[Sooz]

Having read widely on this forum, I have conceded that Rosie has sour crop.
She has been lethargic all day with an enlarged crop.
When I picked her up, creamy coloured water started to spill from her beak before I had done anything.
So I expelled the gunk, following advice on here and have done it several times today. She perked up for a little while - enough to eat some scrambled egg with garlic, but then went downhill again.
I have just expelled her crop again before bedtime- more gunky muck.  No sign of the scrambled egg though.
Question!  Should I have separated her from her pals?  Is this contagious?

[GrannieAnnie]

No sooz, as far as I am aware, sour crop is not contagious!  I've had 3 chicks with it though.  One is now fine, the other 2 didn't make it.

the one that is okay now, I did separate her because for 1 day I kept her on bio yoghurt mixed with some water, and the next day she had some grower pellets mixed in with it as a mash.  then she was just on pelleets with no treats.  But I put her and 2 others that were with her for company after having their tails pecked back in with their mates, and she seems fine now.

I took a while for her crop to shrink though, and when it was still baggy, she just kept eating until it was full, but it shrank back over a week.

Hope your girly will be okay

[Sooz]

UUUmmm! 
She's in the coop now with her pals, but I think I'll separate her tomorrow so I can keep a check on her - what she eats and drinks.
Fingers crossed!

[Sooz]

Well, she seems remarkably okay today.
She is no longer spewing gunky muck and is joining in with her partners in crime again!
Phew!  I think I caught it just in time.

[GrannieAnnie]

Oh I hope so sooz!  fingers crossed she is okay now!

[compostqueen]

My hen has sour crop from what I've read on here. Following advice I did the massage of the soupy crop, soft and squishy, but she was twisting her head and neck as if she had something stuck.  I've been out all day at a funeral and came home to find her looking very miserable  so that's when I did the crop clearing thing prescribed on here. The gunk came flying out all over me, all down my face, neck, hair, jumper and trousers. I hadn't got changed from the funeral and was in smart clothes but I was worried by her hunched appearance so thought I'd better do something.  I didn't think it would come out so fast as I was very gentle. She shook her head of course.  I had to go and get washed and changed and offered her fresh water and some probiotic yogurt which she seemed keen to eat.  She has now come out into the run so fingers crossed she feels better

Will she need anything from the vet as the stuff which came out was very brown??

[GrannieAnnie]

Our pullet is fine now CQ and didn't need a vet.  I think the browny stuff was just everything that she'd eaten which had then fermented in her crop.

I kept our little one on yoghurt and water as mentioned above, then added some pellets to it to make a mash.  Looking at her now, you wouldn't even realise she'd had a problem.

[compostqueen]

She's off her food but she did peck at some yogurt last night and this morning. Last night she seemed much more alert and came out for a walk and scratch about. She went to bed early and I went to check on her and offered her a bit of my WW soft choc cake bar and she about took my hand off!  I gave it to her in tiny bits, not too much though but she did eat it. This morning she's still a bit quiet and I'm wondering whether to empty her crop again.   I don't want to overdo things

[GrannieAnnie]

I think I overdid one of the pullets as I had a couple at the same time with Sour Crop, although how they got it being in the brooder shed I don't know!

But that one died!  This other one, took a while for her crop to shrink back, but she's fine now.  Mind you, she kept eating until her crop was full every day, I didn't think it would ever shrink back! 

It is difficult to know what to do for the best.

[Sooz]

When I discovered my girl moping at about 4pm, I expelled her crop.
Just before bed time I thought I'd try again and it was just as full as 4pm.
She was a whole lot better in the morning and has been fine ever since - fingers crossed!!

[compostqueen]

She was very miserable again today but I did try again with the crop massage, neck massage in case of something stuck. She did expel only a bit of clear fluid, but her crop did feel very squashy.

She had a peck at the yogurt and I put ACV in her fresh water but had to go out. When I got back I tried her again with some of the soft choc cake and again she ate it readily, just tiny specks of it as I didn't want her to get that stuck!  She perked up and I let her out to play. She was still out until I put her in the run to see if she would eat any supper, at 9.00 pm and she seems much perkier. Hope she's turned the corner

Ta for the tips folks. Much appreciated 

[GrannieAnnie]

not too sure soft choc cake is a good idea though CQ! chocolate isn't good for chooks

[compostqueen]

Oh right GA, ta for that tip. I don't think it's real choc though. They're WW bars. I'll read the label.  She is not eating her pellets and didn't touch the corn either that I offered her. She did take a little yogurt though this morning.

I chopped her up some spinach, just a little, but she wouldn't touch it.

Before she turned in tonight she had a good drinking session.  Fingers crossed that she'll be better in the morning. If not, she's off to the vets for the first time in her 3.5 years 

[GrannieAnnie]

WW eh?  ooh, perhaps I should buy some for overweight Matilda??   

[compostqueen]

    I had nothing else I thought I could tempt her with. The things we do for our chooks