Crop issues need HELP!

[polish hen]

Thanks, it was a very hard thing to go thru and I hope your girls don't get it, it spreads slowly in a flock so that's a good thing and hopefully you should be fine. The strain my birds had was very agressive and uncomon one. Pox is for the most part not so bad if you get the "dry form", but it's best to of course try to avoid it, the orpingtons I bought looked healthy and I looked for the usuall things like runny nose, eyes ect but the next morning they were clearly ill I panicked called the lady I bought them from and she acted cluless, go figure, so a hard lesson learned, I'll only buy hatching eggs from other people never a live bird!, just too risky and you never know what you may end up with , have heard of people getting mareks from started birds and the really scary stuff...bought lots of birds from others and they were always healthy but my luck ran out one day and I paid the ultimate price. I really hope you girl somehow gets thru this ordeal...it's soo stressfull I know!, but she clearly is a fighter and wants to live,,,its hard to know what's best but if you do decided to take her in to get her crop cleaned out ask the vet to give you what you'll need to tube feed her with, just incase...that's the reason my girl never made it, she whouldnt eat after crop surgery and buy the time I gathered all the supplies I needed to tube feed with she had died on me (too weak), the tube feeding formula is "kaytee exact baby bird formula" and can be bought at most pet stores too.

 

[HeatherTheMommy]

I had to do the epsom salt treatment a few times before I saw improvement in my pullets crop. Also she was still pretty sick for a few days after vomiting and jerking her neck

 

[Melissa Sakata]

Thanks, it was a very hard thing to go thru and I hope your girls don't get it, it spreads slowly in a flock so that's a good thing and hopefully you should be fine. The strain my birds had was very agressive and uncomon one. Pox is for the most part not so bad if you get the "dry form", but it's best to of course try to avoid it, the orpingtons I bought looked healthy and I looked for the usuall things like runny nose, eyes ect but the next morning they were clearly ill I panicked called the lady I bought them from and she acted cluless, go figure, so a hard lesson learned, I'll only buy hatching eggs from other people never a live bird!, just too risky and you never know what you may end up with , have heard of people getting mareks from started birds and the really scary stuff...bought lots of birds from others and they were always healthy but my luck ran out one day and I paid the ultimate price. I really hope you girl somehow gets thru this ordeal...it's soo stressfull I know!, but she clearly is a fighter and wants to live,,,its hard to know what's best but if you do decided to take her in to get her crop cleaned out ask the vet to give you what you'll need to tube feed her with, just incase...that's the reason my girl never made it, she whouldnt eat after crop surgery and buy the time I gathered all the supplies I needed to tube feed with she had died on me (too weak), the tube feeding formula is "kaytee exact baby bird formula" and can be bought at most pet stores too.

Oh!

. I didn't know she had the surgery, I thought she died before the surgery. That is so sad. Was the surgery expensive?

 

[Melissa Sakata]

I had to do the epsom salt treatment a few times before I saw improvement in my pullets crop. Also she was still pretty sick for a few days after vomiting and jerking her neck

When I came home, her crop was a lot smaller, but I had given her a Dulcolax yesterday. I will wait one more day to see how her crop is in the morning before another epsom salt assault

I feel so bad that I am manipulating her little body like that in the hopes of her expelling what is blocking her crop.

The strange thing is she is eating, drinking, playing with her sister, and acting normal. She doesn't act like she is in pain, except when she eats. She acts like she is starving, and she is definitely not growing like her sister.

Tomorrow is another day. Never, never, never give up.

 

[polish hen]

Yes it was a day after the surgey, but it wasent because of the surgery she had just gone without food too long and her body started shutting down and buy the time I realised that I needed to start tube feeding her as we were only able to get so much into her with a syringe, it was too late. I was devastated and felt soo guitly for a very long time afterwards. The surgery was 230 dollars but I didint care at that point cause all I could think about was that I had lost my precious girl and she was soo friendly and cute, she was a frizzeled silkie girl as cute as can be and very docile and kind to other birds.Honestly from your discription of what's going on with your girl, I'm thinking she might have a partial obstrucion?, like a clump of shavings and food is slowly working it's way around this but it of course ovious it need to come out?

 

[HeatherTheMommy]

Do i just put grit in a separate container for them?

 

[chickcrack]

Do i just put grit in a separate container for them?

Yes doesn't need to be fancy. Mine is in a couple old tuna containers nailed down low on a post in their run

 

[Melissa Sakata]

Yes doesn't need to be fancy. Mine is in a couple old tuna containers nailed down low on a post in their run

Mine is too. But how do chickens know they need the grit? That is something that just amazes me.

 

[Rozzychick]

I would suggest separating her if you haven't already done so. You need to monitor poop, crop and food water consumption. Remove food tonight and check her crop first thing in morning. It should be empty. If it still feels large and squishy or like a soft ball then she still has an issue. I personally don't vomit my chickens as there is a chance they can aspirate and die. Does her poop look normal or is there pieces of undigested grass/greens in it?
I have used epsom salt drench as a fast and effective treatment for both sour and blocked crop. Mix 1/2 tsp epsom salt with 1/8 cup water and slowly syringe into her a small amount at a time. Take food away but provide lots of fresh plain water. Check in a few hours and if crop doesn't feel improved then repeat. Usually she will have some very smelly poops and crop should feel normal in 12-24 hours. I would keep her seperate and only provide chicken food and water (no treats) for at least 24 hours to make sure everything is working fine. Let us know how she's doing.

I'm a newbie and hopefully I'm just overly concerned, but my sex link who I think is my first one to lay at 20 weeks, seems to always look like she's got a full crop, even in the morning it's pushing out the feathers. She's acting normal otherwise. I hate to take her out to isolate her just as she's begun to lay. The crop feels ok based on people's description of what a healthy one feels like, it's just been full in the AM for a few mornings!

 

[chickcrack]

I'm a newbie and hopefully I'm just overly concerned, but my sex link who I think is my first one to lay at 20 weeks, seems to always look like she's got a full crop, even in the morning it's pushing out the feathers. She's acting normal otherwise. I hate to take her out to isolate her just as she's begun to lay. The crop feels ok based on people's description of what a healthy one feels like, it's just been full in the AM for a few mornings!

I'm assuming she doesn't have access to food in the morning? If not my suggestion would be to isolate her over night on an old towel or paper towels to get a good look at her poop. You can do it inside the coop with a dog kennel or a temporary chicken wire fence. When it comes to crop issues catching things early is important so it's best to rule a problem out. Let us know what you find.