hen moving neck weird and not eating!!

[GlicksChicks]

I just bought dewormer and I will give it to her when it gets here but she has not been dewormed before. Is it ok to feed her and give her water?

I would try to feed her and give her water if possible. If her crop is empty then sour crop nor impacted crop are the problems.

If she won't eat on her own, try to turn her food into a mush and syringe or tube feed her. I syringe feed because it is easier and less likely to get the liquid where it shouldn't be.

And if she is not laying, chick feed should work for her if you have it. She does not need the extra calcium if she is not producing eggs.

 

[Chiknsrcool]

I would try to feed her and give her water if possible. If her crop is empty then sour crop nor impacted crop are the problems.

If she won't eat on her own, try to turn her food into a mush and syringe or tube feed her. I syringe feed because it is easier and less likely to get the liquid where it shouldn't be.

And if she is not laying, chick feed should work for her if you have it. She does not need the extra calcium if she is not producing eggs.

what do you think it could be besides sour crop? Her crop is not completely empty, it’s just small and very squishy.

 

[GlicksChicks]

what do you think it could be besides sour crop? Her crop is not completely empty, it’s just small and very squishy.

One way to identify if it is sour crop is to make her vomit and then see if the stuff that comes out smells like sour feed. If it does, then part of her problem may be sour crop.

If it is not sour crop, it could be worms. You don't always see the worms in their poop.

Could you move some feathers out of the way of her lump so I can see the skin on it? How does the lump feel now? Has it gotten any bigger? That lump could be the problem, we just need a closer look at it.

 

[The Welch Chickens]

Be very careful if you decide to induce vomiting. She can easily get it in her lungs and choke.

Here are some articles on the subject:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

 

[The Welch Chickens]

Her crop area is making weird gurgleing sounds and she keeps making a movement like she’s readjusting her crop. She is also sitting back and she has a bulge in her neck that just feels like her neck is crooked.

The crop movement she is making is probably from the yeast/sour crop. It burns slightly and makes the chicken uncomfortable, which is my guess as to why she is sitting like that.

The yeast in her crop (assuming you think it's yeast/sour crop) must be treated with medicine. Here's some info from the articles I gave you:

"I advise against trying to make your chicken vomit because it may cause them to aspirate the sour liquid. Besides, it's very unpleasant for your hen, and she may hate you if you do it. (Curiously, most sour crop victims are hens.)

Nystatin is the best treatment for yeast infections, but it requires a prescription. Or you can try to locate medistatin which is for birds and doesn't require a prescription.

The easiest (and cheapest) to obtain yeast treatment, though, is miconazole, found on the women's hygiene shelf in the pharmacy. You can use either the suppositories or the vaginal cream. Measure a quarter inch of suppository or about half an inch of cream and give orally twice a day for seven days. Do not stop treatment before the full seven days are completed or the yeast may return.

You may see different strengths of miconazole, 2% or 4%, and wonder which to get. Either strength is fine. I prefer the 2% cream myself for economic reasons. The treatment with either strength is the same, twice and day for a full seven days.

Following treatment for sour crop, offer plenty of plain fresh water and boiled egg to get the crop operating again. I like to also give a probiotic or Greek yogurt to restore good microbes in crop and intestines."

