Water came out of her mouth

[KellyAnnBarbato]

This morning when I went in the coop one hen was in the corner looking like she’s not feeling well, I picked her up and a lot of water came out her beak , so I massaged her crop, I think it feels empty but then a ton more water came out, she’s an older hen, maybe 4 years old.
I separated her and took food and water away as I read if it’s sour crop that’s what you do. Please any advice??

 

[azygous]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

That's an article I wrote instructing how to treat the various crop disorders a chicken can come down with.

You will probably want to stop by the store where they sell women's hygiene products and pick up some miconazole vaginal yeast cream. Get a tube of the seven-day.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

I separated her and took food and water away as I read if it’s sour crop that’s what you do.

I keep seeing people coming to BYC having read that advice and am not sure why it is the first thing that pops up when googling sour crop or what the idea behind it is. The only time I remove food and water is if I'm not sure a bird's crop is emptying properly and in that case I only remove food and water for about 8 hrs, usually overnight, so I can check the crop, and then I give food and water back. Most of the time a chicken knows better than I do whether they need to eat/drink, and you don't want an already ill chicken getting dehydrated or malnourished. Also with crop issues chickens will treat themselves by flushing their system with water, which I don't think is a bad thing, though they may also need help with an antifungal or removing an impaction.

That's my two cents... but I am curious if anyone has a different opinion or knows something about treating sour crop that I do not.

 

[KellyAnnBarbato]

I keep seeing people coming to BYC having read that advice and am not sure why it is the first thing that pops up when googling sour crop or what the idea behind it is. The only time I remove food and water is if I'm not sure a bird's crop is emptying properly and in that case I only remove food and water for about 8 hrs, usually overnight, so I can check the crop, and then I give food and water back. Most of the time a chicken knows better than I do whether they need to eat/drink, and you don't want an already ill chicken getting dehydrated or malnourished. Also with crop issues chickens will treat themselves by flushing their system with water, which I don't think is a bad thing, though they may also need help with an antifungal or removing an impaction.

That's my two cents... but I am curious if anyone has a different opinion or knows something about treating sour crop that I do not.

So what advice can you give me?

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

So what advice can you give me?

The article azygous linked is worth reading through and has good advice.

I'd get some miconazole cream and treat as directed in the article. Massage her crop gently upwards in a circular motion to keep things moving a few times a day. Be careful when her crop feels very watery has it can overflow back out her mouth (as you saw) and birds can easily aspirate the liquid and suffocate. If it seems like liquid is backing up on its own out her mouth I personally would help her "vomit" it up by tucking her under my arm and tipping her forward while massaging the crop for a second at a time. Watch a video of it first. Some people don't do this because of the danger of the bird accidentally inhaling the fluid, which I understand, but I had a hen drown in her crop fluid all on her own so now if I think that could happen again I try to get it out.

Hopefully with the antifungal you should see some improvement within a day or two, but occasionally the crop issue is more of a side effect of some larger problem like a reproductive disorder or cancer. At 4 yrs old it's hard to know which is more likely for your hen, but it's definitely worth treating her for plain old sour crop and hoping it helps.

 

[azygous]

Segregating a crop disorder patient and taking away food and water is not the way we treat crop issues. Neither one contributes to effective treatment.

Any sick chicken, unless contagious or being bullied due to their infirmity, benefits from remaining with their flock and not having to face the stress of having their secure environment disrupted.

As @Razzlefrazzle pointed out, crop patients are the best judge of when and how much they can eat and drink. They automatically will refrain from food and drink lots of water with an impacted crop, and the reverse may be true when the issue is sour crop.

Sometimes common wisdom is anything but wise.

 

[KellyAnnBarbato]

The article azygous linked is worth reading through and has good advice.

I'd get some miconazole cream and treat as directed in the article. Massage her crop gently upwards in a circular motion to keep things moving a few times a day. Be careful when her crop feels very watery has it can overflow back out her mouth (as you saw) and birds can easily aspirate the liquid and suffocate. If it seems like liquid is backing up on its own out her mouth I personally would help her "vomit" it up by tucking her under my arm and tipping her forward while massaging the crop for a second at a time. Watch a video of it first. Some people don't do this because of the danger of the bird accidentally inhaling the fluid, which I understand, but I had a hen drown in her crop fluid all on her own so now if I think that could happen again I try to get it out.

Hopefully with the antifungal you should see some improvement within a day or two, but occasionally the crop issue is more of a side effect of some larger problem like a reproductive disorder or cancer. At 4 yrs old it's hard to know which is more likely for your hen, but it's definitely worth treating her for plain old sour crop and hoping it helps.

Ok thank you! I just let her back out to free range with her friends. She is drinking a lot. Does Apple cider vinegar help or only that cream? How much of that cream do I feed her?

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Ok thank you! I just let her back out to free range with her friends. She is drinking a lot. Does Apple cider vinegar help or only that cream? How much of that cream do I feed her?

Apple cider vinegar is good for minor digestive upsets or occasional preventative maintenance, but a truly sour crop is best treated with an antifungal cream. When she had the water come out her mouth did you notice a strong smell or did it just seem like water? Have you seen her poop at all? No smell and no poop point to an obstruction somewhere in her digestive tract rather than just sour crop and she may not need an antifungal, but an obstruction can lead to sour crop and if you're not sure I don't think giving her the cream could make anything worse. Dosage is 1/2 inch of cream twice a day for seven days. You can also try feeding a bit of coconut oil to her a few times a day to possibly help ease any impaction. (You can use other oils as well but liquid oil can be difficult/messy to get down the birds throat and coconut oil solidifies quickly in the fridge.)

 

[KellyAnnBarbato]

Apple cider vinegar is good for minor digestive upsets or occasional preventative maintenance, but a truly sour crop is best treated with an antifungal cream. When she had the water come out her mouth did you notice a strong smell or did it just seem like water? Have you seen her poop at all? No smell and no poop point to an obstruction somewhere in her digestive tract rather than just sour crop and she may not need an antifungal, but an obstruction can lead to sour crop and if you're not sure I don't think giving her the cream could make anything worse. Dosage is 1/2 inch of cream twice a day for seven days. You can also try feeding a bit of coconut oil to her a few times a day to possibly help ease any impaction. (You can use other oils as well but liquid oil can be difficult/messy to get down the birds throat and coconut oil solidifies quickly in the fridge.)

The water smelled like puke, when I rubbed her crop a bunch more came out. i did give her acv and water with some in , someone told me that and a raw egg, she ate the yolk and did drink a lot of water , did see her eat a little , and just now she is roosting with everyone. Her poo looked white . thank you so much for helping me

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Good to hear she feels well enough to eat a little and roost. Her poop will look white and watery as long as she is drinking a lot more than she is eating. Let us know how she's doing after a day of antifungal meds and crop massages.