Chicken swallowed a marble. Crop impacted

[mcarolinesimms]

I have a hen who seems to have swallowed a marble. She’s not able to pass it, and I’m not able to slide it out of her throat. It causes an impaction which makes her act ill but if I massage it out of the way, she acts fine. This started yesterday and she’s laid an egg today. Is crop surgery my only option? (I honestly don’t think I can do it) Or just letting it do its thing and give her daily massages?

 

[Fluffy_Butt_Hutt]

It looks like the marble is as big as the tip of your thumb. I'd first try to give her only very soft foods that could slide past the marble and also try to have her eat lubricants like coconut oil to hopefully allow the marble to pass through her digestive track.
An invasive surgery is very difficult, and pain medication for birds isn't really an option. I'd highly recommend avoiding this option.

 

[Debbie292d]

Do you know if it's for sure a marble? I mean is that a possibility where she lives? Otherwise, that might be a hard little ball made of grasses, etc.

I would read the "impacted crop" portions of each of these articles as they are very helpful with lots of advice.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

If it is indeed a marble, that would be a very easy "crop surgery."

Here's an external article on it, and a post from one of our educators. But again, yours is nowhere near to this extent. A small incision is all it would take to get it out, then treat post-surgery via the article's info.

https://www.greenwillowhomestead.com/blog/how-to-operate-on-your-chickens-impacted-crop

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...surgery-question.1607576/page-3#post-27944019