Poultry Questions Answered - September 2011

Written by Sue Clarke. Provided by New Zealand Lifestyle Block, incorporating Growing Today, magazine September 2011.

Is it sour crop?

One of our chicks has gone down with what I think may be sour crop. It has smelly, almost yeasty breath and has brought up liquid, but is eating cat food ok (although it's eating it like it is going out of fashion). Perhaps we shouldn't be letting them out to wander around the garden? Leigh Gillard

Lifestyle Block poultry expert Sue Clarke replies:

I wonder if this is actually sour crop. If it is, the crop would feel large and sloppy. Have a feel: does it feel soft, or is it compacted, in which case it will have started to ferment, possibly from your chick eating too much fibre like cut grass or other vegetation.

I would be tempted to shut all your birds in for a few days and just feed commercial chick feed (preferably Starter or Grower) and see how they go.

You can put cider vinegar in the water, but not too much or it will put them off drinking (5ml to 10 litres) which should kill any yeasts growing in the crop contents. Feel the crop at night and again in the morning - it should be fullish in the evening and empty in the morning so you can't feel it.

A sour crop will feel very 'liquid', while a bound crop will feel solid. After 12 hours (overnight) you shouldn't be able to feel anything in the crop at all. If you can't, then the problem - if any - is not the crop.

Young birds do tend to fill up on fibre that isn't nutritious enough and then run short of vitamins and protein which then makes them vulnerable to catching other things.

They should be fed either Starter or Grower crumbs/mash/pellets first, as much as they can eat, then be let out to free-range. If they are gobbling up cat food, it's possible they are short of protein - make sure their feed is Starter or Grower, which have higher protein levels than Layer mash.

Is it bumble foot?

My very, very favourite hen is having problems. Duster is a frizzle and for about 5-6 months we have noticed her skipping when she is called for her food. I must be bonkers because I thought this was cute, but now I realise she was limping and now she's standing on one foot. We examined her and consulted How to Care for Your Poultry and thought she might have bumble foot? Glenys Bean, Warkworth

Sue replies:

From the photos you've sent in, this bird looks like it has scaly leg mite rather than bumble foot. Its legs are missing scales and I can see sores. Coat both legs with a thick layer of petroleum jelly or a similar grease, and mix in some Pestene powder if you have any.

I'd also give her 0.1ml of Eprinex cattle pour-on onto the bare skin under her wing per kilo (0.1ml is literally one drop).

It would pay to treat your other birds at the same time as scaly leg mites will affect all of them. These mites are similar to scabies in humans, getting under the skin and making it itchy. Just a bit of antiseptic cream dabbed on the sore-looking bits and then petroleum jelly all over (rub it in with an old tooth brush) should be all she needs without a vet visit (to literally smother the mites to death).

You could also try dressing the open sores with a general purpose salve. Rawleighs Antiseptic Salve is a greasy ointment in a gold tin which might do as both a salve and for smothering the mites (buy online in NZ at www.rawleighs.info [external site]

The swollen joint on her back toe may just be as a result of the disruption to the protective scales on the rest of her feet and legs and possibly some kind of bacterial infection which has gotten in through the sores.

Bumble foot usually occurs first on the sole of the foot and swells up between the toes. It rarely affects the toes at the joints nearest the toes unless the rest of the foot is very badly infected.

The sole of her foot looks normal as much as I can see it and that 'lump' on her back toe is quite normal, perhaps just a little inflamed. I would think she is lame due to a deep crease in behind the toes which appears to be where the infection may have got in. If the scaly leg mite is cured, I suspect the toe may heal too.

This article was provided by NZ Lifestyle Block, incorporating Growing Today magazine.
To subscribe, phone 0800 113 488 or go to www.mags4gifts.co.nz/lifestyleblock [external site]