I’ve written about keeping chickens healthy in the winter but I didn’t realize that spring brings it’s own challenges, specifically, Impacted and sour crop.
One day I went out to the coop to check on the chickens while they were scratching around in the dirt. I noticed that one chicken, Slater, was not scratching around with the others and was perched on a low branch instead.
A little while later when I went back out she was still there perched on that branch sleeping. She wasn’t interested in any of the treats I was dishing out and wasn’t “playing” in the dirt with the others.
Hmm.
I started researching and quickly realized she had an impacted crop.
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What is impacted crop and how does a chicken get it?
A crop is a little sack where a chicken’s food hangs out just after being swallowed and before going to the stomach (Proventriculus and gizzard). Food can hang out in there for a while waiting to be digested.
Impacted crop is when something, usually straw or dried grass, gets stuck in a tangled mess and blocks food from moving from the crop to the stomach.
How do I know if my chicken has an impacted crop?
Impacted crop symptoms:
- A firm, large crop (like a tennis ball) that doesn’t empty
- Refusal of food
- Drinking a lot of water (an attempt to move the blockage)
- Lethargic or just acting odd
To check your chicken’s crop, hold her like a football with beak pointing forward, you can reach around the front of the bird and find the crop, a small bulge, below her neck and above her chest.
A chicken’s crop will feel full after she’s eaten and will be flat (and hard to find) when it’s empty. Your chicken’s crop should be empty at some points in the day or, at least, first thing in the morning. If you aren’t sure if your chicken’s crop is emptying properly, check first thing in the morning before you feed your chickens.
Prevention for impacted crop
The best way to prevent impacted crop is to offer granite grit, free choice, and limit your chickens’ access to long dry straw or grass. That may mean keeping your birds in their run until you cut the grass for the first time (when it’s green and lush) so they don’t eat the dead dry grass.
Natural remedies for impacted crop
You need to break up the blockage. The best way to do that is with water and massage.
- Withhold food until the impaction is removed. Don’t worry about your chicken getting hungry. Adding food to an already impacted crop will just make things worse and won’t provide any nutrition to the bird since the food can’t get out of the crop and into the gizzard. A chicken can go a few days without food.
- Give your chicken plenty of water. If she isn’t drinking on her own or isn’t drinking much you may have to force feed the water. You want lots of water to break up the blockage.
- Provide granite grit.
- Massage the crop. Try getting as close to the bottom as possible and massage up.
When you think you have removed the impaction:
- Separate your chicken and/or bring her inside for a few days.
- Feed her some layer pellets mixed with water or a hard-boiled egg yolk with water or applesauce which are easy to digest. Don’t feed too much at once. She’s going to be hungry and will fill her crop if she can, you don’t want her to fill her crop until you know it’s working well. Keep an eye on her to be sure the impaction was removed and the crop is emptying.
If water alone doesn’t help break up the impaction you can try olive oil. Many chicken owners swear by it while others swear against it. The way I look at it is: if the oil will save her life and nothing else is working, then try it!
After we fixed the impaction we released Slater back into the flock. After a few days she looked ill again and soon we found out she had sour crop.
What is sour crop and how does a chicken get it?
Sour crop is basically a yeast infection in the chicken’s crop. It often occurs because of an impacted crop that hasn’t been cleared. Then yeast begins to grow and feed on the food that is stuck in the crop.
How do I know if my chicken has sour crop?
Sour crop symptoms:
- A ripe odor coming from her mouth
- A large squishy crop (like a balloon filled with pudding)
- Possibly has goopy (smelly!) liquid come out of the mouth
- Lethargic or just acting odd
Prevention for sour crop
The best prevention for sour crop is, of course, to prevent an impaction, but there are other ways to reduce the risk of yeast growth. One tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to 1 gallon of water (don’t add ACV to a metal waterer as it can rust), as well as regular probiotics (mixed in food or in plain water), are great ways to reduce yeast and support overall chicken health.
Natural remedies for sour crop
If you suspect your chicken has sour crop you need to do two things – empty the crop and kill the yeast. First:
- Withhold water for 12 hours (overnight is fine). After 12 hours offer water with probiotics.
- Withhold food for 24 hours.
If the crop has still not emptied on its own then you may need to help your chicken to “throw up”. It’s not ideal and can be dangerous. But, as I said before, if it’s your last ditch effort to save her life, then do it.
- Hold your chicken upside down and massage her crop toward her mouth. Keep her upside down while the goop is coming out so she won’t respirate the vomit (not longer than a few minutes though).
