Urgent help needed - sour crop

[Millymollymandy]

Aaarrgggh why do these things happen just when I'm about to go on holiday?

My little red hen has sour crop - thought she had a large crop the last few days but she seemed absolutely fine and there was no bad smell but today hubby has just reported she wasn't interested in her afternoon wheat and is suddenly acting wierd and jerking her head. I had a feel and her crop is soft and yes, it smells really bad.

Quick google and seems I have to either induce vomiting or cut her crop open and I certainly can't isolate her. Need to do something quickly as my housesitters arrive tomorrow and I can't leave them with a sick chook (last year left our housesitters with a duck with a gummed up eye.....aaaaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhh )

If anyone has any experience help me please!

[shell]

i get all my advice from www.thepoultrysite.com
hope you get fast results shell

[Millymollymandy]

Thanks, I have held her upside down and managed to expel a load of green liquid, and she's running around fine at the moment, but that's only a temporary cure as she still looks like an Aylesbury duck. And I've got chicken vomit on my jeans!

Got to clean out the bumblefoot one's feet tonight too. Oh chickens, who'd have them?

Off to wash floors now. Then I need to water all my sown seed as it is very dry and windy.

Why is going on holiday such hard work beforehand.

[Millymollymandy]

I've now tried the 2 teaspoons of olive oil down the throat with a syringe (nobody tells you how bloody hard that is to do, open a chicken's beak ), massaged for over 5 minutes and it feels just exactly like my wheat bag.

Then held upside down again and only a little bit of liquid came out this time. She's doing great, but that as I reckoned is only temporary.

From the Poultry Site I think she has (oh I've forgotten already as I'm sooooooo tired) the thing which isn't impacted crop or sour crop but the one with the big wobbly dangly crop where all the muscles have gone, with sour crop too. So I would say her days are numbered and we're emailing a couple of neighbours warning them that the housesitters may be giving them a call to come and do the deed.

Then again I remember last holiday we had a call from the housesitters when one of the hens was doing her "I'm going to die any minute" impersonations but she picked up and was fine after that!

Then we cleaned out Snowy's feet and got another hard sharp bit of stone out of her pockets.

I really feel it would be soooooo much easier just to go to the supermarket and buy eggs.

[shell]

you`ve done your best,enjoy your holiday

[Millymollymandy]

We had to kill her as we really couldn't go away leaving a sick chicken. So now I can go away with a clear conscience but I'm still sad as she was a great feisty little ball of fun.

But thanks Shell for your support.

[pelmetman]

You did the right thing.

Now go away on holiday and have a great time.

[Millymollymandy]

Yes Maam! (and thanks). Right signing off now as still some things to do.

[Millymollymandy]

Thanks Susie. Look I'm still here! Housesitters arriving in about 45 mins and I am finally finished and have some time to twiddly my thumbs.

The good thing was that it was a first for us and nowhere near as awful as we'd both imagined, so won't feel so bad or reluctant the next time (which of course there will bound to be at some point!). So it was a really good thing in a way.

If I'd had more time I would actually have liked to cut her crop open (after she was dead!) to examine exactly what was going on in there to get a better understanding of this condition and just where was the right place to cut as lots of people on the internet do this home surgery.

[Lisaurbanfarmer]

Do you add organic cider vinegar to your chickens drinking water.I do that and have never had crop problems in the 3 years since I got my chickens? Sorry you had to loose her I know how that hurts. Lisa

[Millymollymandy]

Hi Lisa, no I don't use cider vinegar but I never had this problem before. Just one of those things I guess, like my hen who got bumblefoot last year (though she's OK ish these days). Why does it always happen to your favourite birds though? I've still got my old bat who's about 5 1/2 and hasn't laid an egg in 3 years and still runs round like the youngsters and she's never, ever had a single thing wrong with her but I've never warmed to her like I have most of the others.