"If you turn to a veterinarian to help treat this crop issue, most likely they are going to prescribe Nystatin for this yeast/fungal infection. The problem with Nystatin is that it must come into contact with the Crop and yeast/fungal infection at all times or it renders itself useless. And because the bird needs to eat and drink during the treatment, I have never found Nystatin to be useful one bit. If you can get your vet to prescribe you Clotrimazole, then do it! This stuff is very powerful and will knock out the most powerful yeast infection a bird can have. If is often given to human babies with Thrush of the mouth with great success. However if you don't have an avian vet or they do not have this medication, you can turn to vaginal cream. Yes, sounds bizarre, but I was directed by an avian vet to use this on my Chronically Slow and Sour Crop patient. And it wasn't until I started with the vaginal cream was I able to save my bird. Monistat. (Miconazole Nitrate) or Gyne-Lotrimin contains Clotrimazole. The other ingredients are glycerin and other inert products. You can use the Generic form of this product as well. I use the 2% formula. You will need an empty syringe with no needle. Stick the tip of the syringe into the tube of vaginal cream, withdraw the plunger and squeeze the tube and suck up 1cc. You are going to give her 1cc, 3 times a day. So 1cc [in the morning], 1cc at noon and 1cc at roosting time. Again, squeeze it onto the tongue with the birds head level. . .
I have also had GREAT luck with Acidified Copper Sulfate in the water for 5 to 7 days. Always use the Acidified stuff you get from a poultry supply, never use anything not poultry approved. This is guaranteed to clear up the most wicked yeast infection. However just keep in mind, if something like the feed is causing this yeast infection or she has an internal infection, an internal fungal infection, Crop worms, she is Egg Bound, intestinal worms or something else is causing this Crop to be slow and sour, you will need to correct these first before you can cure your bird of this yeast infection. Once you can go two mornings with nothing in the Crop, you can assume you have cured the bird of this issue. She can then go back to her regularly scheduled day. Keep her on probiotics for one week after treatment."

With my cases of sour crop, acidified copper sulfate worked much better than Miconazole.

 

[The Welch Chickens]

also how can I help her while she is throwing up so she doesn't aspirate it? Sorry for all the questions

If you're trying to make her vomit (inducing it), she should be held tipped forward, her neck straightened with one hand and her crop massaged with the other hand. It takes at least two people. Again, that's very dangerous because of aspiration and generally discouraged, (lots of people have killed their chickens accidentally by doing this) but I've done it successfully as a last resort. Here's my video:

However, if you're just massaging to get any crop blockage out without causing vomiting, do this:

(From another thread) "She's spitting up because of the way you're massaging. I'm going to stick a diagram of chicken anatomy here so you can see where the crop drain is. When you massage you shouldn't massage any higher than the drain. Massaging above it pushes the crop contents upward where they then regurgitate into the throat. We want to avoid that because she could aspirate."

 

[Chiknsrcool]

One way to identify if it is sour crop is to make her vomit and then see if the stuff that comes out smells like sour feed. If it does, then part of her problem may be sour crop.

If it is not sour crop, it could be worms. You don't always see the worms in their poop.

Could you move some feathers out of the way of her lump so I can see the skin on it? How does the lump feel now? Has it gotten any bigger? That lump could be the problem, we just need a closer look at it.

it’s not really a lump, it’s more like she’s sticking her neck out. I will try to get a picture when I can. Her vomit definitely smells sour.

 

[Chiknsrcool]

The crop movement she is making is probably from the yeast/sour crop. It burns slightly and makes the chicken uncomfortable, which is my guess as to why she is sitting like that.

The yeast in her crop (assuming you think it's yeast/sour crop) must be treated with medicine. Here's some info from the articles I gave you:


With my cases of sour crop, acidified copper sulfate worked much better than Miconazole.

I wasn’t really trying to induce vomiting, I massaged her crop for a few seconds and then she started vomiting up liquid a lot, and then she would vomit periodically throughout the day on her own, though usually when she was being moved or after she had a fit of neck movements. She hasn’t vomited today though aside from a bit of spittle and she seems more active. She has also eaten a bit so hopefully she is improving!

 

[GlicksChicks]

it’s not really a lump, it’s more like she’s sticking her neck out. I will try to get a picture when I can. Her vomit definitely smells sour.

Then sour crop is at least part of the problem. I have never seen a chicken with their neck bent like that though. Could it be wry neck? I don't know much at all about wry neck.

If she has sour crop, keep her off food and water for 24 hours. You don't want to add anything else into her crop to sour.

 

[The Welch Chickens]

Glad she’s improving.

@azygous, can you help any?