[32newton]

Hi All,
Has my chicken got sour crop...she seemed quiet yesterday and swollen at the front so i felt her crop and it felt like a water balloon soft and squidgy i tilted her forward slightly and this pale water like liquid came up and she made a bit of a gasping noise though her crop seemed smaller, so i left her for a bit, then last night brought her indoors she has continued to bring up clear/white liquid herself and i have given her some live yog with garlic (read on here) she still very quiet, so now what do i do i dont want to leave her too long to 'wait and see'   

[32newton]

i just wanted to add that i hav'nt noticed that her breath smells and she doesn't seem to be doing any poo

[IMOmimey]

You can try giving her small amount of olve oil, massaging her crop GENTLY, then hold her on her side with her head right down to emty it, massaging it ... let me know how you get on

[32newton]

not sure how to do that dont want to put it in the wrong place...she seems to bring up herself ok there was a round egg yolk shaped lump but it was clear in colour its such a shame to see her like this

[IMOmimey]

aww bless her. has she eaten anything different lately? had access to LONG grass, or raw potatoes or anything like that?.....keep massaging her and tip her head, and offer her plenty of water

[32newton]

no change in her diet apart from some black ants she found she did have a small amount of  short grass in the first lot she brought up but no more since, she has started to lay a bigger egg now and i think she may have had a soft egg or two as i have found a couple broken around the garden. i've just checked her again and she lets me feel her crop, its still soft i have noticed she is noiser when she breathes though

[IMOmimey]

sounds like she needs a course of antibiotics I'm afraid, Baytril or similar. Don't leave it though, phone in the morning and get her seen, often a quick response with AB's and they can be back to full health in just afew days, but if left too long, treatment can be longer,expensive and futile. keep her warm and rested now, with access to water. See how she is in the morning, offer her some of her food, and listen to her breathing. Hopefully the lump she brought up has cleared her crop now.

Both of you, try and get some sleep for a few hours. Keep us posted....

[32newton]

thanx i'll keep posting, will try to and i will speak to a vet tomorrow is baytril safe though i've read that the eggs can never be eaten again once given is this true?

[IMOmimey]

Always follow the vets advice of course, but 2 weeks after treatment eggs should be ok. The vet may offer an alternative, always ask if you have to throw away the eggs for a while, should only be a week or two anyway.
If she hasn't got stinky breath, sounds like she'll be ok, just the breathing thing.
Good luck to you both.  I'm afraid I'm going to leave you to it for tonight. Wow, 3.20am, past even my bedtime (usually 2 ish).  goodnight x

[32newton]

Thanks IMOmimey...i did go to bed about 5.30 the things we do for our girls........
Update....me tired.....holly looking brighter she is passing poo dark runny with watery liquid, she has been walking around my kitchen this morning so i have reunited her with her 3 pals they are okay with her, she's had a peck at some grass but hardly moved from the water bowl (why? can she be that thirsty) i have compared her crop to the others and it is definately bigger though soft, i can squidge it a she does'nt mind have offered yog to all of them and she not keen. so will keep checking and keep fingers crossed she does look brighter and has made a few 'beeps'.