Brahma with huge crop

[chanceosunshine]

Barbie is 1.5 years old. I've noticed her crop being large the last few evening, but I was chalking it up to a big bedtime snack. Yesterday, I realized that it looked really huge and I never really see it get smaller. I removed her from the flock last night. She has access to whatever she can get from the grass now and yogurt and olive oil that I gave her. She definitely has an appetite. I've been massaging the crop as well. It's a bit smaller this morning but still too big to be considered normal. Anything else I should be doing for her?
ETA that she does seem to be swallowing "hard" sporadically.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Barbie is 1.5 years old. I've noticed her crop being large the last few evening, but I was chalking it up to a big bedtime snack. Yesterday, I realized that it looked really huge and I never really see it get smaller. I removed her from the flock last night. She has access to whatever she can get from the grass now and yogurt and olive oil that I gave her. She definitely has an appetite. I've been massaging the crop as well. It's a bit smaller this morning but still too big to be considered normal. Anything else I should be doing for her?View attachment 2167990

Use coconut oil, it's more slippery? You'll have to continue with the crop massage until the food passes.

 

[chanceosunshine]

Use coconut oil, it's more slippery? You'll have to continue with the crop massage until the food passes.

Thanks, I'll take her some now.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thanks, I'll take her some now.

Make sure the coconut oil is solid, & broken into chunks when you give it to her since it'll melt on it's way down to the crop?

 

[coach723]

Have you ever wormed her or had a fecal done to check for internal parasites? Carrying a load of worms can cause the crop to get slow or stop sometimes. Do you know when she last laid? Reproductive problems can also cause crop problems. The coconut oil and massage are good. I would do it several times a day at least. I would not give her any food for 24 hours, and then only water soluble stuff, nothing fibery at all. Best thing to feed would be some regular feed mixed with water to make a mash. Another option is a crop bra, to help support the crop. When they get stretched out and become pendulous then they don't empty properly, so it may help.
Good articles on crop issues:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

 

[chanceosunshine]

Have you ever wormed her or had a fecal done to check for internal parasites? Carrying a load of worms can cause the crop to get slow or stop sometimes. Do you know when she last laid? Reproductive problems can also cause crop problems. The coconut oil and massage are good. I would do it several times a day at least. I would not give her any food for 24 hours, and then only water soluble stuff, nothing fibery at all. Best thing to feed would be some regular feed mixed with water to make a mash. Another option is a crop bra, to help support the crop. When they get stretched out and become pendulous then they don't empty properly, so it may help.
Good articles on crop issues:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

I haven't wormed her or had a fecal done. Is there a wormer at the farm stores that would take care of the flock or is that a vet necessary visit?
I'm 95% positive that she laid yesterday. Now that she's alone I should be able to know for sure.
She did eat all of the coconut oil and I'll take her some more. The crop hasn't shrunk yet.

Thank you for the links.

 

[Grace8269]

She probably has a sour or impacted crop. Also, you should know that chickens crops are always bigger at the end of the day. So maybe you should wait until the morning to see if her crop is still abnormally big. Anyway, you should tilt her, almost upside down (but not that far), and then massage her crop. She should throw up, but remember that she can choke on her vomit, so be careful. Also, when your done with that, I've found that later feeding your chicken yogurt really helps.

 

[coach723]

I don't vomit birds, it's really easy for them to aspirate when doing that. That would always be a last resort for me. My preference for worming in this situation would be Valbazen, which you would have to buy online probably, it's less common in local stores. It's always best to have a fecal done when you can so that you know exactly what you are treating for, but if you cannot then Valbazen will cover most of the common worms. Valbazen you would dose twice 10 days apart. You can also use Safeguard liquid goat wormer, which you are more likely to find locally. Dose amount will be more and for roundworm only would be two doses 10 days apart, for some of the others it requires dosing 5 days in a row. Some vets will do a fecal on chickens, some will not. There are also mail in options that are good, unless it's an emergency.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5SOZ...colid=27RHKHAM35GO&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[chanceosunshine]

So, she seemed very "out of sorts" this afternoon, but is acting better now. I gave her coconut oil and massages several times today. Her crop is still big. It feels like a huge stress ball. She doesn't smell sour, she smells like coconut. lol
I'm giving her water and yogurt
aside from the coconut oil.
I don't think I feel comfortable making her throw up at this point. I'm going to try to nurse her through until Monday when I can call the vet.
Oh, and she is definitely still laying.

Thank you all for the advice!

 

[Punkybrewster]

Look up pendulous crop.