Crop not emptying, chicken lethargic

[Mark94]

Hey everyone!

I have a problem with my hen, her crop has not been emptying for few days, I reacted earlier and thought I solved the problem but apparently I did not... Her crop was all mushy and full yday, I emptied it for her, flushed it out, taking out of that slimy brown thing out but still there is something inside since she's even worse this morning, full and mushy again. I've lost another chicken last month to this, I honestly believe it has smt to do with earthworms, cause whenever I free range them, they instantly go on a quest for them... I'm desperate at this state, seeing her getting worse and having a feeling she will end up the same like my previous hen. Few minutes ago I emptied her crop again and let her have a break while I hopefully get some further tips/help on here what to do next. Any advices?

 

[Silkie2005]

Hey everyone!

I have a problem with my hen, her crop has not been emptying for few days, I reacted earlier and thought I solved the problem but apparently I did not... Her crop was all mushy and full yday, I emptied it for her, flushed it out, taking out of that slimy brown thing out but still there is something inside since she's even worse this morning, full and mushy again. I've lost another chicken last month to this, I honestly believe it has smt to do with earthworms, cause whenever I free range them, they instantly go on a quest for them... I'm desperate at this state, seeing her getting worse and having a feeling she will end up the same like my previous hen. Few minutes ago I emptied her crop again and let her have a break while I hopefully get some further tips/help on here what to do next. Any advices?

I have a hen called Smurf who has this all of the time! If it is the same thing she had it was that because she is free range they have a habit of eating stones and dirt all the time. Eventually, it gets all stuck ad infected so she had to have the vet surgically removed it. She did this twice! One of the symptoms of this is that she is loosing weight because her crop is blocked so it isn't getting to the rest of the chicken.

 

[Shadrach]

The article below gives pretty much all the advice you are likely to get in any posts.
You may be wrong in assuming it is a crop problem. There are plenty of other places in the digestive tract that can become blocked and often crop problems are symptomatic of problems unrelated to digestion.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

 

[Mark94]

I have a hen called Smurf who has this all of the time! If it is the same thing she had it was that because she is free range they have a habit of eating stones and dirt all the time. Eventually, it gets all stuck ad infected so she had to have the vet surgically removed it. She did this twice! One of the symptoms of this is that she is loosing weight because her crop is blocked so it isn't getting to the rest of the chicken.

I know right? They are worse than kids... I just checked my whole flock and 2 of them have exactly what u described, feels like a sack of tiny diamonds... And yet they are so hungry... I have seperated them and gave them a tsp pf solid cocnut oil, but I'm not sure whether I shpuld give them food today or keep them on oil and water and wait til tomorrow uh..

 

[Silkie2005]

I know right? They are worse than kids... I just checked my whole flock and 2 of them have exactly what u described, feels like a sack of tiny diamonds... And yet they are so hungry... I have seperated them and gave them a tsp pf solid cocnut oil, but I'm not sure whether I shpuld give them food today or keep them on oil and water and wait til tomorrow uh..

Yep! I would take them to the vets as soon as possible because the sooner you get the vets to remove it the better your chances of success, a hen who has lots of weight on her still is more likely to survive than a hen who is a bag of bones! Hopefully, they are all okay and recover soon!

 

[Cryss]

@Mark94 my rooster had this same problem. This article saved his life! Please read it, you won’t be sorry!
I couldn’t get my stupid cell phone to share this but search this title under “articles” and poster is @azygous

How to treat sour crop and impacted crop and how to know which one you're dealing with

 

[Mark94]

@Mark94 my rooster had this same problem. This article saved his life! Please read it, you won’t be sorry!
I couldn’t get my stupid cell phone to share this but search this title under “articles” and poster is @azygous

How to treat sour crop and impacted crop and how to know which one you're dealing with

Thank you! I just read it and will do exactly the same!

 

[Mark94]

I suspect 2 of my hens have impacted and 1 for sure sour crop. To impacted ones I gave stiff coconut oil few times and gave a massage to their crop multiple times, it seems it's helping, the hard lump is loosen and there's a lot less than it was. To my hen with sour crop, I massaged her crop multiple times and gave her nothing but water and 1tablespoon of acv, calcium and probiotic diluted in it (available to hens with impacted crop as well). She seems a lot better, she's already moving around all hungry looking for food. Can anyone tell me whether I should feed them today or wait til tomorrow morning before I check their crops again? And what should I feed my 2 hens with impacted crop and one with sour afterwards? Any special diet? I would appreciate any answer
To note, and not sure is it helpful at all, hen with sour crop poop is greenish/mushy with white in it. All 3 of them are super hungry now, especially impacted ones.

 

[coach723]

How old are these birds? Until crops are emptying normally I would not feed anything but water soluble food. Make a mash out of their regular chicken feed by mixing it with water. Do your birds have access to grit all the time? Without enough grit they cannot properly digest fiberous materials and it can cause blockages. If they are free ranging then they have access to all sorts of things. If you have a vet that will do a fecal for you (take a mixed sample from your birds) they can check for internal parasites, which can also be a cause of crop problems. You can also use mail in options if you don't have a vet that will do it for you. Older hens can also develop reproductive problems and sometimes the first sign is a crop problem.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5SOZ...colid=27RHKHAM35GO&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[Mark94]

How old are these birds? Until crops are emptying normally I would not feed anything but water soluble food. Make a mash out of their regular chicken feed by mixing it with water. Do your birds have access to grit all the time? Without enough grit they cannot properly digest fiberous materials and it can cause blockages. If they are free ranging then they have access to all sorts of things. If you have a vet that will do a fecal for you (take a mixed sample from your birds) they can check for internal parasites, which can also be a cause of crop problems. You can also use mail in options if you don't have a vet that will do it for you. Older hens can also develop reproductive problems and sometimes the first sign is a crop problem.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5SOZ...colid=27RHKHAM35GO&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Thanks for your reply! Yes, they do have grit available 24/7, that's my concern, when I massage their crop, it feels like it's full of grit and tiny stone particles, however they act normal and seek for food. They are around 3-4 yrs old. Could it be that they ate too much grit? Even after massaging and giving them oil, it's still there. I checked their poop, it looks stiff and normal to me.