When the crop is empty you will need to deal with the blockage that caused sour crop (follow the directions for impacted crop above). Once you believe the impaction has passed you can move onto recovery.
- Keep your chicken inside for a few days.
- Feed her a hard boiled egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon of (unsweetened, plain) applesauce and probiotics and give her access to water with probiotics and electrolytes. Wait and assess whether the crop is emptying.
- If the crop is emptying, continue to feed her the egg yolk and applesauce and also offer layer pellets. Watch again to make sure the crop is emptying.
Notes:
Some chicken keepers also recommend oil of oregano for crop issues but I haven’t personally tried it.
Many chicken keepers recommend plain yogurt to treat sour crop but I don’t use it. The only reason I can think of to give yogurt to a chicken is for the benefit of probiotics so I just give probiotics instead.
Some folks are strictly against applesauce for sour crop or impacted crop and others are for it. It’s best not to give sugar (including fruit) because it feeds the yeast. However, applesauce is easy to digest and a nice vessel for giving a sick chicken a probiotic. I think the benefits of the small amount of applesauce outweigh the risks.
If all else fails
Feed Nystatin (an antifungal). This is not a natural treatment but may be your last chance to get your chicken well.
You want to give 100,000 units twice a day. If you are able to get the liquid kind then give 1ml twice a day. If not, you can cut a pill (which are usually 500,000 units) into quarters and call it good enough.
Then crush the pill and add it to a tablespoon of applesauce and feed to your chicken twice a day.
You may be wondering if it’s safe to eat the eggs from a chicken being fed nystatin. I don’t know. However, I didn’t. I just saved the eggs she laid to feed back to her.
Pendulous crop
Pendulous crop is when a chicken’s crop (which is a muscle) has been damaged and no longer hold its shape. Unfortunately, once your chicken has pendulous crop, the crop no longer functions properly.
You can help her crop to work better by massaging it after she eats or making a crop bra to hold the pendulous crop up so that (hopefully) it will empty properly. However, you may have to decide if she is suffering and if it would be better to cull her.
When our chicken, Slater, had an impacted crop, sour crop, and pendulous crop she kept getting sour crop over and over. I now believe it’s because she had a pendulous crop from the initial impacted and sour crop. Every time we started feeding her normally again she would get food stuck in her crop (because it wasn’t working).
In retrospect, I would have put her out of her misery after a few recurring bouts of sour crop. She suffered quite a bit because I didn’t want to “give up”. You live and you learn, right?
How have you dealt with sour crop, impacted crop, and pendulous crop?
I don’t have chickens but this looks like a helpful article for those who do. Thanks for posting at Wildcrafting Wednesday and congrats on being featured this week.
I have a chick about 5 weeks old and she can’t walk, one day she was fine and now she acts paralyzed. Her legs move when she tries to stand but she falls over she just sits now. Plus her crop is big and hard and been full all day. I don’t know what to do…..help. also what is culling?
Culling is when you kill/harvest the animal. It is usually used to imply an unplanned death or loss as opposed to an animal that you raised for the purpose of meat and then slaughter. Sorry to hear about your hen not doing well. If she’s still alive I would suggest isolating her from the others just in case she has a virus. Then follow The protocol posted to rule out crop issues
The paralysis symptoms can be one of many issues from dehydration and electrolyte deficiency to the onset of one our the thousands of viruses common to industrialized chicken farms. I hope it’s something you can treat, I
know it’s really disheartening to lose one.
I cured my chicken from Mereks by giving her homeopathic St Johns Liver Wort (Hybericum). It took about one month & I had to bring her inside & give her a tablet each each. I saw her gradually get control of her nervous system again & now she’s fighting fit and a very healthy chicken – that was a few years ago. I found the cure on the internet. People might say this was just a hurt leg, but it wasn’t – she was in poor condition all round & bit by bit she came good. If it wasn’t the Hybericum then it could just be the good nursing she got which allowed her own immune system to kick in as she got older – but either way the chick needs to be feed by you otherwise it won’t be able to feed itself. The downside now though is she is now a house chicken and is incredibly spoilt & naughty – but I love her!
It sounds like Marek’s disease… There have been successfulstories, it’s a long recovery. It may be sprattle leg too..
I am currently dealing with a hen with sour crop and thrush. I have had a hard time with the local farm vet. He doesn’t want to prescribe nystatin and told me to swab her throat with hydrogen peroxide. I see her slipping away even though I have done all the natural treatments, including yogurt for nutrition and the probiotic benefit, apple cider vinegar, and cooked eggs. She is eating very little. Thanks for a very good post. I hope it helps lots of chicken owners.
:) I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. I hope she gets better!
