Hi @appps
I only pop into this thread from time to time, so I hope you don't mind me commenting on your post this morning. It just struck a bit of a chord with me, and I wanted to lend you my support.
My Buff Orpington girl, Fire Ant (yes, she is the Queen of the Coop!) presented with a severely impacted crop last year. By the time I realised something was wrong, she was standing in a corner of the coop, eyes closed, and was quite unaware of her surroundings. She had lost a lot of condition, but with me being a new chicken owner, I didn't realise she was considerably underweight until my vet pointed it out to me. Her prominent keel bone was like a knife blade at the time, and her crop hung out in front of her by several inches due to her impaction.
Anyway, long story short the vet told me there was no hope for her if we did nothing, and that whilst he had never performed crop surgery ever before, he had seen it done on Youtube, and would be more than happy to give it a go! He was actually excited about it, and did a heap of research the day before surgery, so we both went into it positively (unlike Fire Ant, lol) and figured we would give her the best shot at survival that we could.
The surgery went well. The vet loved Fire Ant. The clinic girls adored her too. Fire Ant liked no-one, lol, but that was not unusual in itself!
She spent five days on pain killers and antibiotics. The painkillers were essential, and when I woke each morning I could hear her whimpering in her cage outside, presumably because she was uncomfortable and needed her next dose. It took a good week before she seemed comfortable, during which time she would only peck at vegetables and would not go near any commercial feeds. The vet said "Let her have what she wants, she will know what she needs" and whilst she continued to lose weight for a couple of weeks, she did look livelier and happier.
Fast forward to now, four or five months later, and she is laying one or two eggs a week. She is back to being the boss of the coop (even our rooster, George, defers to her!) and complaining loudly and constantly about everything. In short, she is back to her usual, cranky, loveable self!
I just wanted to share my story with you to let you know that there is hope for your girl. I don't know how our cases compare, or wether you caught it earlier than I did, but nothing in the world is impossible. It may end well, it may not, but you are giving your girl every possible chance at survival, and that is so commendable.
You are in my thoughts, and I wish you all the very, very best.
Krista
. The vet just rang to say she's out of surgery and I thought I'd just update you all so good to hear the lost weight doesn't mean it can't be done 
