Crop not fully emptying/impacted crop?

[GraceMontague]

I posted last week about my girl. I'm 90% sure now I'm dealing with crop issues. 2 mornings in a few I can still feel feed in there. It's not a hard mass, I can just feel the individual feed granuals. I have 2x used a syringe to drip water in her mouth and massage her crop. Is there such a thing as a slow emptying crop?
What else can I do other than at home surgery?

 

[Aapomp831]

I posted last week about my girl. I'm 90% sure now I'm dealing with crop issues. 2 mornings in a few I can still feel feed in there. It's not a hard mass, I can just feel the individual feed granuals. I have 2x used a syringe to drip water in her mouth and massage her crop. Is there such a thing as a slow emptying crop?
What else can I do other than at home surgery?

Do you offer your chickens grit?

 

[GraceMontague]

Do you offer your chickens grit?

Yes Grit and the have access to sand.

 

[Aapomp831]

There definitely is something called a slow emptying crop... let’s see if some experts can weigh in

@Wyorp Rock
@azygous
@eggvessive
@dawg53

 

[azygous]

If there's only a small amount of gritty stuff in the crop in the morning, it probably isn't something to worry about. Many chickens retain some grit in their crops overnight.

If her behavior is off, though, acting lethargic and poor appetite, there is probably a crop issue or another underlying issue preventing the crop from emptying. These can range from incurable cancer tumors slowing down crop action to pendulous crop which causes the crop to hang too low to drain properly, leaving it partially full all the time risking crop infections.

Read through my article and perhaps it will assist you in making the right call on how to treat or if to treat. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[GraceMontague]

If there's only a small amount of gritty stuff in the crop in the morning, it probably isn't something to worry about. Many chickens retain some grit in their crops overnight.

If her behavior is off, though, acting lethargic and poor appetite, there is probably a crop issue or another underlying issue preventing the crop from emptying. These can range from incurable cancer tumors slowing down crop action to pendulous crop which causes the crop to hang too low to drain properly, leaving it partially full all the time risking crop infections.

Read through my article and perhaps it will assist you in making the right call on how to treat or if to treat. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[GraceMontague]

Thank you! That was helpful. The little food I'm feeling in the crop seems lower than it should be. It's below the breastbone. It feels empty other than the granuals I feel. It's hard and dense. More like soft and lumpy. I don't smell anything sour. She is very underweight, but I see her eat. Would you try the coconut oil first or the crop bra?

 

[azygous]

Probably both because it sounds like pendulous crop is the cause of her issues. Coconut oil will get things moving faster, and if the gizzard is clogging up because of slow crop action, then the oil will help that, as well.