Chicken's crop is large and feels rock solid

[It_is_I_Rae]

Hey everyone, when I went to go check on my chickens today, I picked up one of my Buff Orpingtons and realized that her crop felt rock solid. She seems to be doing ok and has an appetite still, she was going after the watermelon I brought outside for the other birds. However, I am concerned about it because I lost one of my chickens to crop issues a couple years ago and it was devastating. I brought her inside to keep an eye on her and keep her safe from the heat. Does this sound like something that will clear up on its own or should I call the vet?

 

[Swbertrand1]

A rock solid crop is not necessarily a problem. If it doesn't empty overnight; then it's time to start getting concerned. We sometimes have girls that go up at night with a crop that feels quite solid and is almost the size of a tennis ball, but they always empty them by morning.
As long as your girl's crop is emptying overnight, I wouldn't be concerned about anything more than having an over-eater on your hands...

 

[It_is_I_Rae]

A rock solid crop is not necessarily a problem. If it doesn't empty overnight; then it's time to start getting concerned. We sometimes have girls that go up at night with a crop that feels quite solid and is almost the size of a tennis ball, but they always empty them by morning.
As long as your girl's crop is emptying overnight, I wouldn't be concerned about anything more than having an over-eater on your hands...

That's good to hear! I'll keep her in the house overnight to keep an eye on her and if her crop doesn't empty then I'll make a vet appointment

 

[Swbertrand1]

That's good to hear! I'll keep her in the house overnight to keep an eye on her and if her crop doesn't empty then I'll make a vet appointment

A vet is ALWAYS your best alternative, especially an avian vet. You might call today, while you can, to see if your vet treats chickens. Some do; some don't.

It's better to find this out before you need them for obvious reasons. In other words, do your vet research well ahead of needing one, and put the vet's number (emergency and non-emergency) in your directory of numbers - one less thing to worry about during the stress of having a bird that's ill. Same goes for medicines, vitamins, and other therapies that chickens seem to need; keep a basic stock on hand, so you're not scurrying the day/night/weekend you need them... Been there, don't that!

Back to your bird: Since she has a full, solid crop, make sure she gets a nominal amount of water during her afternoon and evening before going to roost. This will make sure she's got some moisture in the crop to lubricate the contents for digestion.

HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PART:
First thing in the morning, check her crop, BEFORE she's been to the feeder. Make sure it's empty or close to it. If empty, she's likely fine barring other issues like disease, worms, reproductive issues (including eggbinding), and so on.

In addition to our Comets that I referred to above, we even had a big white hen in the past that in the evening had a crop so full it was nearly the size of a baseball or larger. She'd run across the yard, and that thing would swing back and forth so fast and so hard that we were afraid she might knock herself out one day - never happened, but the point is that a big, full-size bird like a Buff-Orpington can put away a LOT of feed in a day. Our Comets are about half the size of Buff-Orpingtons...

 

[It_is_I_Rae]

Update: her crop didn't completely empty overnight but it is smaller and not as hard. Should I still be concerned? She hasn't pooped a lot but all of her poops look solid and normal. Is it possible that she is purposely holding in her poop because I brought her inside, therefore slowing down her digestion so her crop didn't empty as quickly? I'm asking this because I think they are capable of holding in their poop on purpose because earlier this year I had to keep one of my other chickens in the house and for whatever reason she would hold in her poop as long as she could when she was indoors so she only went a few times a day. She resumed pooping the usual 5000 times a day after I put her back outside.

 

[Katanahamon]

Update: her crop didn't completely empty overnight but it is smaller and not as hard. Should I still be concerned? She hasn't pooped a lot but all of her poops look solid and normal. Is it possible that she is purposely holding in her poop because I brought her inside, therefore slowing down her digestion so her crop didn't empty as quickly? I'm asking this because I think they are capable of holding in their poop on purpose because earlier this year I had to keep one of my other chickens in the house and for whatever reason she would hold in her poop as long as she could when she was indoors so she only went a few times a day. She resumed pooping the usual 5000 times a day after I put her back outside.

I wouldn’t worry..their crops can vary so much from morning to evening and back, from day to day, also depending on their diet, etc.If they’re eating normally, pooping normally, and behaving normally, 99% of the time they’re fine.

 

[Katanahamon]

I wouldn’t worry..their crops can vary so much from morning to evening and back, from day to day, also depending on their diet, etc.If they’re eating normally, pooping normally, and behaving normally, 99% of the time they’re fine.

If you’re really wanting a good way to monitor health..weekly weigh in. I was reading a vet blog yesterday, they were saying to train your chickens to tolerate stepping on a scale once a week. Yeah, I’m probably too lazy, but as chicks I did monitor weight gain. A weekly weight check can discover problems before the hens exhibit symptoms, because they will hide symptoms as long as they can.

 

[It_is_I_Rae]

I wouldn’t worry..their crops can vary so much from morning to evening and back, from day to day, also depending on their diet, etc.If they’re eating normally, pooping normally, and behaving normally, 99% of the time they’re fine.

That's good. I'll still keep her inside for a while longer to keep an eye on her but it seems that I probably overreacted

 

[It_is_I_Rae]

If you’re really wanting a good way to monitor health..weekly weigh in. I was reading a vet blog yesterday, they were saying to train your chickens to tolerate stepping on a scale once a week. Yeah, I’m probably too lazy, but as chicks I did monitor weight gain. A weekly weight check can discover problems before the hens exhibit symptoms, because they will hide symptoms as long as they can.

That does sound like a good idea, however I do not have a have a scale to weigh them with. Probably something I should invest in, though.

 

[Katanahamon]

Update: her crop didn't completely empty overnight but it is smaller and not as hard. Should I still be concerned? She hasn't pooped a lot but all of her poops look solid and normal. Is it possible that she is purposely holding in her poop because I brought her inside, therefore slowing down her digestion so her crop didn't empty as quickly? I'm asking this because I think they are capable of holding in their poop on purpose because earlier this year I had to keep one of my other chickens in the house and for whatever reason she would hold in her poop as long as she could when she was indoors so she only went a few times a day. She resumed pooping the usual 5000 times a day after I put her back outside.

If you’re really wanting a good way to monitor health..weekly weigh in. I was reading a vet blog yesterday, they were saying to train your chickens to tolerate stepping on a scale once a week. Yeah, I’m probably too lazy, but as chicks I did monitor weight gain. A weekly weight check can discover problems before the hens exhibit symptoms, because they will hide symptoms as long as they can.