Crop Impaction??

[GuineaLady93]

I don't know much about this but I am pretty sure it is why one of my 4 month old guineas died the other day. Her chest was really big and she was acting like she didn't have any energy and she was puking a lot. Today when I went out to take care of my 1 1/2-2 month old keets I picked one up and his chest was Really big. He was not acting sick but I am worried the same thing will happen to him. Also one of the other ones was kind of big.
Why does this happen?? How can I stop it?? How serious is it??
Please help! Any advice on this crop stuff cause I have no idea about how it works or anything...
Thanks for your help,
Ashley

 

[RedBugPoultry]

Quote:
Ashley, how are you birds to day? What are you feeding them? Guineas will eat themselves to death under some conditions, especially young ones. Not sure what others have expericenced but if I chime in maybe others will too. I have lost young guineas with scratch. They will eat so much they can not process it. Make sure you are giving them enough grit in their diet if you are feeding scratch to young birds. I will be interested to know what you are feeding or what they could have gotten into. Also, do not let their food get wet and stand(sour), as that will also cause crop problems such as botulism, etc. Now you can feed wet mash to your birds and in the winter they love it but do not let it stand for any amount of time to sour.

Before I go any further though what are you feeding?

 

[GuineaLady93]

Quote:
Ashley, how are you birds to day? What are you feeding them? Guineas will eat themselves to death under some conditions, especially young ones. Not sure what others have expericenced but if I chime in maybe others will too. I have lost young guineas with scratch. They will eat so much they can not process it. Make sure you are giving them enough grit in their diet if you are feeding scratch to young birds. I will be interested to know what you are feeding or what they could have gotten into. Also, do not let their food get wet and stand(sour), as that will also cause crop problems such as botulism, etc. Now you can feed wet mash to your birds and in the winter they love it but do not let it stand for any amount of time to sour.

Before I go any further though what are you feeding?

I am feeding them Purina Start & Grow. They can't get into anything else.

 

[RedBugPoultry]

Quote:
Ashley, how are you birds to day? What are you feeding them? Guineas will eat themselves to death under some conditions, especially young ones. Not sure what others have expericenced but if I chime in maybe others will too. I have lost young guineas with scratch. They will eat so much they can not process it. Make sure you are giving them enough grit in their diet if you are feeding scratch to young birds. I will be interested to know what you are feeding or what they could have gotten into. Also, do not let their food get wet and stand(sour), as that will also cause crop problems such as botulism, etc. Now you can feed wet mash to your birds and in the winter they love it but do not let it stand for any amount of time to sour.

Before I go any further though what are you feeding?

I am feeding them Purina Start & Grow. They can't get into anything else.

Has their food gotten wet at any point? Are they on wire? Not that this would cause any great problems but what it your protein content on your Start & Grow?

If they have gotten soured food you may see more get sick. If they have not then it could be an isolated case and we will hope that! Now guineas of all ages will gorge themselves on food--they are hogs. I am not sure how big you are seeing their chests but I have adults out here that look like they need something to prop them up they are so full! If you do have something going through your birds lets start with a healthy diet--and I am not saying your Start and Grow is not healthy, just they could use some greens and maybe some more protein. If you have access to some clean grass that other poultry have not been in, go pull some grass and cut it up for them in small sections(be careful not to give them too many long, tough pieces as they can have problems with that too) Oh, and make sure they are getting some kind of grit to help grind their food--I have a pile of crushed granite here at my house and every morning when the birds are let out they run to that pile and pick through it! Even a little sand to pick through with help but not too much because some will actually fill up on that and cause more problems until they get use to having it around. If you do not have clean grass get some leaf lettice for them--mine love the stuff. If your feed is below 20% protein start feeding some egg yolkes a couple of times a week--mash it up in some of the feed you are feeding them. If you feed egg yolk make sure you do not leave any old stuff in if they do not eat it up within a few hours as it sours too. But for now I would get them on some greens and grit and worry about increasing proteins later if needed.

