Sour crop info
Sour Crop
Sour crop is a fungal infection of the crop. It occurs when the food in the crop begins to ferment. This is the result of a pH imbalance and how this imbalance affects the natural bacteria in a chicken’s crop.
Sour crop is usually an individual case ailment. This means that it often only affects a single chicken. However, if a common trigger is consumed by the whole flock, you may have several cases of sour crop on your hands. For example, if your whole flock forages on long grasses or consumes moldy feed, they are all prone to getting sour crop
Altered crop pH → the increase in bad bacteria and fungus, specifically candida fungus → crop blockage → fermentation of stored food → sour crop & a chicken that doesn’t feel well and is physically unwell
Here are some common causes of crop problems in backyard chickens:
1. Long grass usually causes impacted crop, which can then lead to fermentation and sour crop. Long grass can get balled up in the crop and be hard to break down because it is so fibrous, which then causes a crop blockage. Consuming too much long grass can be a problem when chickens start eating grass in the spring or for small bantam breeds.
2. Coop litter
If a chicken consumes too much of the litter or bedding in the coop, it can lead to crop problems. Certain coop litters, like wood shavings and straw, are fibrous and hard to digest, which can lead to blockage and fermentation.
3. Worms
Internal worms interfere with proper crop function and can lead to malnutrition. Certain types of worms are more problematic for the crop than others, with capillary worms being the main species that affects the crop.
4. Non-Natural Antibiotics
Synthetic antibiotic medications alter the pH levels in a chicken’s crop. The antibiotics can kill both good and bad bacteria in the crop, making room for bag fungus (like candida albicans) to thrive.
5. Foreign Objects
If a chicken accidentally consumes string, twine, or other sharp/hard objects that can’t be digested, those foreign objects can cause crop impaction and injuries to the crop. Impaction and injury inhibit proper crop functioning.
6. Moldy Feed/Foods
Mold is a fungus that can lead to fermentation of the crop’s contents. It also upsets the crop’s pH levels, leading to fungal growth and sour crop.
How to Diagnose Sour Crop
The easiest way to diagnose sour crop is to see if the crop is emptying properly. Chickens generally stock up on food throughout the day, then the food slowly gets released from the crop and digested throughout the night.
The Crop Fullness Test
If you suspect a sour crop issue, do a crop-fullness test. You can do this test for an individual chicken by quarantining it or for your whole flock.
Start by taking away the food and water source in the evening. In the morning, feel the crop to see if it feels empty or full. An empty crop will feel small, flat, and hard. A full crop will be easy to feel and will be squishy and soft. A fully impacted crop will feel large and hard.
A full crop or a hard impacted crop in the morning means your chicken has a crop problem. When checking for sour crop, a full squishy crop accompanied by sour-smelling breath is a sure sign of sour crop. You may also hear gurgling noises coming from the hen’s crop, which is from the fermentation process.
Other Symptoms & Signs of Sour Crop
Sour crop is not a fun condition, and you will usually see other signs that mean the hen is ailing, such as:
Lethargy: not wanting to move, standing in a hunched position, ruffled feathers
Lack of interest in food and water
Weight loss
Diarrhea
Decrease in egg production
How to Treat Sour Crop in Chickens:
Step 1: Quarantine the Hen
First, you will need to quarantine the affected hen. Create a comfortable and safe infirmary pen for her away from the rest of the flock.
Step 2: Restrict Food & Water
Don’t provide her with food or water for the first 24 hours of her treatment. The crop is already full and the contents are fermenting, so adding more to the crop will not help the condition.
Step 3: Massage the Hen’s Crop
Massage the hen’s crop several times, massaging from the top to the bottom (throat to breast). The massaging should hopefully help break up any blockage which is causing the crop contents to remain in the crop and ferment. You should try and massage the crop at least 3 to 4 times a day.
Step 4: Monitor Progress & Contact a Vet If Needed
Try to get the condition cured within 24 hours of diagnosing the sour crop. If none of the treatments are working, then you may need to consult a veterinarian. Hopefully massaging the crop should help it empty, but we will go over some more emergency treatment methods in a minute.
Step 5: Sour Crop Recovery
Once the crop feels like it has emptied, meaning it feels smaller and less squishy, give the hen some fresh drinking water. However, it’s important to wait 12 more hours before providing food.
After the fasting period, provide small amounts of easy-to-digest foods. Scrambled eggs are a good food to start a hen on who is recovering from sour crop. Feed her frugally for the first 24-48 hours.
Make sure she has plenty of fresh drinking water to help the crop recover from the blockage, flush out any fungus, and restore good crop bacteria. Keep the hen quarantined until you are sure the crop is back to functioning normally and you can feel that it is emptying properly every night.
I do tend to use OTC aids to help with sour crop.
I use Monistat 3 or Monistat 7 both must be the generic kind (equate)
With the monistat 3 I cute the suppositories into 3 pieces and feed one piece every 12 hours.
Monistat 7 is the cream, peas sized drop every 12 hours for 7 days.
I do not use Apple cider vinegar, that in itself can cause a lot of issues, we can go over that another time.
There is also Acidified copper sulfate,
Nystatin, Medstatin.
Nystatin has to be prescribed by a vet, while the medstatin can be purchased online.
There is also an Epsom salt flush.
I DO NOT suggest vomiting your chicken, it doesn’t cure sour crop. And can have some bad effects on your chicken like aspiration which can cause pneumonia. Also the contents can burn your chickens esophagus.
Home Supplements for Crop Blockages
* Epsom salts (detoxifies the crop)- dissolve 1 tsp. into 1 c. of water, administer 2-3 times a day for 2-3 days
* Tomato juice (restores normal crop pH levels)- administer a 1-2 ml serving 2-3 times a day for no more than 24 hours
* Blackstrap Molasses (acts as a crop flush)- dissolve 1 pint of blackstrap molasses per 5 gallons of water, provide the molasses water as the main source of water for no longer than 8 hours, WARNING: will cause diarrhea as a natural reaction to the flushing properties of molasses
* Copper sulfate (detoxifies fungus from the crop)- add ½ tsp. per gallon of water, provided as sole water source every other day for 5 days, don’t use in metal water containers since copper will react with the metal, WARNING: can be toxic in higher concentrations
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