Janet, just seen your post now. I have a bantam with on and off sour crop for the past year. I have used over the counter Monistat suppositories for the yeast Infection, one third twice per day. I also think the spice remedy is helpful as a support. I found that recipe on a cockatiel site discussing sour crop. I haven’t cured it in my baby but we are keeping it controlled for now.
I have one now that has sour crop. I have given her yogurt and red wine 5cc. She had this last summer too. I think if she keeps getting this Im just culling her. She just happens to be speckled sussex and the sweetest hen we have she loves people and she was my first one to lay. I hate culling her but i dont want to see her suffer anymore.
Sorry your chicken is dealing with this, it’s really tough to make such a big decision, best of luck!
I wonder if there is something in the specked sussex genes. My friend had two with crop problems. Now I have one. She got it last spring, and was good all summer, fall, and now she has it again! It HAS to be something with the genes!
What is culling??
I am in the same boat with a sweet little Easter egger that I bought on, of all things Facebook! All these hens that I purchased this way have had health issues. Including a reaccuring issue with sour crop and vent gleet. I noticed one of them who has had sour crop twice now in her young six months, quietly hiding in the corner today and I knew right away she was in distress from the impaction. I cleared her crop and will start treating her in the morning with Epsom salt water and yogurt and isolate her once again. I have learned my lesson about buying chickens from an unknown seller because I’m afraid that these poor babies are going to pay the price for poor breeding habits. I’m not ready to give up quite yet but I don’t know if I can stand to watch them all go through this over and over. Buyer beware for sure!
Good point Hope. It’s definitely important to feel good about where your chickens are coming from (and to be ok with saying nevermind if needed!)
These sound like horrible conditions to deal with. I have newly acquired a couple of brown leghorn layers which seem very fit, active and responsive with good appetites, but being quite a slight breed, their crops seem prominent compared to the heavier hybrids I had previously. I’ve noticed that when full, the crops bulge more on the right hand side of the bird. It makes them look a little asymmetrical at the end of the day. Is this how a normally functioning crop should be?
I believe that the crop is on the right side of the chest (as opposed to right in the middle) and sometimes stays there when full. Nothing to worry about :)
My 2 and a half year old who has never had a day of illness was so poorly today. I searched the web and found this article. After massage & water didn’t work we gave olive oil & a little red wine. She looked like she was going to die (could hardly walk) so we turned her upside down & loads of brown liquid, grass, mealworms & a huge insect came out! She instantly seemed alot better. We gave her some water with a little spay of oragano oil and tonight she has accepted live yogurt which she is gulping down without any encouragement. Walking around now too so praying we have cleared the impaction & can treat the yeast infection over next days. Thankyou for this article, I think it saved my baby Veronica’s life :-)
I’m so glad it was helpful! Thanks for your kind comment :)
hello,
I found your crop article very informative and helpful as my chicken looks like it has impacted crop. However, feeling the neck; it seems bony, as if the neck is protruding in a large forward curve rather than backwards. Other than this, it is showing the signs of impacted crop. It has been like this for about a week, doesn’t show signs of distress. please can you help, thank you , Les
hmm, could it be the impaction that you are feeling? I’ve never heard of the neck protruding.
Wry neck?
Thank you for this information. It will very useful, now I know it’s something that can help as I just had a chicken to die with this.
My chick is 4 days old and when I left this morning she did not have a bulge but when I got home (1:30 ago, and hour and 30 minutes ago) she had a marble sized bubble and bulge… I don’t think she has impacted crop or sour crop but she just popped and it was diarrhea but she hasn’t been pooping diarrhea but I don’t know what to do it what it is that is wrong with her….. If you know how, please help.
First of all, chickens don’t pee so there urine comes out with there poop, meaning it will often seem like diarrhea but it’s normal. Also, I highly doubt that a 4 day old chick has a crop impaction, especially if she’s only gotten crumbles. You could be noticing the expansion of the crop as she ate more throughout the day (which is normal).
Hi my chicken has a lump under her chin and smelly, is the crop so high up, she stopped eating and drinking yesterday, and looked so poorly when I saw her last night, do I try turning her upside down as someone mentioned it above, then try the yoghurt and wine!! Or is it time to say goodbye to my Henrietta
forgot to say she is also swaying her head from side to side
That’s a tough call Sandra. It does sound like she’s suffering. I would probably try the remedies listed here and then if they don’t work, put her out of her misery. It’s sad but may be necessary. Good luck!
Thank you very helpful article! I will go trough these remedies tomorrow with my little Cochins who both seem to have impacted crop. Glad you brought up sour crop as I would not have thought about that!
