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fluffly_fifer
Joined: 02 Oct 2005
Posts: 411
Location: Fife, Scotland
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 Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:24 am Post subject: Sour crop query |
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Am currently in the process of building a new hen-house & chicken run. This will now be placed on grass & I've heard warnings re sour crop even though I don't know much about it.
Any info, sites, remedies I can be pointed at (touch wood I won't need them) just in case please.   |
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CP
Moderator
Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 16285
Location: Hampshire
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:51 am Post subject: |
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You'll find lots of info in the 'Golden Nuggets' section & probably even the 'Wiki' now.
Failing that, Lisa has had more than her fair share of crop problems in her chickens. I'm sure she will help when she next logs on.  |
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1 Chicken Smuggler
Joined: 11 Dec 2005
Posts: 178
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 2:06 am Post subject: Pendulous crop/sour crop |
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Incidence of pendulous crop is low in flocks of chickens and turkeys. The crop is visibly distended and contains foul-smelling fluid, feed, and litter. Digestion is impaired, and afflicted birds become thin or emaciated. If these birds survive, they often are condemned at processing.
The etiology is not known, but a hereditary predisposition has been suggested in turkeys. Incidence may increase with excessive water consumption during hot weather and, experimentally, by feeding rations that contain cerelose as a substitute for starch. There is no known efficacious treatment.
The causes of this problem are not always fully understood. Again, it tends to be an individual bird problem rather than a flock problem. Possible causes include:
- Overeating and physically distending the crop, particularly with fibrous material such as straw.
- Disease in the lower part of the gut due to bacterial infection or parasitic disease which may result in gut stasis and trigger crop problems.
- Very poor water hygiene which may lead to bacterial yeast or fungal infections of the crop lining.
- Very dusty feed or mycotoxin contamination of feed may also trigger crop problems.
- Sometimes seen if birds have been off their food either through illness or feed rejection.
Prolonged antibiotic treatment may sometimes affect the balance of crop bacterial flora and trigger yeast or fungal crop infections in individual bird
Severe cases are unlikely to respond to treatment. Mildly affected birds may recover without any treatment or if isolated from the rest of the flock can be given soft green food such as lettuce and perhaps live yogurt to try and restore crop function.
In some cases, the crop becomes completely blocked. Sometimes this can be relieved by physically kneading and “milking” the crop contents back up out of the mouth while holding the bird head downwards. If this is not successful, the only other treatment is surgical intervention, opening the crop, physically emptying it and repairing the incision. This is unlikely to be a realistic financial option for the free range producer. |
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Lisa
Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 3237
Location: Milton Keynes, Bucks
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 10:00 am Post subject: |
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Not sure why you would get warnings about sour crop related to building a new hen house and run.
Where you thinking of a fixed run by any chance? Just wondering if whoever voiced the concerns was thinking about the possiblity of the earth going "sour" instead? |
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fluffly_fifer
Joined: 02 Oct 2005
Posts: 411
Location: Fife, Scotland
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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| They seemed to say if the grass was longer than mown level it was too fibrous & the birds may get sour crop. |
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jaydee67
Moderator
Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 5152
Location: Shetland Islands
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Personal experience here - if you have chickens on grass the grass will not grow long - unless there is lots of it. In fact it may well disappear altogether! |
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Lisa
Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 3237
Location: Milton Keynes, Bucks
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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| fluffly_fifer wrote: | | They seemed to say if the grass was longer than mown level it was too fibrous & the birds may get sour crop. |
The theory goes that if they eat a lot of long, tough, fibrous (ie old) grass they might rip off long strands of it. These could then tangle in their crop and so not be able to go further through their digestive system. This is called a "blocked" or "impacted" crop. So if you were going to put them on an overgrown area with a lot of long, old grass on it, it might be better to mow it first to be on the safe side. Not sure exactly how big a risk it would be. Hopefully someone with actual experience can comment further.
When the new grass comes through, I'm sure they'll keep it down on their own.
I've not had the problem myself. I had short grass to start with. And shortly after I had only bare earth! 
Sour crop is a fungal infection inside the crop.
HTH,
Lis |
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1 Chicken Smuggler
Joined: 11 Dec 2005
Posts: 178
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fluffly_fifer
Joined: 02 Oct 2005
Posts: 411
Location: Fife, Scotland
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| Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks all. Looks like it shouldn't be a problem as it's not old grass. |
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shelly
Joined: 20 Nov 2005
Posts: 29
Location: Glastonbury
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| Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 10:02 am Post subject: |
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My chicken got sour croup and I think it was from just being a completely greedy cow and eating everything she possibly could.
After a lot of massaging and getting her to bring up a lot of disgusting, horrible thickish fluid, I put her back with a tub of soya yogurt and sesame seeds. She tucked right in and touch wood I haven't had the problems since.
I have also improved the amount of grit so that everything gets a good going over inside.
From shelly |
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