Can a gizzard be too full with grit?

[Emrosenagel]

Hello!

I recently had a hen with some strange crop issues(made a post but got no help), so I took her to the vet for an x-ray. She has no tumors, no visible blockage (an egg happened to be in the way further down), but the vet said her gizzard was packed with grit. Is it possible for the gizzard to be so full the hen has trouble passing food? If so, how can I move the grit along? Her poops have some small rocks but not too many.

Thanks!

 

[SomeChookLover]

Hello!

I recently had a hen with some strange crop issues(made a post but got no help), so I took her to the vet for an x-ray. She has no tumors, no visible blockage (an egg happened to be in the way further down), but the vet said her gizzard was packed with grit. Is it possible for the gizzard to be so full the hen has trouble passing food? If so, how can I move the grit along? Her poops have some small rocks but not too many.

Thanks!

When you feel her crop, does it have any food in it? And is she acting fine in all other regards? I think the best idea to try and remove some of the grit would be water, watery pellets or floating seeds on water, just it try and get some more into her. To see if it’s impacting her food, see if her crop empties overnight.

 

[Emrosenagel]

When you feel her crop, does it have any food in it? And is she acting fine in all other regards? I think the best idea to try and remove some of the grit would be water, watery pellets or floating seeds on water, just it try and get some more into her. To see if it’s impacting her food, see if her crop empties overnight.

She acts alright, still lays and forages. Her crop feels like water and grit/seeds. Her issues are nearly constant crop convulsions/jerking whenever she stands still and the full crop. I took her into another vet, who told me she may have a tumor or enlarged reproductive tract pushing her gizzard down. Strange, since the other vet never mentioned that at all. She’s on meloxicam and antibiotics for the moment, and I have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday. Fingers crossed we can deal with this!

 

[aart]

Is it possible for the gizzard to be so full the hen has trouble passing food?

Yes. I necropsied a hen once whose gizzard was packed with grit.
That's when I took out the grit feeder and just tossed some out once in awhile.

 

[dawg53]

Impacted gizzard happens more than you think. Not much can be done about it once it's impacted. You can try giving your hen tomato juice as needed via syringe without a needle, it may or may not clear out the gizzard.

 

[Emrosenagel]

Impacted gizzard happens more than you think. Not much can be done about it once it's impacted. You can try giving your hen tomato juice as needed via syringe without a needle, it may or may not clear out the gizzard.

I knew it would be a lost cause if it is impacted, but I’ll give the tomato juice a shot if the meds don’t work. She is still getting food though, so it isn’t entirely blocked.

 

[Eggcessive]

Did her crop empty, and is she passing droppings, acting normally?

 

[Emrosenagel]

Did her crop empty, and is she passing droppings, acting normally?

it did empty after a couple of days of meloxicam and the yeast infection cream. But I stupidly stopped both, and now it was a little filled this morning. So one of those clearly worked, so I’m going to do the full seven days of yeast infection cream as advised first. She stopped jerking around for those days, but started again last night. Other than that her poops are normal and she acts perfectly fine. Still lays every day, happy as can be.