14 month old hen has rock-hard crop but otherwise no symptoms

[lmlamp3]

I have a 14 month old hen whose penchant for eating the straw bedding caused me to switch to pine flakes about three months ago. When I realized what she was doing and how often I also found her crop was as hard as a stone. I got rid of virtually every blade of straw and hoped it would eventually clear up on its own, but three months later it's the same. It's 10 birds on about 1,800 square feet enclosed so nothing grows -- their diet is mainly ordinary pellet feed with occasional greens I bring in. She seems healthy with no symptoms of anything apart from the hardness, so I am hesitant to act - "first, do no harm." Her feeding and drinking habits and poop seem normal. Should I wait longer? Or intervene with crop massages & mineral oil (or even surgery)? Or do some birds just normally have a harder crop?

 

[elissarules]

I would massage the crop. The hard crop could lead to her not getting enough nutrients and could thin out. I don’t think it would hurt to treat her for impacted crop and see how it works. Maybe hold off on the surgery?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She seems healthy with no symptoms of anything apart from the hardness,

When are you checking the crop?
If you are feeling the crop during the day it will be at various stages of fullness.

Feel the crop first thing in the morning before she has had anything to eat or drink. If it is not empty, then you will want start treating her for crop issues.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments