Crop issues need HELP!

[Little Fuzzy]

I'm not a chicken expert, but I do know a fast way to kill a horse is to let it graze on sandy soil. Sand really impacts an animal's system, I know this from experience. I've never heard of mixing sand into chicken feed. Sand will not dissolve, and can turn into a hard blockage. The vets give horses mineral oil when they have a sand blockage. Maybe try a little bit of oil in your chicken? I'm not really experience enough to recommend it, but I've used it quite often on my old horse. Hopefully some with experience with using oil can give us some advise. I'm very interested in this thread and I am praying for you.

 

[Melissa Sakata]

This is a different hen this time. My speckled sussex seems to have fully recovered.

Hi Heather!
So sorry to hear. My Winnie never fully recovered, and sadly I took him to the Vet yesterday and had him put down. That whole crop nightmare is something I hope to never re-live. If you never tried the Dulcolax, that is what cleared Winnie up.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Hi Heather!
So sorry to hear. My Winnie never fully recovered, and sadly I took him to the Vet yesterday and had him put down. That whole crop nightmare is something I hope to never re-live. If you never tried the Dulcolax, that is what cleared Winnie up.

Just wondering. You think pine shavings is the reason you had issues. I used to have problems when I raised my birds on hay. Took that away and started using pine shavings and never had a problem since. I also got in the habit of giving chicks little piles of chick grit once in awhile while growing them out. My question is, are the pine shavings you used the fine pine shavings or the big flakes? Because I've seen both and always use the big flaked. I got chicks from a woman once who had her chicks on fine pine shavings and their little crops were huge because they were eating those fine shavings and it took some work to get them to pass that stuff. One other thing that can lead to the overeating of pine shavings is not enough feeders and lack of enough space. Birds on the bottom of the pecking order will eat off the ground because the bigger more agressive birds tell them to get away from "their" feeder. That is something that will lead to dirt eating or eating of other inappropriate stuff.. Dirt eating could also be a way for a bird to try to get minerals it is lacking, but, it shouldn't be excessive.