NEED HELP. I have a chicken that has a pendulous crop but acts normal, she is very friendly and when I call her she runs very fast with that big baggy crop swinging from sided to side. She is eating and drinking normally but she no longer lays eggs. This has been like this for about 5 months and started when my hens were attacked by a roaming dog. I hate the thought of culling her as she is acting normal, letting us touch her and the crop without a problem or acting as if she is hurting. I am at a loss, should I just let her go as is or what?
I think that depends on what your goals are for your chickens. It sounds like she is feeling ok, so I don’t see any harm in letting her live if you’re ok with that. I doubt she’ll fully recover though so if you don’t want to feed an unproductive hen (I know I don’t) you may want to cull her.
I have a Rhode Island Red who, for the last 4 mornings, has had what looks like a full crop. She is acting normal. Not lethargic and went to the bathroom the last 3 mornings. I’ve had her isolated mostly throughout the day, giving her only water with ACV and yogurt. She downs both. She really seems fine, but shouldn’t her crop not be bulging each morning? Am I over reacting?
Yes I would expect an empty crop in the morning. Massage might help move the blockage.
Got a hen with huge bulging crop. Losing weight. Moves head funny. Isolating herself. Not eating. Crop is firm and filled with what feels like tiny seeds or beads. Could be excess treats. Massage upside down and olive oil regimen has not moved blockage. Any ideas? Anyone tried small incision over crop?
I know that people do try to remove the blockage with an incision. I personally don’t think I have the stomach for it, nor the skill.
Hi I’m glad I read this I have a sweet hen with from what I’ve read is serious pendulum crop. At first I thought she was. Just impacted with eggs because she rallied but today she didn’t want to wake up in the chilly morning I don’t want her to suffer, she just keeps hanging on, not sure what I will do tomorrow 😭
I realize my reply is incredibly late. I’m sorry. I hope she is no longer suffering.
Me too! I’m very sad now. I noticed something was off because it isn’t gaining weight. It’s still a baby but half the size of those his age. I caught it and saw the bulge and found this article. I’m sure it’s pendulum crop. Probably should do the right thing. Wish I had known to watch for this. I’m new to the baby chick thing. Next time I’ll watch much closer. Only one out of 49 chicks too. Good luck to you!
My hen had a swollen crop, it felt like a big water bag. I kept her separate with only water & later massaged her crop & turned her upside down & her crop emptied. I have done this before and it’s been fine. But she started to flap about so I held her back up, then she died in my arms! I feel so terrible, she died because of me ☹️ She must have choked & I didn’t realise until it was too late! She’s only a year old and I raised her from the egg, the guilt is so strong! I had no idea this was a danger to do.
Don’t be so hard on yourself. You did what you thought was right. It’s always a balancing act to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks. I’m so sorry you had to go through that!
One of my hens has a crop the size of a tennis ball. She does not eat or drink,just sits all day all fluffed up. I have given her water with a bit of cider vinegar thru a syringe for the past 3 days. Unfortunately I can only do this once a day when I get home from work. I know 3 days without food cannot be good so i figured i would try to empty her crop. I tried like crazy but nothing came out. I used what I thought was enough force. It felt like I was going to break her neck! Still nothing came out yet I could feel the huge lump moving and actually hear gurgling. The lump seems somewhat softer after I force her to drink and can be squeezed into various shapes but keeps “springing back”.
Hmm, Mark, yours sounds like impaction, not sour crop. So don’t try to make her vomit it out, it is stuck there. You need to get it moving via massage, water and grit especially, if she will eat grit. It needs to grind up the stringy stuff inside. I had one die recently, it was from impaction, but I wasn’t able to save her. I did a post mortem examination of the crop, and it had long strands of grass and plants, from the Spring I would say, her eating dry grass and just got stuck. The others didn’t have the same issue but she did.
I agree with CR.
I have young turkey poults that have a swollen crop, one just a week old, and when Ipick them up liquid comes out of their mouth. Took the month old to a vet, they did a fecal and throat swab, but found nothing. She was put on nystatin abd baytril but it hasn’t helped. The 1 week old has the same problem and was not near the other one.
