Broody Hen has really hard crop!!!

[Annalyse]

Picking up my broody silkie and placed her on the roost realizing that her crop is really hard. It's supposed to be squishy and soft right? Is it because shes broody?

I am leaving tomrrow morning for a trip and wont be able to watch it so I just want some answers and maybe my care giver can watch how it turns out.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

A crop should be firm right after eating, so unless it is rock hard, it probably is because she ate recently.

Squishy would be a nearly empty crop or possibly a sour (yeasty) crop if it remains like that...so squishy is not the normal crop. Typically you feel a somewhat firm ball that slowly gets smaller.

If it is rock hard, then that is an impacted crop which would need treatment.

So she probably is fine. Too bad you are leaving as you should observe her for the next couple of days to make sure the crop is emptying.

LofMc

 

[Annalyse]

A crop should be firm right after eating, so unless it is rock hard, it probably is because she ate recently.

Squishy would be a nearly empty crop or possibly a sour (yeasty) crop if it remains like that...so squishy is not the normal crop. Typically you feel a somewhat firm ball that slowly gets smaller.

If it is rock hard, then that is an impacted crop which would need treatment.

So she probably is fine. Too bad you are leaving as you should observe her for the next couple of days to make sure the crop is emptying.

LofMc

ill have my cousin (she's watching the chickens) check her crop tomorrow night. I'll check it tomorrow morning and hopefully, it went down. It was hard, and I know what a hard crop from eating felt, but her crop seemed too hard.

 

[Annalyse]

I should add that the crop isn't bigger than a ping pong ball so it's still small.

 

[Annalyse]

I believe she has an infected crop. Its still rock hard and this is the morning.