Another sick hen..same symptoms

[aart]

Her crop was clear again this morning, and she had pooped quite a lot. It all looked very normal.

Did you put her back out with the flock for the day...and turn off the heater in the basement room for tonight?

 

[vantain]

Did you put her back out with the flock for the day...and turn off the heater in the basement room for tonight?

It was 60 in the room she was in last night. I have not yet taken her outside. It is currently 19F outside.

 

[vantain]

Pine shavings, especially the mini stuff, can cause crop impaction, too. There was a thread just last week here where shavings were the cause of impaction. That hen appeared to have a compulsion to eat them (pica) and I recommended psyllium (Metamusil) to try adding to her food as both a substitute and a preventative. Keep close watch on your hens if you suspect they are eating more than just a flake or two every so often and/or switch to larger flakes.

Saw this is another post, and often thought about this. I kind of wonder if this is my hens issue. I have observed her eating very fine pieces of pine shavings, and maybe that was her problem with this crop incident.

Incidentally, the hen I lost back in May also had crop issues, and I mentioned way back then that I thought that hen was eating pine shavings. In her case though, things led to reproductive issues, and she never recovered.

What would cause them to eat so much of the fine pine shaving particles?

 

[casportpony]

I didn't see any pine shavings in her poop though.

 

[aart]

What would cause them to eat so much of the fine pine shaving particles?

azygous explained it pretty well in that thread.
I know they like to eat wood....like the rotting logs out in the run.

 

[azygous]

It requires lab tests on humans to determine what causes their pica. Pica is the compulsive urge to eat things with no nutritional value such as dirt, gravel, metal, paper, and in the case of some chickens, wood shavings. Sometimes it's an iron deficiency, and other times it's psychological. With chickens, we can only guess.

I am led to wonder if eating cellulose satisfies some deficiency the chicken has. I have suggested to a couple of people with chickens that eat shavings to mix psyllium (Metamucil) into their food and see if that curbs this urge. It has the benefit of drawing fluids into the crop contents and that could possibly help prevent the crop from getting impacted from eating shavings. It would be an experiment because it's currently only a theory of mine.

Most of the time with impacted crop, you can treat with oil and stool softener and sometimes a molasses flush to blast loose the impacted material. But when the impaction refuses to bust loose with normal treatments, then crop surgery is an option. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/please-help-my-pet-hen-is-sick-need-help.1344273/ Not doing anything can result in starvation and death.

 

[vantain]

Well..she's restless...so I'm going to let her out with the flock for the rest of today. It's 24F outside. She's been eating, drinking and pooping all morning, so that is good. She is squawking right now, so I think she is bored. I'll bring her back in for the night to make she can clear her crop for a third night. It's supposed to be single digits tonight.

 

[vantain]

Well...she did well outside today, and is back inside for the night. I have turned off the heat completely in the basement room, and it is 60 in there. It should drop into the upper 50s in there overnight. She still seems to be processing food fine, as her crop is clearing.

 

[vantain]

Day three of a clear crop. This is looking good.

 

[casportpony]

Day three of a clear crop. This is looking good.

That is great news! How's her weight, still 4 pounds, or has she gained a little?