Ack! Is THIS an impacted crop?

[welovechickens]

My bantam loves to dirt-bathe, and when she gets to a certain point in her dirt-bathing (usually after laying in the dirt scratching for 15-20mins) she lays on her side and her feet keep twitching and she looks like she's having a seizure LOL.....if I stand her up, she takes a step or two and then sinks onto her side. She is just completely relaxed.

It takes her a bit to "rev up" again after the dirt-bathing. Also my chickens will try bathing in dirt no matter how wet it is.

Hoping your chickie is just fine.

 

[soldieratheart]

Hey everyone, thanks for responding and for your advice! The chick still has a (smaller) bump in it's crop, but it is quite soft and doesn't seem to bother it at all. It is doing fine, actually I put it back in the brooder with the other chicks for the night and put the ACV water in there too. I did also remove the litter box, maybe the sand really was an issue and it just took a couple weeks? Anyway better safe than sorry. A bunch of the chicks, on closer inspection, have "swollen" crop areas so I am thinking that they are just FED and full of food! It's certainly not bugging anyone. So, I will see if it goes away now that the sandbox is gone.

The only problem now, is that I wanted to move them to their new coop soon, which will have - of course - a sand floor! So I will have to figure that one out.

Thanks again for all the advice and feedback - I am so glad that you guys are here to help us newbie chickie owners!

 

[Quillgirl]

An impacted crop is usually very hard, not mushy. YOu are describing sour crop, I believe. It's a yeast infection that causes a bloated, gassy crop that feels like a balloon. Treat with ACV water (1 tbsp per gallon) to acidify the crop and kill the yeast. don't give grains or sugary stuff until the crop is back to normal.

 

[soldieratheart]

Ohhhhh... thanks so much! I did not even know that was happening!

So when you say to hold off on grains, does that include their regular feed as well? (I use Purina Sunfresh Starter/Grower).

 

[a2ms4chickens]

We had a chick with that problem a while back. The crop felt mushy, and it was lethargic.

I separated it from the others, and gave it ACV water. I also massaged its crop a few times per day, and withheld its food for a day.

The next morning the crop had gone down some, and I gave it some food, continued the ACV water and massaging the crop. By the 3rd day, it was back to normal.

Good luck!!