really BIG crop

[FisherMOM]

if you separate her, she will need supplemental heat.. like a light or something. could you bring her in the house or basement in a dog crate or large cat carrier? She needs to not be able to get access to things that will plug up her crop.

A squishy crop is a good sign, in my opinion. Feed her a few small, oil soaked pieces of bread, if you can .. and massage her crop.. GENTLY.

Is she pooping at all? This is why it is best to isolate her, so that you can see if she is pooping and all.. but if food is barely going through her system, she will not be able to keep herself warm all alone. It's kind of a tough call as to what to do. Follow your heart. If you think that she is doing ok out in the coop.. leave her there, just watch her.

 

[Penske]

Is there such a thing as a workshop or class that I could take somewhere on caring for chickens? Wouldn't that be a great thing to do for all of us that encounter these things for the first time and then have no idea HOW to actually DO it? Like syringes in the mouth, knowing how to massage a crop, giving injections when needed? UGH! This is so frustrating!

People on this forum know WAY more than vets on this subject and I find you all so helpful. BUT...then to DO it on your own...

I am rambling...I'll go check her again. The rooster seems to be looking out for her, too. He knows something is wrong. She is his favorite hen...he's not mounting her at all, just standing close by...

 

[princess araucana]

if she is by herself she might need some heat because she doesn't have any friends to cuddle with.

You can also do a search through the whole forum in the little box in the upper right corner. There is specific advice for sour crop.
Miss Prissy has great advice.

Mine had an impacted crop but was not sour. You may need to give a 1/4 tsp of apple cider vinegar (ACV) straight to the beak to help control bacteria in crop. the dilute ACV in the water may not be strong enough. You will need a syringe without a needle or an eye dropper to administer.

After sourness goes away probiotics/ yogurt can help with digestion.

good luck!

 

[Ryu]

I had a young roo with a sour crop. I bought some Crop Bound Capsules, and he his crop emptied in less than 24 hours.

 

[FisherMOM]

Penske.. I learned what I know by doing it when I had to... read, read, read... that is your best hope.

 

[thkosan]

What are Croup Bound capsules and where do you get them????

 

[Penske]

Just if anyone is interested...

My barred rock hen seems to be doing better. She's not as "puffy" and is now having normal poops. She's eating and drinking--and today, took a dust bath. I ended up not isolating her. I felt that she would be more stressed in an unfamiliar environment. The other hens were not bothering her at all. The roo was keeping a close watch on her (it was sweet!) It was touch and go, as she would go off by herself. I am putting ACV in all the waterers and removed the loose grassy hay from the run (I think it was the culprit). Looking back, she started to get puffy in the front starting in the end of February, and this past week was the worst, but, like I said, it seemed to work itself out. We did up-end her last weekend and she vomited, which seemed to help.

Thanks to all who responded!

 

[FisherMOM]

Pensky.. she sounds like she is on the mend! Yeah! I am happy for her and you. Good job!

 

[Country Heart]

Great thread - Thanks MissPrissy!

I am making a house call for a crop problem today - will follow your advice and hope for the best.

 

[cherp68]

I know this post is old, but it has great info about impacted crop which I think one of my girls has.
Yesterday I noticed that one of our 2 girls was spending a little extra time in her coop. I sat with her and held some food in my hand which she quickly took. I noticed that her crop was protruding a bit so I felt it - it was the size of a golf ball. I checked the healthier hen and could not feel any kind of lump. "Twitchys" (the sick hen) crop was also very red and warm to the touch. I quickly ran into the house to this site to look up information and figured what she has must be an impacted crop. I do not smell anything foul from her beak.
I gave her some olive oil via a medicine drop (many I have in the house from 2 young boys), she took that okay but seemed to just want to eat. I also isolated her in a smaller coop we keep outside - the problem with that coop is that she can walk around outside covered but still peck at the dirt. I gave her some ACV in water but she didn't want to drink it, she didn't want to drink even plain water. She stayed in the coop for about 4 hours and I noticed that her poops were small and starting to look slimy (maybe the olive oil?).
BTW, I was also massaging her crop, she seemed to like that.
Last night when it was time to close the ladies up for the night I put her in with her roomate in the big coop but took out their food and only left their water which only has plain water.
This morning she was cheery, there was a larger poop that I think was hers because again it seemed slimy. Her crop felt normal, infact I couldn't any lump at all. She quickly found the feed outside of the coop an ate ferociously. She layed a beautiful egg (she hasn't missed a day laying) and eventually wandered the yard with her buddy.

I should mention also that she is has broken feathers all over. I started to notice them near the end of our winter. I figured it was from boredom since the girls didn't come out much in the cold weather. But now we have had good weather for over a month and she has even more broken feathers in various areas of her body. I have checked for mites and don't see any, yesterday I noticed she does have what looks like dandruff.

After "Twitchy" was roaming for about 2 hours I checked her crop and it was full again, squishy and a bit smaller than yesterday. Her buddy "Feisty"'s crop feels almost the same. I read somewhere that there crop will stay full for 3-4 hours after they eat before it passes - is this true?

Does anyone have any suggestions or guidance about what I should do, what I've already done or general help? We have our girls since last July (it's now April) so we are still learning as we go.