Perpentual Crop Problems

[MichelleT]

Hello everyone! I have a Speckled Sussex (3 years old) that has had a perpetual reoccuring crop problem for over a year now. I can usually get it cleaned up with massages, crop bra, anti-fungal meds and the occasional stool softener and we have a couple months of reprieve before it starts over again. This time, I can't get it to clear, and it's been more than 2 weeks.
- her crop doesn't empty completely, even though I put a crop bra on her every night... it's always smaller (sometimes 1/2 as full, sometimes almost empty, but never completely empty - except Mother's Day, when it was)
- she has no decrease in appetite
- we do have Marek's in the flock, so it could definitely be a symptom and not the actual problem
- she has lost weight recently
I have tried the olive oil thing in the past (didn't seem to do any good), and acidified copper sulfate (also didn't seem to do much, but I'm tyring that for the next few days to see if I can break this cycle).
- she's still laying on schedule and her poop looks pretty darn normal

I'm racking my brains and the internet to see if anything else might work. If anyone has had a bird with a perpetual problem like this and can help me try maybe one more thing, I'm all ears.

Thanks so much in advance...

 

[coach723]

Have you ever wormed your birds or had a fecal done to check for internal parasites? If you can get a fecal done (not usually very expensive) that will rule that in or out as a possible cause. Slow crops, or sometimes complete blockages, can be caused by parasites.

 

[MichelleT]

Have you ever wormed your birds or had a fecal done to check for internal parasites? If you can get a fecal done (not usually very expensive) that will rule that in or out as a possible cause. Slow crops, or sometimes complete blockages, can be caused by parasites.

I do worm every spring and every fall, with Safeguard, but have not had them checked. I'll do that for sure.