Impacted crop

[Beer can]

After I got everything out of her crop I fed her Greek yogurt AND mixed lots of olive oil in it, figured if anything was left in there it would help her pass it.

 

[Michelle2639]

Unfortunately, this mass is not soft enough that she could vomit anything up. I spent the entire day yesterday, every 15 minutes giving her a 12ml syringe of water and massaging. She's exactly the same this morning. Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[Beer can]

I probably got lucky, or she did anyway. She was still eating and drinking when I noticed it. Her crop was massive, but still squishy.

 

[TwoCrows]

I didn't read all the posts maybe someone else mention force puking.
I had a EEgr with a bound crop, hers was soft though, and HUGE. I thought she was just growing faster than the others. When I realized something was wrong I picked her up and she pucked a little, gross. I Googled her symptoms and read a article by the chicken chick on puking a chicken. I held her upside down and gently massaged and forced out some puke and let her up for air. Repeated untill it was harder and used a little more force, figured it was going to die anyway if I didn't get the blockage out, she was full of hay and food. At one point I think she did die, had a wad of hay that took awhile to gently pull out of her throat and mouth, she did the death flop, performed chicken cpr and she came back. There was probably a softball size pile of hay and gook that came out of her crop. Isolated her and fed her only Greek yogurt and water for a couple days. She lived! Her sagy stretched out crop went back to normal and she now is laying nice green spotted eggs. Don't know if this will help, but if your out of options maybe it's worth a try?

Your bird didn't have an impaction, yours had a slow or sour crop. These types you can vomit the liquids out. Impactions do not come out this way.

 

[speckledhen]

Your bird didn't have an impaction, yours had a slow or sour crop. These types you can vomit the liquids out. Impactions do not come out this way.

Agreed. And I've lost Orpington hens to sour crop when they regurgitated just from minor pressure on the crop, sadly. Orps are prone to crop issues, but mostly pendulous crop, which can lead to sour crop from inadequate emptying of the crop.

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: X2 I had a BA with all kinds of slow and sour crop issues all her life. She wore a crop bra during these times with issues to keep the crop from stretching out too far. Once the crop gets too stretched they get pendulous.

 

[speckledhen]

X2 I had a BA with all kinds of slow and sour crop issues all her life. She wore a crop bra during these times with issues to keep the crop from stretching out too far. Once the crop gets too stretched they get pendulous.

Ladyhawk's veterinarian had consulted with us both about the issue. It's definitely a genetic thing with these Orps, passed on from mother to daughter. He said he could do a "crop tuck" but the muscles would eventually just go back to their flaccid state and it would lead to death anyway. LH has had several daughters of my Suede with a hen who suffered from this thing. She lost one blue Orp hen not long ago, at the same age as the hen's mother also died from it. On my 4 yr old hen, Smoky, her crop just completely quit. Even empty, it refused to function any longer. Sad, but one of those things that there is really no true cure for, only trying to bolster the poor dear up as long as you can.

 

[Beer can]

WOW, guess I did her lucky. My EEgers crop went back to normal. Probably helped she was young, around 16 weeks. Haven't had any problems since, and they will be a year old in May. Guess she learned not to gorge herself on hay.
Wish you, and your hen the best of luck Michelle.

 

[casportpony]

Tubing sounds like a good idea, I never got to the point where I needed to do it.
Just keep massaging all the time, tubing sounds pretty simple, just put a little bit of water in first, tiny tiny, just to make sure it's in hone right hole..
Good luck, be positive!
X

Tubing is very easy, and no need to put a a little water in first to make sure it's in the "right hole", 'cause it's almost impossible to put a large tube in the wrong hole, plus one can feel the tube as i goes down the esophagus. However, it is important to have the tube as far down as it will go, and in the case of an impaction, that's means the tube needs will probably go to the impaction, but not into the crop. Make sense?

-Kathy

Edited to add:
I am available to teach *anyone* that wants to learn.

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: Sorry you have had so much trouble with your Orps crops. So far I have only seen it in one of my Orps. Lots of things are genetic and crops are no different. I keep the crop bra handy all the time as once they get too stretched out and go pendulous they can quit on the bird. I believe it was a feed issue with my hen and switched her over to FF and or plain ground grains. She never had an issue after the switched and went 1 1/2 years crop problem free after this. Where as before it was a monthly event with her and the slow and sour crop.