- Jul 3, 2011
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After a vet visit and three different treatment protocols, I've recently stopped doctoring my six-year-old buff Orpington for what presented as a sour crop. The vet did a crop flush and cytology and found what seems to be a thickening or growth low on the inner lining of the crop; I think she suspects cancer, and I feel I've done all I can in case it's not cancer. Now the hen -- who continued laying through three weeks of miconazole, meloxicam and acidified copper sulfate -- has gone broody. I'm trying to break her of it so I can see what's what, as they get quite distressed when broody and excluded from the nest. Mostly, I am concerned about a lot of dustbathing and preening, head-shaking, some odd noises (little yells, apart from the broody cluck) and wonder if anyone else has seen these behaviors in a hen that might be in pain, say from tumors or some other inner thing gone wrong. She is not eating or drinking as she was, but that also could be related to broodiness; she walks and runs around quite a bit. My typical experience with sick and dying hens involves lethargy, droopiness and not vocalizing, not this kind of behavior, but she does not seem happy. I'll know more when she's out of her broody trance, but I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has seen what they interpreted as atypical signs of pain or discomfort.