crop issue

[trudyg]

So I"m watching the chickens this evening and notice 2 have very full crops. I've seen this before, so didn't think much of it,but the one is very thin. Several have been molting and we've been dealing with mites/lice and she's always been thinner, but she's really looking thin. When I scattered treats (mixed veggies) she pecked at them a bit and went off under the coop, not greedy like all the others. Back in August, I wormed them with wazine and followed up with ivermectin. I used ivermectin because I felt 2 of the others looked like scaly leg was starting and ivermectin would treat both. Then I saw the lice and mites, so treated with permethrin spray and subsequently moved them to a new coop with all new fixtures and bedding. Since they were molting, I put them on feather fixer for the extra protein and have oyster shell in a separate bowl.

Back to the crop issue--her crop moved on it's own, like she was flexing the muscle. It almost looked like something alive was in it moving around. Should I be doing something? I plan to look at her in the morning to make sure it emptied, but this was weird movement. I couldn't get her to feel it since she went under the coop (it's 14" off the ground and they dust bath there).

Should I put them/her back on regular layer pellets? I've been giving rooster booster every few days anyway. Maybe scrambled egg and yogurt? Also, they've been getting some peanuts, in the shell, which now I've read can be hard to digest. She's about 4 years old, so is it age? She sleeps at the same spot most nights and there's been poop there in the morning.

 

[azygous]

To determine if this hen has a crop problem, you need to feel the crop first thing in the morning before she leaves the perch to go feed.

If it's still full, you will know there's an issue. But you need to feel carefully and determine if the crop feels mushy and soft or full with hard lumps.

The first one may indicate sour crop. The second may indicate impacted crop. Be aware that impacted crop often is sour also.

Lastly, take a good look at your hen as she moves about during the day. Compared to the others, how low is her crop hanging? Does it seem to sway back and forth as she walks? Does it resemble a balloon full of water? This may indicate she has a condition called pendulous crop. This can cause both sour crop and impacted crop because the crop hangs too low for it to empty naturally.

Almost all crop issues cause a lot of discomfort and the hen feels miserable. The crop feels full so it robs the hen of a normal appetite, so she starts to lose weight.

So, get up early and feel your hen's crop to determine if she has an issue and which crop issue you are dealing with.

Then come back here, and we'll take it from there.

 

[artsyrobin]

i'd reworm also with safeguard or valbazen, wazine only gets round worms, ivermec is also limited when using as a wormer- your best option is take a fecal to the vet and check a sample, if one bird has worms they all do

 

[trudyg]

I checked all of them early this morning and all crops felt pretty much the same. Her's had gone down and looked normal with no movement. I gave them all scrambled egg fixed with lots of oil, thinking any oil would grease the skids a bit and couldn't hurt. Will watch them closely today, tho it's supposed to rain later and, once they go under the coop to stay dry, it's hard to see much of anything. I may worm with safeguard today. I have the paste and usually put a dose on half a cracker and make sure each of them eats their own dose.

 

[artsyrobin]

safe guard is good, i was told by a vet tech 1

cc for 5 days for standards or you can do this from the msu website

 

[azygous]

Can you block off the underside of the coop with something for a day so you can monitor the crops? I would also stop feeding peanuts in the shell. All that cellulose could lead to impacted crop. In fact, that is likely what led you to be concerned in the first place. Giving oil was the right move.

Have you lined the hens up and examined them for pendulous crops? If a crop is baggy due to poor muscle tone, it will not empty properly, setting up things for serious crop issues. A hen with pendulous crop can starve to death because no nutrients are able to get into her digestive system.

Worming will rule worms out as a cause for the weight loss, but molt also can cause chickens to lose weight as all their calories are diverted to feather building.