Compacted crop. 7 days now :(

[azygous]

Plain yogurt is awesome for a crop struggling with yeast!

 

[LaDonna2019]

I agree with @Henriettamom919 that your chick is likely fighting a yeast infection. This is rare in chicks but not unheard of. Yeast can colonize a crop when the immune system is low functioning for some reason or there's a chronic obstruction inhibiting the complete emptying of the crop.

Your massaging is keeping her from getting much sicker, and at her young age, eating regularly is crucial. It's too easy for a chick to slip behind in development if it doesn't eat for even one day.

I would test her crop by withholding food and water from sunset tonight to sunrise, check for emptiness or fullness come morning, and if it's full and squishy, I would begin treating immediately with a half teaspoon of coconut oil first with a massage, then miconazole twice a day for the next seven days. Since she's so tiny, I'd say just a pea-size dollop of miconazole cream would be an adequate dose.

Ok i can do this i agree with sour stomach. I'm sorry ahead of time for all the questions. I'm determined 2 save her or him. I have a habit of saying her.
Our sunset/rise is 9 hrs, is tht long enough 2 fast her? Do i use a syringe or try 2 get her 2 peck the spoon with the coconut oil? Do i keep her seperate from the other babies after 2night? If so do i only give her plain yogurt 2 eat? Low or full fat and how often? Will i still need 2 put the apple cidar vinegar in her water?
I'm headed 2 the dollar Store now 2 get yeast med. and the yogurt...
I will let u all know in the morning how this goes.. Thank u all so much for your help and support ❤

 

[Henriettamom919]

Ok i can do this i agree with sour stomach. I'm sorry ahead of time for all the questions. I'm determined 2 save her or him. I have a habit of saying her.
Our sunset/rise is 9 hrs, is tht long enough 2 fast her? Do i use a syringe or try 2 get her 2 peck the spoon with the coconut oil? Do i keep her seperate from the other babies after 2night? If so do i only give her plain yogurt 2 eat? Low or full fat and how often? Will i still need 2 put the apple cidar vinegar in her water?
I'm headed 2 the dollar Store now 2 get yeast med. and the yogurt...
I will let u all know in the morning how this goes.. Thank u all so much for your help and support ❤

I'm in the middle of jam making but I'll get to these in a few minutes! Happy shopping!

 

[LaDonna2019]

I'm in the middle of jam making but I'll get to these in a few minutes! Happy shopping!

Thank you sooo much!!!

 

[LaDonna2019]

I'm in the middle of jam making but I'll get to these in a few minutes! Happy shopping!

Dollar store only had this. Done Kroger for yogurt.. They had the miconazole 1 day there . If i have the wrong stuff I'll come bck 2 town. I want 2 be prepared for 2moro..

 

[Henriettamom919]

Great job on the yogurt! The miconazole should be fine provided its the only *active* ingredient in the medication facts breakdown.

 

[Henriettamom919]

Okay, first things first, try to get a dose of medication in her. A small pea sized amount is ideal but just get her to eat as much as you can. Give her fresh, regular water as a little yogurt. Then a little oil then massage. Then nothing overnight.

In the morning check her crop. Hopefully there will be some improvement but don't deviate even if there is. Medicate, yogurt, water, massage. Give yogurt and water in small amounts throughout the day. Ideally she won't eat enough to fill her crop because you want to keep it as empty as possible while the yeast and bulge clear up. Give another pea sized amount of medication before dinner tomorrow night (so 2x a day, morning and night.)

Keeping her hydrated is important so watch that throughout. Once she starts improving you can add a soft food to see how she does, scrambled eggs with a little oil is good, possibly day 2 of medication but we'll see how she does tomorrow.

Once she's better check her feed, smell and if it smells damp or moldy that's the likely culprit, although she came to you covered in feces so it's possible she came home with a yeast imbalance from ingesting poop. After she finishes the miconazole treatment I would add Apple cider vinegar to her regular water source as well as the regular water for your other babies.

I'd keep her separated at least one more night just because you need to know she didn't eat/drink overnight for morning exam.

Good luck and I'll be up late if you need help.

 

[azygous]

If you chill the coconut oil until it's solid, it's easy to pop it into the beak in tiny bits. If it's warm where you're treating the chick, place the bits of oil in a small custard dish with a couple of ice cubes to keep the oil solid until you're finished dosing.

When the hard lump finally softens, you can discontinue the oil, but as @Henriettamom919 warns, don't stop the miconazole until you've done it for a full seven days.

 

[alexisrambles]

Oh wow, one of my girls did this after gorging herself several days in a row. I put acv in her water as well as a probiotic on her food and it cleared up within a few massages over a day. Good to know what happens if this happens again. Good luck LaDonna!
Would anyone recommend fermenting some feed in the future for chicks with sour crop?

 

[azygous]

Fermented feed really won't cure sour crop. But as a regular feed, I highly recommend it.

I've treated plenty of sour crops. One thing I've noticed is that the sour crop patient most often refuses to eat FF, while she may agree to eat dry feed during the treatment period. As soon as the yeast has been conquered, FF again becomes a favorite food. I do not know why this is.