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Recently I wrote a post on how to tell if a chicken is sick. In the article I pointed out some of the most common chicken ailments I’ve seen. And one of the issues is sour crop. But just what is sour crop in birds? What are the symptoms? And is it the same as impacted or pendulous crop? I’ll cover these questions as we take a deep dive into sour crop.
My first experience with sour crop and impacted crop occurred after we hatched some chicks over a year ago. By this point they were already moved outside, in a section behind our big coop. When hand-raising chickens, if we lost any, which happens, it would happen early on. Like day 1 or 2 post hatch. Plus, we wouldn’t have multiple losses. But by the time the birds are fully feathered, they’re obviously more hardy. However, that doesn’t mean a predator couldn’t get one. Though, I never lost a young bird to something I felt could have been prevented. Until then.
We had 2 experiences back-to-back with those juveniles. And they were both pullets. With the first one, my husband brought me this juvenile hen that wasn’t eating, was fluffed out, and her crop was ballooned out. And when my youngest pushed on the crop, liquid just poured out, like she threw up. However, if you Google that, you’ll be told, chickens don’t throw up. Which I suppose is true, since the pullet didn’t regurgitate on her own. The 2nd pullet had the exact same symptoms. And I treated according to online recommendations. But instead of recovering, they got worse. The first one died in a matter of a few short days, while the 2nd one hung on a little longer. However, in the end, she developed an impacted crop.
First, What is a Crop in Birds
The crop is the primary organ for the brief storage of food prior to digestion. And chickens, including a lot of other birds, possess this unique pouch. This is different than the gizzard, which actually grinds up the food that’s eaten. Since chickens lack teeth, they need grit to help digest their food. Some birds actually store pebbles or stones in the gizzard to help digest seeds and nuts. Plus, a chicken’s crop is located around the front of their breast.
While a full crop in the evening is normal, a full crop in the morning is not. Assuming feed and water aren’t housed with the birds, you can check their crops in the morning. Therefore, take a healthy hen in the morning and gently massage her crop. It should feel flat. And it might even be difficult to locate, but not necessarily impossible. That’s normal. So when a chicken eats throughout the day and gets full, the crop will communicate to the chicken to stop eating. And if you examine your bird’s crop at that moment, it will feel firm but is somewhat pliable.
Conversely, if on occasion, you give your chickens treats, they’ll likely gorge themselves. Then the crops will immediately get full. Sometimes it will even appear a chicken is choking. That’s because they’re stuffing their crop so full like it’s their last meal on earth. In fact, all of my hens do that if there are treats. And I suppose that’s normal too.
What Causes Sour Crop in Birds
Because the primary symptom of sour crop is the sour smell emanating from the chicken’s beak, Candidiasis, a fungal infection, is the root cause of sour crop. Moreover, feeding chickens old or moldy feed has been associated with sour crop as well. Likewise, overfilling of the crop, as mentioned above with treats, can also contribute to sour crop in birds.
Signs of Sour Crop in Birds
As I stated, sour crop is most easily determined by the sour smell coming from your chicken’s beak. Though, other typical signs your chicken has sour crop include
- a full, squishy crop in the morning
- liquid exiting the beak if you gently massage or push on their crop
- your chicken is fluffed up, lethargic, and isolated from the flock
- and lastly, she may not be eating or drinking
Interestingly,
Candidiasis is more common in young and growing chickens with undeveloped immune systems, although any age of chicken with a weakened immune system can fall victim to it.
Maurice Pitesky @ Chicken Whisperer Magazine
How to Diagnose Sour Crop
Typically you can diagnose sour crop in your chickens based on symptoms alone. However, if you have a chicken vet, they may do a culture by swabbing the crop. Or they may do a microscopic exam of the crop tissue, plus blood tests and x-rays.
