Update on Little Dee

Poor little Dee spent a few days in the house in chicken ICU. Seems she had a case of "sour crop" which needed special attention, and a special diet.

Her unusual behavior late last week were signs of something more serious, it seems...

Chickens don't have a stomach, like you and I do. Instead, they have a digestive system that includes a crop which stores food prior to digestion, and a gizzard that grinds/processes their food. A chicken's crop is on the front right side of their body and sits above the breast muscle. When a chicken's crop is full of food (or swollen from sour crop), it is very evident because their chest will appear much larger on the right side, than the left. It can get so large that it appears as though they might have a ball tucked under their right side breast feathers.

I imagine sour crop for chickens is like having a MAJOR belly ache and/or case of food poisoning. If they eat something they shouldn't, or too much of something (like long grass or hay), they can run into trouble processing their food. If the food starts to break down in the crop, bacteria can build up. The bacteria causes their crop to swell up, and it feels like they have a large water balloon under their feathers. Sour crop can be deadly, if not treated quickly.

Thankfully, the treatment for sour crop isn't too difficult if caught early. Once the chicken is isolated from the flock, her treatment starts with 1 TBS organic apple cider vinegar with the mother (not always easy to find - I use Bragg's) added to 1 quart fresh water.  I like to give a chicken a couple cc's of a stronger vinegar/water mixture at first, to kind of jump start the treatment.

As the chicken drinks the vinegar water, the vinegar kills the bacteria in the crop that's causing the bloat and the digestion process resumes as normal. It must be a settling feeling, because I've never had a chicken with sour crop NOT drink the vinegar/water mixture. It can take a couple of days for the crop to return to normal. Once the crop empties, I give the chicken meals of plain yogurt. The yogurt is easy for them to digest, and helps bring the GOOD bacteria in their digestive system back to normal levels.

Dee went back out with her friends in the hen house today, after a stern lecture about eating hay!

Comments

[rose kerry]

Wow, thanks for the lesson on chicken digestion. Your chickens couldn't be in better hands.

[Pamm]

I am so glad that Dee has recovered, but now I have to go out and check ALL of my girls to be sure they are ok! By the way, what does it mean "with the mother"?

[Tina]

I am so glad to hear Dee is much better! she is a beautiful bird :)

[Tiya-B]

glad Dee is better, this is so interesting!
who knew?????

[Shellie Daniel]

You are a wealth of information about animal husbandry, Anna! I should have sent you my bottle of Bragg's apple cider vinegar with the "mother" in it. I gave it to a friend--it's nasty tasting even with a bunch of water in tea! But I'm glad your chickens drink it when they need it . . . poor babies! So glad little Dee feels perky again.

[Carol Dee]

Chicken RX 101. Thanks for the education. Should I ever find myself needing to Dr. A chicken, I know who to contact. :) Good that Dee is feeling better and back in the coop. Hugs...

[Jennifer K.]

You're such a good chicken mama!! Glad she's doing better :)

[Jeanne H]

That is so interesting, Anna! There must be hundreds of people with chickens who do not know that stuff and their poor sick birds perish. I'm impressed, and glad your beautiful little girl is doing better! God bless them all! xoxo Jeanne in Idaho

[Jennifer Woodward]

Yippee Dee! So happy you are feeling better! Anna, you are the best momma your chickens could ever have. Now I just hope your little "talkin' to" to Dee keeps her on the straight and narrow! Doctoring job well done!

[diane mcvey]

Oh, bless her heart! I'm so glad that Dee is getting better, and hopefully will be as good as new QUICKLY!!! Thanks for the info on the sour crop...that is something I had not heard of! I just love learning new chicken facts! :D

[Kellie]

sure you're not a vet?...awesome that you check on your animals like you do and can "fix" most of their issues...nice going Anna!!! You saved the day and the chicken..glad to hear all is well...

[Donna Wilson]

That's great news!!! Hooray for Dee, I am glad she is feeling better!

[Debbie]

Glad all is well and you caught it early enough for her to have a complete recovery.

[Gabriela]

My goodness you are such a good Mommy!

[Sue]

Your chickies are the luckies birds in the whole world!!

[Chelsea]

So glad to hear she is doing better! Hope the stern lecture works...it doesn't seem to ever work on my dogs or cats!! Take care!