[Heather B]

Picked up a poorly looking hen today and whilst stroking her crop, she was sick - green, stagnant smelling liquid which contained the outer skin of an egg. She is gurgling and I did suspect something respiratory until I saw the egg.  Has she/is she egg bound?  Has anyone experienced this at all.  I have now isolated her.

[fsmnutter]

Sounded like sour crop til you explained the egg. Maybe she's eaten an egg but it got a bit stuck and set off the sour crop? Multiple remedies recommended, but id basically try the sour crop treatments and take it from there. You can google all the options people have tried but usually includes turning her upside down to milk the yuck out, then something like natural yoghurt with honey for energy and to sort out the balance of bacteria.

[chrismahon]

It sounds like a digestive impaction which has resulted in slow digestive transit, hence the food rotting in her crop. She has been drinking a lot which means she is struggling to eat. The egg must have been irresistible to her and too much to carry in her crop.


The crop needs emptying -syringe and tube is best because turning them nearly upside down (chest down) can result in suffocation. Then she needs to clear the blockage and stay clear of sour crop. This means no food just excess water and the process can take a month, if it is indeed successful.


Impactions can be caused by grass, bits of metal or plastic, fruit seeds like damson or cherries, cigarette ends, big pieces of grit. Worms would be a contributory factor. An X-ray would be useful in these cases because a lot of time and effort can be saved and unnecessary suffering of the hen would be avoided.

[Heather B]

Thanks for advice.  Will try the sour crop treatments.  I again am having problems with egg eating which is so annoying despite having darkish nest boxes and plenty of grit available.  I use the bigger pieces of sawdust in my coops and if any have any yolk on them they get eaten which I suspect does not help the digestive system at all.
Any advice though on what type of tube to use to attach to a syringe??
 

[Marches Farmer]

Soft rubber used for stomach tubing lambs should be OK on large fowl.  In the past I've messed around putting mustard in blown eggs to deter egg eaters but always ended up culling offenders - once they start they get addicted.