How is Sour Crop Treated
As with pretty much anything involving health, prevention is key. It’s easier to provide the correct feed, clean water, grit, etc than to try and fix a problem after it’s settled in. Because chickens stop eating with these issues, they’re no longer getting needed nutrients. Or they may eat for a little while, but the food can’t digest since the crop hasn’t emptied. And the result is still the same. Therefore, sour crop is an emergency. So if you have a bird or chicken veterinarian, seek treatment. I would prefer taking my birds to a knowledgeable vet than practice on them myself. On the other hand, due to the lack of bird vets in my area, sometimes that’s exactly what I’ve had to do. Either that or lose a valued pet.
To treat sour crop
- Mix 1 tsp Epson salt and 1/2 cup of water. Then, using a syringe dropper, flush the bird’s crop with this mixture. Be careful not to get water down the chicken’s airway!
- Next, treat the fungal infection: Most vet offices use Nystatin. However, I’ve also read of others using Monistat 7. You can purchase this over the counter. Then, with a syringe, administer 50cc orally to your bird once daily for 7 days.
- Alternatively, if you have bluestone copper sulfate, mix 4 oz with 1/4 c apple cider vinegar and 32 oz of water. Then add 1 tbsp of this solution to each gallon of the ill chicken’s water. But do NOT put this solution in a metal waterer. Do NOT use this bluestone copper sulfate and Monistat together. It’s an either or, not both.
- Also, withhold food during this time. However, you can provide some water. But the general idea is to get the crop to go down and food to empty.
What is Impacted and Pendulous Crop
Impacted crop is where the bird’s crop is nearly rock hard, since there’s something indigestible stuck in it. Again, the bird with an impacted crop won’t eat or drink. And this is definitely an emergency. Furthermore, an impacted crop can be caused by sour crop, as my 2nd juvenile hen’s case was. Though, sour crop and impacted crop are still 2 distinct issues.
Pendulous crop happens due to previously impacted crops. And they appear large and will flop from side to side as the bird moves. In addition, chickens can live years with pendulous crops. However, there are crop support bras available.
So, What is Sour Crop in Birds
Well, the name in itself gives the definition of sour crop. Plus, it involves a bird’s crop, which is the first part of digestion. And if you’ve ever had a chicken with sour crop, the smell is unforgettable. Further, the cause of the sour smell, and hence, the issue, is candidiasis, a fungal infection. But what causes the infection in the first place? Old, moldy feed, and overfilling or overstuffing of the crop. However, a crop that hasn’t completely emptied before the bird continues to eat can also cause sour crop.
So, what caused my juvenile birds’ sour crops when I never saw it before? I was feeding the same type of feed. And no, it wasn’t old or moldy. Moreover, I wasn’t giving them any treats. But, in my gut, I was convinced their environment played a huge part, if not the only part. You see, the back part was added onto to the big coop. And the floor wasn’t really a floor. So, when it rained, it got muddy. Thus, the straw would get swallowed up by the mud. Besides we had some ducklings mixed in with the juveniles. And if you’ve ever raised ducks, you know what a mess ducks make with water.
When I release new chicks and ducklings into the group, I enclose them for a week, until the adults can see and acknowledge them. However, that’s not what my husband did. He was afraid they would get eaten by a predator or bullied by the adults. Therefore, he kept them locked up on the backside of the coop for weeks. After these 2 incidents, I pointed this out to him: that we can’t keep the juveniles locked up on that back side, unless he builds an actual floor, and we provide grit. We’ve never had to provide grit before, since our birds are all pasture-raised. They pick up stuff when they forage. But if he was going to keep the juveniles penned up till kingdom come, they would need grit. Do I have proof that I’m right? No, except we haven’t had sour crop since. My guess is it was the ducks befouling the water, even though we changed it. The area was just always muddy. And there was no grit. Plus, they were young. A perfect combination for trouble.
Have you ever experienced sour crop in any of your chickens? What did you do? Thanks for reading my post. Please like, share, and if you don’t already do so, you can follow me now.
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