Recent content by Matilda84

Hi there! I had someone ask a question on a reply I wrote about sour crop and impacted crop in chickens, asking if ducks could get these issues too. I informed them that yes ducks can also get the same crop issues as chickens. But this started me thinking about it, and impacted crop in chickens...

3/7/2024 9pm

I am afraid I only know what to do for an adult chicken with sour crop, and I am not sure what would be safe or sensible to do with a chick. Sorry I can't help more, but thanks for the tag. Maybe @Eggcessive could help?

Yes as someone already said it can be a sign of many different problems. I would suggest worming her if you haven't recently. However I had a girl who suddenly started regularly getting a really poopy butt when she was about 3, but she was completely healthy otherwise for a good year or two, we...

Poor girl :( Yes she definitley seems quite sick and the poop on her butt is a sign of diarrhoea. Has she been wormed recently? It could be intestinal parasites, or some kind of bacterial infection, or many other things going on internally aswell, its often quite hard to tell with chickens. I...

Its hard to tell. Feather shafts tend to have a rich blood supply so will bleed easily if damaged at all. Could maybe have been pecked by another chicken or by herself when preening? I don't know if mites would cause this or not, but if neither her or any of your other chickens have any other...

I believe you can also use olive oil, but this might be more difficult to give her.

Yeah that wasn't what I meant. Sorry for the confusion! ok sorry! I just wanted to make sure I am not giving people incorrect information :)

I was mostly talking about specifically bred hybrid hens, that are bred to optimise egg production. But I am sure with any kind of bird there will be many exceptions where some lucky ones have lived nice long lives! I sincerely apologise if I am mistaken. My vet did say that for hybrid hens...

Hybrids generally live for much less time than pure breeds, and hens which lay lots of eggs generally also have shorter lifespans due to increased risk of developing reproductive infections such as egg peritonitis. Out of the hens I have had (all hybrid egg laying breeds) the oldest any have...

Probably just a teaspoon to a tablespoon to start with, maybe diluted a little, especially if it is a particularly strong/concentrated brand. Maybe see what some credible websites like British hen welfare trust or chicken vet recommend? After that just add a little to her water.

I would guess that moving them to a new caused stress which can lead to feather pecking. Additionally if their new area is not big enough or has less things do do e.g. less dirt to scratch in or less things to peck at, then it could be boredom, although from your pictures it looks like they do...

Oh no poor girl! :( You could always try a chicken 'crop bra' as these can help food to empty quicker, however it seems to me like she may be past a stage where this would help. As someone has already mentioned crop problems, especially long-term or recurring problems are almost always a sign...

Sounds to me like she has had both sour crop and impacted crop as one can tend to cause the other. For example impacted crop is when the food in the crop cannot empty as it is blocked, which can then resolve itself, but the food having remained in the crop for so long can start to ferment...

Thank you so much everyone for all your lovely messages! I really appreciate it!