Chicken crop surgery advice

[bawkbawk100]

Hi, I took my hen to the vet to have a proper diagnosis of impacted crop and he confirmed it was impacted crop. He suggested to give her medication or perform surgery or cull her. Surgery is $500 and he said she may not wake up from anesthesia since birds are sensitive to it. I gave her the medication and unfortunately it hasn’t helped.

I came on here writing a post because me and my dad are going to perform crop surgery for her. Our family loves her very much and want to give it our best shot to help her so she can live a good life. We have watched a bunch of videos and saw this step by step thread on how to perform the surgery.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-do-impacted-crop-surgery.1154256/

I’m a little bit nervous as this will be my first time. Any suggestions or experiences for me and my dad would be appreciated.
A list of things you used or wish you had would also be appreciated!
Thank you

 

[SmiYa0126]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive

My main recommendation is to use a very sharp scalpel for the incision. And have lots of very good light. I've never had to do a serious surgery like this but I did drain my hen with egg yolk peritonitis. The first time I did it I felt sick. But after that I was better. I think if you follow the surgery steps and have everything ready you'll do great.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would not do crop surgery on my chicken at home, and have no experience. That is best for a vet to do. But there are some videos posted online done by vet friends or relatives. The important things I have seen is that there are 2 layers, the crop and the skin, that have to be closed by superglue or sutures separately. Since many crop problems are chronic and due to another issue (worms, reproductive infection or salpingitis, water belly,) the crop problem may still recur. It can be successful in some cases if there is just a blockage of grass or something stuck, but they can have bad outcomes sometimes. Good luck. Let us know how the surgery goes.

 

[azygous]

Here's more information. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/please-help-my-pet-hen-is-sick-need-help.1344273/

Here is my list of supplies and directions for the procedure.

Supplies to assemble:

A helper
Vetericyn wound spray
Betadine or alcohol
Saline wound flush
Sharp, sterilized cutting tool such as a one-sided razor blade or Xacto knife.
Sterile gauze
Tube of super glue
Latex gloves
Bath towel
Scissors to cut away feathers from incision site

Surgery:
-Wrap hen securely in a bath towel confining wings and feet, but leaving the crop exposed. No anesthesia is required. No pain meds.
-Have your helper hold the hen on her back on a hard surface or table.
-Locate the spot where the lump is most concentrated.
-Trim her feathers away so just skin is exposed.
-Prep the site with Betadine or alcohol to remove external bacteria.

Make a one inch incision in the skin. Do not cut any deeper than the outer layer. This will expose the crop sack.

Next, cut a one-inch opening into the crop sack, slightly offset to the outer cut. This is very important. You should be able to see the obstruction, grass or maybe something else that shouldn't be in there.

Putting slight pressure on the crop, push the obstruction toward the opening and pull it out. Continue until you can't get anything else out of it.

Irrigate the inside of the crop with a generous amount of saline until the saline comes out clean.

Dry the incisions by patting with sterile gauze. First apply super glue to the edges of the inner incision. Hold the tissue together until it bonds, about one minute. If it doesn't hold, apply more glue and continue to hold it until it bonds.

Glue the outer incision as you just did the inner one. Spray the incision liberally with Vetericyn. This promotes the tissue to grow together and heal. Do this twice a day for the next two days.

Feed only soft food such as yogurt, soft boiled egg, apple sauce, or gruel made from mixing water into her feed until it's soupy for the week following surgery. Give her a dose of Nutri-drench each day for five days.

 

[Llegsmacedo]

Hi, I took my hen to the vet to have a proper diagnosis of impacted crop and he confirmed it was impacted crop. He suggested to give her medication or perform surgery or cull her. Surgery is $500 and he said she may not wake up from anesthesia since birds are sensitive to it. I gave her the medication and unfortunately it hasn’t helped.

I came on here writing a post because me and my dad are going to perform crop surgery for her. Our family loves her very much and want to give it our best shot to help her so she can live a good life. We have watched a bunch of videos and saw this step by step thread on how to perform the surgery.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-do-impacted-crop-surgery.1154256/

I’m a little bit nervous as this will be my first time. Any suggestions or experiences for me and my dad would be appreciated.
A list of things you used or wish you had would also be appreciated!
Thank you

Hi! How is she doing? Did she make it? Going thru something similar with my girl right now and considering doing an at home crop surgery

 

[Ponypoor]

Hi, I took my hen to the vet to have a proper diagnosis of impacted crop and he confirmed it was impacted crop. He suggested to give her medication or perform surgery or cull her. Surgery is $500 and he said she may not wake up from anesthesia since birds are sensitive to it. I gave her the medication and unfortunately it hasn’t helped.

I came on here writing a post because me and my dad are going to perform crop surgery for her. Our family loves her very much and want to give it our best shot to help her so she can live a good life. We have watched a bunch of videos and saw this step by step thread on how to perform the surgery.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-do-impacted-crop-surgery.1154256/

I’m a little bit nervous as this will be my first time. Any suggestions or experiences for me and my dad would be appreciated.
A list of things you used or wish you had would also be appreciated!
Thank you

Any updates on your hen? Similar situation here. And don’t have a problem doing the procedure but curious as to the outcome with others.

 

[Stace0034]

Hi, I took my hen to the vet to have a proper diagnosis of impacted crop and he confirmed it was impacted crop. He suggested to give her medication or perform surgery or cull her. Surgery is $500 and he said she may not wake up from anesthesia since birds are sensitive to it. I gave her the medication and unfortunately it hasn’t helped.

I came on here writing a post because me and my dad are going to perform crop surgery for her. Our family loves her very much and want to give it our best shot to help her so she can live a good life. We have watched a bunch of videos and saw this step by step thread on how to perform the surgery.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-do-impacted-crop-surgery.1154256/

I’m a little bit nervous as this will be my first time. Any suggestions or experiences for me and my dad would be appreciated.
A list of things you used or wish you had would also be appreciated!
Thank you

I am considering the surgery on my silkie Hen ..how did yours do? Do you think it's very painful for her?

 

[Ponypoor]

I am considering the surgery on my silkie Hen ..how did yours do? Do you think it's very painful for her?

I know of someone who did the surgery and their girl is fine. And News lucky with my hen, her blockage cleared.

Watch lots of the videos and make sure you have a good helper.

@bgmathteach any advice?