Sounds like it may be an obstruction. Follow the directions for impacted crop. Hope she gets better!
help me my little chicken eat cockroach and it makes struggle fir my chick.. what i do
Hi all, I have a 2.5 year old hen with an impacted/sour crop that’s been living this way for almost 3 months now. She is active, eating and drinking, but not laying. Not at all. We lost two of our 4 hens in early Spring to a predator and this all started after that so I’m wondering if stress was a factor. Then we got two more pullets. She was laying for awhile while having the damaged crop (was massaging, giving ACV, probiotics, olive oil in eggs, etc. etc) but then all laying stopped and our second hen from the old clan stopped laying completely too (following the lead of our other hen?). Now we have 4 hens and only one of the pullets is laying (just started). We don’t keep hens as pets, we have them for eggs so we’re getting a bit frustrated. I thought the ‘bad crop’ hen would start laying again when the new pecking order was established but nope. Now we’re thinking she may never lay again and we should replace her. Any thoughts on whether a hen with a damaged crop will ever recover and start laying again?
I honestly don’t know, but I think it makes sense that she may not lay again. How old is she?
Roughly 2 and a half years old.
That’s too early for her to be stopping laying on her own… It does seem like the impaction has affected her. I would try to reduce her stress as much as possible and see if that helps.
With crop impact does it affect there voice as I have a hen that sounds like it has asthma or laryngitis when it try to cluck. I began treating her with antibiotics (Oxymav B) for 7 days there was a little bit of improvement but not much so I the wormed her as I had received her from a friend and not sure if she had been wormed, but was wandering if the lost of voice is a symptom of crop impact. She seems healthy and I have had her isolated and kept warm at night.
Yes it can be. You could also try vetRX in case it’s actually a cold like illness.
have a hen with sour crop, trying yogurt, olive oil, Apple cider vinegar in water, when I pick her up everything I gave her comes spewing out, has not eaten in a couple of days, please any advice ??
Sounds like she has an impaction that’s not dislodging. Unfortunately at some point you have to make the decision about whether further treatment and illness is helping or only prolonging suffering. I never like to be at that cross roads. Good luck to you.
I believe my hen has sour crop. We tried to get her to throw up last night but it was unsuccessful. We isolated her and have her confined inside and have been withholding food. She has been drinking diluted apple cider vinegar in water and has seem to perk up after 24hours. Massaging her crop has softened it. She is also opening her mouth to take breaths. Is that common with sour crop? Also how long should I withhold food?
I would withhold food until I was sure the crop had emptied. I’m not sure about the breathing issue. Is it hot where you are? She may be panting to cool down (or if you brought her in from outside where it was cold she may be adjusting).
I have a hard question to ask. My bird has a sour crop, that I am having a hard time curing. If I need to cull her, does this affect her meat?
I will be so sad to loose her as she was My first girl, but I am so thankful for all of my girls’ contribution in every way to our family.
I don’t believe it would affect her meat but I’m not an expert. Maybe ask your local extension office?
My chicken is7mos old and started having symptoms 2 days ago. When she was lethargic and looked pathetic I brought her in last night away from her 5 sisters. She ate like 6 pieces of grain and drank very little water today she hasn’t eaten a thing or drank a thing. My husband and I gave her a bath and massaged her crop apparently in the wrong direction according to what your telling us. I found this after …..
I massaged her again she kept opening her mouth so I gave her water with an eye dropper and stopped… I don’t if she is supposed to throw-up or what or does the impaction just break up and go the other way. How much massaging is enough or to much.
I don’t think you can massage too much. Just keep massaging until the impaction breaks up. If it doesn’t break up or she gets worse, you’ll have to make a tough decision.
Just read the article about emptying the crop by holding upside down and massaging crop, and it says no more than a few minutes. Surely this should be ‘seconds’? Any more than a few seconds and the chicken will aspirate (drown) so please amend this. Thanks
Chickens do not breathe while upside down, that is why it’s a few minutes (and this tactic is clearly a last resort). If you only hold them upside down for a few seconds there will be lots of fluid in their esophagus when you flip them over and THEN they will aspirate and die!
try oregano oil will cure most
I’ve heard about oregano oil and its benefits generally but I’m very unsure how much to use. Do I put it in her water or administer with an eye dropper? The oil is really strong tasting.
You can do either. Using a dropper makes it easier to know how much she’s getting though.
Hi!
I am a new blogger and posted about my chicks having large crops. I got some of my information from your blog and just wanted you to know I reference your post in my blog. I set up a link to your blog as well to give you credit! Thanks for all the great information.
Thanks!
I too, have a Speckled Sussex with chronic sour crop. She hates soft, wet foods, butt I’ve had some success with fermented food.
Excellent information. Mostly people have one chicken with symptom. How could my 7-8 months, 20 of them develop blocked crop the same day? No dry grass. At times I feed them cooked leftover vegetables, which I know are not enough for all to eat them? What went wrong? Thanks
Are you offering grit? They need grit to grind up food, even cooked vegetables.