Sour Crop

went in loft this morning, hen looks for have sour crop, looks to be holding corn / water , ive had this problem a few years ago and never really treated them correctly, but now im pretty sure its sour crop .

i know there are sour crop / charcoal tablets, but ive seen a video on youtube where the fancier turns the bird upside down and massages the crop, and water and corn come out emptying the crop ........he then flushes the crop out with bicarb and water mix and empties the crop again...........finally after a few minutes rest he put a small amout of the bicarb mix into the crop and leaves it in.

any thoughts anyone, as im thinking of doing this when i get home from shopping .

i never did it david but like you i saw a video of others doing so,when i had a hen with it i witheld corn for 24 hours and gave charcoal tablets but she never had any mush in the crop as such and when it gets to that stage maybe emptying the crop is a good idea ,avidress will help to along with black minerals and when you start to feed again make it light like a depurative mix for a week

i feed mixed grit and black minerals every day darren, but yesterday i had ran out, and needed to make another mix ......i planned on mixing it during the day and giving in the afternoon, but got waylaid and never gave them any .........but surely just missing one day wouldnt cause this would it ?

i know my brother once used ropa b neat down a ybs throat when it came back after being away for a few days, it was packed with corn out of the fields ............i asked him what he thought of the ropa b, and he said " not sure, but its great for making them sick up whats in the crop"

ive given her half a charcoal tablet earlier, so ill see if she improves, if not its going have to be held upside down and massaging the crop to get any water / food out , not looking forward to it, but it has to be done eh .

just done it, a load of water and black charcoal tablet came out............didnt smell too good, will do it again tomorrow and flush the crop out with bicarb and water mix .

Never come across it myself but sounds nasty David.

Hope you sort it out.

Regards.

just looked in at her, was drinking water .............. , kind of defeated the object, i think tomorrow its emptying the crop again and syringing bicard and water down ...........at least the smelly water is out for now anyway .

the bird will drink naturally to digest absolutely anything in its crop....david get some charcoal tablets from boots "activated charcoal" tablets for humans and give 2 for 3 days but give the 2 at once ,you will know if they are working by the black pooh in the loft ...sour crop rears its head when birds are sitting eggs near hatch date then taken away and crop milk sours within the bird ,i split mine when i know i am done breeding its easier anyway and they get a good rest before the next years breeding cycle ,i usually split mine in early august

yes i suspected that, mine are on pot eggs, and i was supposed to seperate cocks and hens last week, but didnt .......

local boots is miles away, i wonder if other chemists have the same thing ?

yes they will david,just ask for activated charcoal ,most chemists will supply it

thanks darren ........

If you have a "Pets at Home" branch nearby they sell powdered charcoal for about £3 a tub, lasts for ages. These get a few drops of rape seed oil on corn which helps the charcoal stick, approx 1 level teaspoon powder to 20 birds twice a week.
But tablet best for sick birds though if they aren't eating.

Sometimes the problem lies in the digestive track and gizzard and backs up in the crop when food isn't passing through being steadily digested.

Crack out some Coal.
A cleanser of the head.
Likewise 'Highlight' popped in the eye.
It should go out the wattl/wattle as quick as. If not then sa cleansing is needed there for sure.

Would have thought David if you had black minerals available all the time you would not have this trouble.

(From possible suggestions for cures).

Regards.

Had a look around David.

Apparently it is usualy caused by bad grit or bad feed, so the only way to prevent it is to have sound both and no pre treatment would be of any use.

Always thought fresh grit of the right quality and black minerals helped to maintain good health.

Tis a funny thing though, wild birds appear to hsve no such problems and never seen one at a chemists shop.

Regards.

yes i do misty, its available 24/7 but the day i noticed a problem i hadnt topped up the previous day ..........i do think its what darren says, sitting eggs and them not hatching, the milk turns sour and sits in the crop, ive had this before years ago but never really got to the bottom of the problem .

tis strange misty, the birds in the garden loft get black minerals and grit daily, but the birds still in my old loft get grit and minerals a couple of times a week or maybe 3- 4 times a week, just depends .........but the ones in the old loft never seem to get this problem, and look in better condition than the ones in the garden loft .

Pigeons are stranger than fiction when attempting to analyse many aspects.

When I first started with our feathered friends my pigeons suffered the ills of the day.mainly one eyed cold and canker and coxi.

Sulphermethodine cured the latter and several remedies cured the other two but the only way to erradicate canker is to cull and sort out and cull the carries that show no signs themselves, ( today in many lofts it would be the whole lot).

Then when returning from army service and later took up the sport again I was lucky enough to have some sound advice from a Mr Kellaway by means of a hand written book.

From then on I took his advice and my own thoughts and had open loft and culled until the inmates showed no signs of illness, not over night, but well worth it.

Any fancier who new my pigeons would agree that they were never ill.

One thing that stands out in pigeon health, those who have clinical lofts and give preventative treatments etc; will ALWAYS have problems.

The fact is that I have no idea whatsoever what my pigeons may eat etc; whilst out all day but they obviously knew better than me, you CANNOT BEAT NATURE.

Too many fads and commerce now involved David.

I always had fresh grit and black minerals available but if they all took them I have no idea.

Funny old game.

Regards.


.

Forgot one of the most important health benifit for both humans and pigeons.

Garlic both long term and short term.

Proven beyond doubt by the Romans as an important preventative and curative along with immune builder.

Mine had it in the water every day, so the pigeons had it every day from birth.

Also burnt lime in the deep litter dealt with any funnies that got in and turned droppings into part of the litter.

But then why keep things simple when you can complecate them beyond belief.


Regards.

just been to boots chemist asked for the charcoal tablets, never felt so embarased .....a queue behind me and the woman comes back with them, says to me "yes they are very good for wind"

i didnt even bother to say they are not for me, they are for animal treatment .......although thinking about it, i should have said "yes, they`ll be great for the wife"

Lol ... I must send that post to the 'Good lady' David lol.

she might read it on here daz ..........

Main thing David has it worked ?.

Or is a trumped up idea ?.

Hope the former.

Regards.

maybe so misty, might be a load of hot air ............


seriously though, got home and the stupid woman has given me capsules not tablets ......the capsules are massive , just wondering if i could open them up and add water to make a tablet ...?

A bit late this time. But many fanciers buy 'Empty Capsules' to fill in regards giving the birds their' dosages. Great of course for indeviduals.