Crop Not Emptying Fully (but not impacted nor sour, yet?)

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Bear with me, because this is a complex issue that might have multiple factors at play. I appreciate anyone willing to take the time to read and respond to this. My 27 month old EE has recently started having issues with her crop not fully emptying at night. She is overall healthy, but does have a history of reproductive issues.

REPRODUCTIVE HISTORY: Last October, after a soft shell egg broke inside her, she was treated for EYP. After over a month of antibiotics and supportive care (she was truly on the brink of death), she made a full recovery and has been a happy member of the flock again. While she started laying healthy eggs again for a while, as daylight increased in the spring, she'd start to lay far too frequently (less than 24 hours apart), with shell quality deteriorating over time. As such, I make sure she stays in a dark room for 6 hours of the daylight each day, which ensures she lays a healthy egg (still every day, though--her compulsion to lay runs strong!). I also suspect chronic inflammation in her reproductive system, based upon egg laying issues and the fact that she is often leaking watery urates from her vent when preening. I believe these reproductive issues are possibly connected to her crop issue.

CROP ISSUE HISTORY: When she went through her first bout of EYP last October, her crop wouldn't empty fully. It'd feel hard in the morning, but with massaging, would break into a dough-like mass, and with drinking, would become like a water balloon (this cycle would repeat each day). It is unclear what resolved her issue but when she made a turnaround fighting EYP, everything with her crop cleared up. However, the last few months, I would notice this same crop issue pop up, usually when she'd have to lay an egg--and it'd resolve a few hours after laying. It was as if the egg were blocking up her system or causing it to be inflamed, leading to a slow crop.

ROUNDWORMS: Complicating the issue further, yesterday morning I treated my whole flock for roundworms using Valbazen (1st dose, 2nd to follow in 10 days), after having spotted one in a poop. Everyone seemed fine otherwise. I'm now kicking myself for treating my EE because I'm worried it pushed her over the edge.

CURRENT ISSUE: This morning I discovered that the EE inquestion had laid a fragile egg from her roost bar overnight--shell was intact and hard, but on the thin-side. I also noticed her crop was full-ish and hard-ish. However, like her past crop issues, it softens as she drinks water and goes from dough-like to water balloon like. It is also warm to the touch (not sure if that's normal or not). I'm wondering if this is due to the de-worming, ongoing reproductive issues, or both. She is bright and energetic, and wants to eat, though I've been limiting her to small amounts of watery mash at a time. Despite her crop issue, she's pooping great big healthy looking poops, so I know she can't be fully blocked up. No swelling detected in abdominal region.

Any thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated! I hate keeping her isolated when I know she's dying to be outside with her flock, but I'm worried about her eating more difficult-to-digest-foods while out and about, so I'm not sure what to do.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

I know discharge like you are describing can be from a yeast infection(forgot what you call it in chickens). So she may have an overgrowth of yeast that hasn’t turned into full blown sour crop. I would go ahead and and medicate her for sour crop and try giving her some form of probiotics. Wether it be Greek yogurt a few times a week or stuff specially branded for poultry. I can’t recommend using ACV though because I’ve had bad experiences with it before. Just my opinion there though as I know some people swear by it.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

I know discharge like you are describing can be from a yeast infection(forgot what you call it in chickens). So she may have an overgrowth of yeast that hasn’t turned into full blown sour crop. I would go ahead and and medicate her for sour crop and try giving her some form of probiotics. Wether it be Greek yogurt a few times a week or stuff specially branded for poultry. I can’t recommend using ACV though because I’ve had bad experiences with it before. Just my opinion there though as I know some people swear by it.

Thanks for responding! I've dealt with vent gleet before and this does not seem like the same thing (no smell, very clean vent, just drips when preening--a smell-less clear/white substance). However, I'm happy to report her crop has since picked up functioning and was almost empty this morning. I'm hoping she just had a build up of worms that peaked with treatment and has now passed. Could be egg related too, though she layed a healthy one this a.m.

What is your experience with ACV? I've used it in cooler weather with vague results, but would be interested in knowing your experience. I might switch to garlic in waterers, at least for the summer since heat + ACV is not good for the hens.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Thanks for responding! I've dealt with vent gleet before and this does not seem like the same thing (no smell, very clean vent, just drips when preening--a smell-less clear/white substance). However, I'm happy to report her crop has since picked up functioning and was almost empty this morning. I'm hoping she just had a build up of worms that peaked with treatment and has now passed. Could be egg related too, though she layed a healthy one this a.m.

What is your experience with ACV? I've used it in cooler weather with vague results, but would be interested in knowing your experience. I might switch to garlic in waterers, at least for the summer since heat + ACV is not good for the hens.

I tried it twice and both times several members of my flock came down with sour crop in less than two weeks.