I hope some of this helps! Please let me know how they are doing!

Heidi

 

[GuineaLady93]

Quote:
I am feeding them Purina Start & Grow. They can't get into anything else.

Has their food gotten wet at any point? Are they on wire? Not that this would cause any great problems but what it your protein content on your Start & Grow?

If they have gotten soured food you may see more get sick. If they have not then it could be an isolated case and we will hope that! Now guineas of all ages will gorge themselves on food--they are hogs. I am not sure how big you are seeing their chests but I have adults out here that look like they need something to prop them up they are so full! If you do have something going through your birds lets start with a healthy diet--and I am not saying your Start and Grow is not healthy, just they could use some greens and maybe some more protein. If you have access to some clean grass that other poultry have not been in, go pull some grass and cut it up for them in small sections(be careful not to give them too many long, tough pieces as they can have problems with that too) Oh, and make sure they are getting some kind of grit to help grind their food--I have a pile of crushed granite here at my house and every morning when the birds are let out they run to that pile and pick through it! Even a little sand to pick through with help but not too much because some will actually fill up on that and cause more problems until they get use to having it around. If you do not have clean grass get some leaf lettice for them--mine love the stuff. If your feed is below 20% protein start feeding some egg yolkes a couple of times a week--mash it up in some of the feed you are feeding them. If you feed egg yolk make sure you do not leave any old stuff in if they do not eat it up within a few hours as it sours too. But for now I would get them on some greens and grit and worry about increasing proteins later if needed.

I hope some of this helps! Please let me know how they are doing!

Heidi

No, their food has not gotten wet, I keep it in the house. They are in a little hutch thing that has straw in it. Their feed is 18% protein.
Thank you for all of the advice it really helped!

 

[RedBugPoultry]

Quote:
Has their food gotten wet at any point? Are they on wire? Not that this would cause any great problems but what it your protein content on your Start & Grow?

If they have gotten soured food you may see more get sick. If they have not then it could be an isolated case and we will hope that! Now guineas of all ages will gorge themselves on food--they are hogs. I am not sure how big you are seeing their chests but I have adults out here that look like they need something to prop them up they are so full! If you do have something going through your birds lets start with a healthy diet--and I am not saying your Start and Grow is not healthy, just they could use some greens and maybe some more protein. If you have access to some clean grass that other poultry have not been in, go pull some grass and cut it up for them in small sections(be careful not to give them too many long, tough pieces as they can have problems with that too) Oh, and make sure they are getting some kind of grit to help grind their food--I have a pile of crushed granite here at my house and every morning when the birds are let out they run to that pile and pick through it! Even a little sand to pick through with help but not too much because some will actually fill up on that and cause more problems until they get use to having it around. If you do not have clean grass get some leaf lettice for them--mine love the stuff. If your feed is below 20% protein start feeding some egg yolkes a couple of times a week--mash it up in some of the feed you are feeding them. If you feed egg yolk make sure you do not leave any old stuff in if they do not eat it up within a few hours as it sours too. But for now I would get them on some greens and grit and worry about increasing proteins later if needed.

I hope some of this helps! Please let me know how they are doing!

Heidi

No, their food has not gotten wet, I keep it in the house. They are in a little hutch thing that has straw in it. Their feed is 18% protein.
Thank you for all of the advice it really helped!

Ashley, If they are picking up anything out of the hay that might be causing them blockage grit would help with that also--just an idea. Even eating feathers can cause them problems if they get a large enough one down. I do hope this helped and good luck with your birds!

 

[GuineaLady93]

Quote:
No, their food has not gotten wet, I keep it in the house. They are in a little hutch thing that has straw in it. Their feed is 18% protein.
Thank you for all of the advice it really helped!

Ashley, If they are picking up anything out of the hay that might be causing them blockage grit would help with that also--just an idea. Even eating feathers can cause them problems if they get a large enough one down. I do hope this helped and good luck with your birds!

It did help!
Thanks!