Sour Crop

You learn very quickly when you see one of your chickens vomiting up stringy goo that that isn't normal behavior. After looking on various chicken websites, thanks to Google, I found out that Spidey has what's called sour crop.

A chicken has one stomach that is divided into 2 parts. The first part is called the "crop" and the second part of the stomach is called the "gizzard". When a chicken eats something like string, long grass, or sometimes bread, it can get lodged in the crop, causing it to swell and become spongy like a water balloon. If not treated properly, it can cause bloating, yeast build-up, and eventually death.

After reading different websites, I decided the first thing I needed to do is separate little Spidey from the rest of the flock so I can keep a better eye on her. Next, I took 1/2 cup of baking soda and mixed it with 1 pint of warm water. I took a needle-less syringe, filled it up and squirted some of it in her mouth, letting her drink it slowly.

Next, I tried putting her head down and began to massage her crop. Apparently, I didn't put her head down far enough, because next thing I knew I had nasty half-digested chicken feed all over my face, arms, and legs. Yuck.

Next thing I did was continue to massage her crop. Did you know that chickens can burp? I did not either! Now, mind you, these aren't your little polite burps either...little Spidey can rival the burps of your middle-school aged boy who just won the burping championship!

So, I guess we'll just keep her off of food for 24 hours and take her water away for 12 hours and see what happens. I will massage her crop again this evening (making sure I hold her upside down correctly this time) to see if any other liquids come out of her, repeating this for the next few days until she seems better.

It's funny, I never thought I would say this, but we're all praying for Spidey. She just happens to be the favorite family chicken and we are trusting that she will pull through.