Crop Impaction

[TwoCrows]

Oil is not good for impactions. It only causes the mass to get harder. I have had great success with Epsom Salt drenches. You will need to put the hen in a cage by herself with no food for 24 hours. Take a cup of warm water and dissolve 1 teaspoon of epsom salt in this water and this is her water for 24 hours. Meanwhile, mix 1 ounce of water with 1 teaspoon of epsom salt and fill an empty syringe without the needle. Once an hour, you need to SLOWLY DRIZZLE this mixture down her throat. Do this very slowly so you do not aspirate her. Just dribble it on her tongue. It is ok if some of it dribbles out. After one syringe has been given, massage the ball in the crop really well for about 5 mins. Do this every hour all day long. She probably won't drink this nasty water, so you need to do the syringe thing too. You only do this for 24 hours. This ball should be all but gone by the end of the day.

Epsom salt drenches are a really good detox for the bird. It will break up impactions in the crop and because it is a laxative, it will not only break up any other impactions further on down the tract, but it will cause the entire GI tract to move. The crop will move fast and you will notice her pooping in a few hours after you start this. The next morning, it should all be gone or very little left. Give her plain water and she can start back to eating. Epsom is also a good detox if they eat something poisonous and it also helps prevent sour crop while the bird has an impacted crop.

 

[casportpony]

I don't use oil, just water works for me. My rooster just got another 120ml, this time it was water mixed with baby bird food. If I was going to use oil it would be mineral oil, but that's just me.

Careful using epsom salts, they aren't used in cats, but I don't remember why and they can cause dehydration since what they do is pull fluids into the intestines to move stool. If you're curious, fix yourself a glass of water with a couple of tablespoons, but stay close to the bathroom, lol.

-Kathy

 

[TwoCrows]

It can cause dehydration if used for too long, that is why it is only used for 24 hours. I have used this on 2 heavily impacted birds with hay and grass balls the size of baseballs. LOL And each time the mass was gone by the next morning. But yes, it can cause dehydration....hence it is only used for 24 hours.

 

[TwoCrows]

Oh....and yes, I always taste what I make my birds consume and man....epsom is the nastiest thing I have ever tasted!!

LOL

 

[TwoCrows]

I forgot to include this link....

http://hencam.com/henblog/2011/02/the-epsom-salt-cure/

I found this link a couple of years ago when I went looking for a vent gleet cure. She also recommends it for sour and impacted crops and sure enough it worked every time for me on impacted crops.

 

[casportpony]

Oh....and yes, I always taste what I make my birds consume and man....epsom is the nastiest thing I have ever tasted!!

LOL

Yes it's nasty tasting, but try drinking a whole glass of it in the same proportions that you would give a chicken, you'll be sitting on the toilet for hours pooping liquid.

-Kathy

 

[TwoCrows]

This is exactly what you want an impacted cropped bird to do. Move the crop and poop. An impacted crop isn't moving. And if food is left too long in the crop, it will lead to food poisoning and death. Toxic stuff in rotting food. This method is not at all violent for the bird. They begin pooping a few hours later, and poop several times an hour. There is no diarrhea or really loose stools. Just soft, easy to pass poop. It was gentle on my hens and the next morning, there was no sign of any impaction, and they never did ever have any diarrhea. The hens returned to their normal routines and never did the crops become soured. I never had to restrain them in any way other than to dribble water down the throat. This is a very easy method for a novice to do for impactions and it works every time.

 

[casportpony]

This is exactly what you want an impacted cropped bird to do. Move the crop and poop. An impacted crop isn't moving. And if food is left too long in the crop, it will lead to food poisoning and death. Toxic stuff in rotting food. This method is not at all violent for the bird. They begin pooping a few hours later, and poop several times an hour. There is no diarrhea or really loose stools. Just soft, easy to pass poop. It was gentle on my hens and the next morning, there was no sign of any impaction, and they never did ever have any diarrhea. The hens returned to their normal routines and never did the crops become soured. I never had to restrain them in any way other than to dribble water down the throat. This is a very easy method for a novice to do for impactions and it works every time.

For now I'll stick to tubing lots of fluids, which is what most vets would start with according to what I have read. Never seen a vet advise giving epsom salts, so not willing to try that at this point in time, I would reconsider if I did read something written by a vet.

-Kathy


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[TwoCrows]

Quote: I would trust a good avian vet to tube flush a bird with a crop issue. I would never advise someone to tube feed or flush that was a novice with the procedure. This needs to be done by professionals only.

As for my method, epsom has been used for over one hundred years to help move bowels safely. If I was a newbie, never having dealt with this issue before, I would consider a safe tried and true method, knowing that I could save my bird. So I guess, I too will stick to my method.

 

[casportpony]

You think tubing needs to be done by professionals? I'm not a professional and I figured it out on my own, without even looking on the web, it just requires a little common sense. Tubing fluids is much safer and less stressful than syringing for both the bird and the handler. Not sure why so many are so opposed to it...

-Kathy