chicken sick - drastic overnight change crop

Pics
Date sort Score sort
aprilbos

aprilbos

Chirping
May 25, 2018
38
21
65
Milwaukee, WI
Hello, any help would be appreciated. I've been visiting and finding useful information on this site and forums but first time posting.

I have 4 layers 1 1/2 years old, 4 different breads. the black ostrolorp (Blacky) she seems to have a impacted crop. no stinky breath. i give them treats includinglong grass and worms (started this she's done the head bobbing before but it was short and not frequent,seemed more like an i'm tough move and also didnt hear the gurgling inside her then either. . Yesterday is started up often but she was still active until evening, and today is been pretty constant and she's very lathargic. night and day behavior from yesterday.

started rubbing her crop and she doesn't seem to mind, almost appreciates it. what else should i do besides stop feeding her grass and worms? she's also gassy. i keep smelling what i think is poop. she goes between really bobbing (trying to get something unstuck) and then resting. not interested in doing normal things, was drinking and eating jumping on my shoulder last night up until 10pm ish.

shes starting do it harder.
 
Does she have granite grit available to help digest grasses and foods other than chicken feed? I would give her water with electrolytes and vitamins, and a little scrabled egg mixed with plain yogurt. No whole grains. Massage her crop several times during the day. Check her crop early the next morning to see if it has emptied. If this has been going on for long, you may want to take her to a vet for crop surgery.
 
Eggcessive said:
Does she have granite grit available to help digest grasses and foods other than chicken feed? I would give her water with electrolytes and vitamins, and a little scrabled egg mixed with plain yogurt. No whole grains. Massage her crop several times during the day. Check her crop early the next morning to see if it has emptied. If this has been going on for long, you may want to take her to a vet for crop surgery.
Click to expand...
She doesn't always have grit available, I did bring some to her when I saw the behavior and she did eat it right away. She had some today too. I brought her outside to continue massage and see if she had something to vomit, she didn't love the head pointed down position at first but then she let me. After further inspection I can smell her breath. The crop was like a big juicy balloon at the time. She has had very very water diarrhea at least 7 times. When I massage her crop she usually has gas and then soon after poops. It was extra stinky mostly white watery and green, then clear and green and the last one was muddy and dark, hopefully a step in the right direction. She's doing a lot better (I can tell because she's following me around, sleeping less and cranky) She has barely touched any water but does want to peck around in the grass and her crop feels smaller. I'll look into how to tell when the crop is emptied.

Should my biggest concern be dehydration at this point? I've read I may have to force her to drink water.

I appreciate your help, I don't feel like we are in the clear yet but fingers crossed it's positive progress.
 
They should have grit available at all times. Free choice in it's own container is fine. Add some electrolytes to her water, it'll help replace anything she's losing. Dehydration will kill her. If she won't drink try a couple of drops at a time from an eye dropper. Also, if she's pecking around, you can try a wet mash of feed, it will get a little more water into her. Check the crop when she goes in for the night, then again in the morning before she has a chance to eat anything. Be careful with her upside down, if anything gets aspirated the problems will multiply.
 
All good advice. Let us know how she does. Definitely heed the warning about possibly aspirating when vomitingva chicken. I would keep offering g grit, give her some small chunks of solid coconut oil, give her some straight nutridrench if you have it, and continue her to gently, carefully massage the crop. Good luck!
 
Last edited:
I had a hen with a hard impacted crop last month. She was lethargic and stopped laying. I put her in a dog crate and only gave her water and a raw egg the first day and massaged her crop for several minutes on my lap. The next day her crop was squishy. I gave her a small amount of very wet crumbles several times a day and continued the crop message after she ate. I put her in the coop after sunset and back into the crate before sunrise. On the third day I continued feeding wet crumble and massaging after eating. She had less watery poop. She was full of energy and wanted out. I continued feeding wet crumbles with less massaging in the crate. I couldn't hold her on my lap. At sunset I put her back in the coop. Within a week she started to lay again.
She is doing fine. 20180621_164222.jpg . This picture was taken 2 days ago. She's the one in back, behind the outdoor roost. GC
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Mary Mitchell
Chicken with sour crop and impaction
Replies
2
Views
345
azygous
azygous
C
Hen Expelled Thick Mucus From Crop (possible sour crop)
Replies
1
Views
293
alinas2010
alinas2010
O
Impacted Crop Help
Replies
4
Views
2K
babybop11
B
O
    • Sad
Need help diagnosing a crop issue and deciding next steps
Replies
2
Views
1K
Eggcessive
Eggcessive
C
    • Love
Chicken is lethargic with foamy, light yellow poop. Any ideas?
Replies
8
Views
1K
Wyorp Rock
Wyorp Rock

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom