Bump on chest

[kmdecarlo]

Hi, I'm worried about my Production Red and haven't seen too many posts on what I am seeing. I just noticed today she is not acting like herself; she wasn't going for the feed like she normally does and wasn't moving around as much. I checked her vent and it seems ok - she was able to poop. I picked her up and noticed a rather large bump on her chest on the right side. Not sure what it is or what it could mean but I suspect it is the cause of her not acting normal. She does not display any other symptonms so I am perplexed at what it could be. Any suggestions and treatment? Thanks.

 

[aoxa]

Is it her crop?

Large bump there is a crop. Since she is not acting normally, what does the lump feel like? Is it hard, or soft and squishy?

 

[kmdecarlo]

It does feel hard. Where is the crop exactly? I'm pretty new to this. The bump is on her chest near to the end of her neck.

 

[aoxa]

It does feel hard. Where is the crop exactly? I'm pretty new to this. The bump is on her chest near to the end of her neck.

The crop is where they hold their food. Kind of like a stomach, but not really..

Does it feel grainy? What I would do is massage it. She may have just eaten too much, or it could be impacted. What kind of strange behaviour is she displaying?

 

[aoxa]

The crop is an organ that is exclusive to bids. A crop's main function is to store food. It is like an extra storage tank for the bird. The crop is located at the base of the neck and can be easily seen after a bird has just eaten. If you have chickens, a sure way to tell if a bird is full is to look at the size of the crop. If the crop is large in size the bird is most likely full. If the crop is deflated and has a flat appearance the bird has not eaten yet. The crop continuously supplies small amounts of the food to the stomach.
Food passes from the crop to the stomach. This is the most active part of the digestive system of a chicken. There are two parts to the stomach of a bird. The first part is known as the proventriculus. This is the glandular portion of the stomach. This part secretes digestive juices which break down the food. The proventriculus joins a large muscular portion of the stomach known as the ventriculus, or more commonly known as the gizzard. The gizzard grinds up food even more. The gizzard contains gravel, which works alongside with muscles in grinding up food.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

The crop is where they hold their food. Kind of like a stomach, but not really..
Does it feel grainy? What I would do is massage it. She may have just eaten too much, or it could be impacted. What kind of strange behaviour is she displaying?

x2 that is her crop and is a normal part of her digestive system. It is a balloon like sack that holds food. Food takes a long time to pass through the gizzard so it is held in the crop while it waits. Typically after they have eaten something it takes about 4 hours to work through the gizzard so if a chicken is grazing all day like a chicken naturally does then food will pile up in there and form a lump. (chickens don't really have a stomach like we do so things work a bit differently) When you gently press and massage it should feel like food. The food there is whole and undigested.

What you should do is feel her chest in the same spot in the morning before she has had ANYTHING to eat. After spending all night with no food the crop should be empty. If it is not she could have what is called impacted crop.

From your picture, that looks like a normal sized crop to me. During the day my greedy chickens always have full feeling crops. She might just be full. Watch for other symptoms and check her in the morning. If you still think something is wrong feel free to post here or PM me and I can give you next steps.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

If it is very very hard like a rock or it is very squishy like it is full of liquid then isolate her and stop feeding solid foods right away. (normally should be hardish and grainy like aoxa said)

Let me know how it's going.

 

[aoxa]

sized crop to me. During the day my greedy chickens always have full feeling crops. She might just be full. Watch for other symptoms and check her in the morning. If you still think something is wrong feel free to post here or PM me and I can give you next steps.

That's my picture, so I can say it was/is normal My girls are always packing a tennis ball in their crop at bed time. Piggies!!

 

[ChickensRDinos]

That's my picture, so I can say it was/is normal

My girls are always packing a tennis ball in their crop at bed time. Piggies!!

oops! lol. Sorry. looking up at the wrong post. This is what happens when I try to do this on my phone. Derp derp.

Well, excellent example then.

Agreed. My chickens are pigs - always big fat crops.

 

[kmdecarlo]

Update: She laid a soft-shelled egg and after that seemed to feel better - started eating again anyway. Her crop still feels full (I gave her some olive oil and massaged it) and now she is gaping her mouth open. Should I keep massaging and not let her eat any more?