can pick some up in my local horsey shop. I'll just have to see what sizes they do. If they only do a large one, I'll hold fire until I need it in the future.