Crop surgery

[Mandykay]

I have a 10 mo bantam cochin ee that has had ongoing crop issues. She has had sour crop which I treated with monistat, doughy crop that I treated with tube feeding the spice mix. She now has impacted crop. When we give her fluids the crop loosens up and she has been having small poops. The issue is when her crop is loose and we are doing massages we can palpate a item that feels hard and too large to pass through her crop drain. I feel that at this point surgery is the only way to combat this issue. I've watched a bunch of videos and it seems straight forward my biggest reservation is closing the incision. Some videos say it has to be sutured others say you just bandage it and it will close on its own. Any opinions or thoughts would be more than welcome... please help we are fully vested in saving this girl.. while our farm vet will see chickens they say they are not allowed to do crop surgery..

 

[azygous]

Order this surgical grade super glue. https://www.revivalanimal.com/produ...MIsLWmqq2o7QIVpuHACh1okwBNEAAYAyAAEgK-HfD_BwE

You can do the surgery. This should help.

Supplies to assemble:

A helper
Vetericyn wound spray
Betadine or alcohol
Saline wound flush
Sharp, sterilized cutting tool such as a one-sided razor blade or Xacto knife.
Sterile gauze
Tube of super glue
Latex gloves
Bath towel
Scissors to cut away feathers from incision site
Long tweezers or slender tongs to help pull impacted material from crop

Surgery:
-Wrap hen securely in a bath towel confining wings and feet, but leaving the crop exposed. No anesthesia is required. No pain meds.
-Have your helper hold the hen on her back on a hard surface or table.
-Locate the spot where the lump is most concentrated.
-Trim her feathers away so just skin is exposed.
-Prep the site with Betadine or alcohol to remove external bacteria.

Make a one inch incision in the skin. Do not cut any deeper than the outer layer. This will expose the crop sack.

Next, cut a one-inch opening into the crop sack, slightly offset to the outer cut. This is very important. You should be able to see the obstruction, grass or maybe something else that shouldn't be in there.

Putting slight pressure on the crop, push the obstruction toward the opening and pull it out. Continue until you can't get anything else out of it.

Irrigate the inside of the crop with a generous amount of saline until the saline comes out clean.

Dry the incisions by patting with sterile gauze. First apply super glue to the edges of the inner incision. Hold the tissue together until it bonds, about one minute. If it doesn't hold, apply more glue and continue to hold it until it bonds.

Glue the outer incision as you just did the inner one. Spray the incision liberally with Vetericyn. This promotes the tissue to grow together and heal. Do this twice a day for the next two days.

Feed only soft food such as yogurt, soft boiled egg, apple sauce, or gruel made from mixing water into her feed until it's soupy for the week following surgery. Give her a dose of Nutri-drench each day for five days.

 

[95eanimal]

poor bird

 

[Mandykay]

She is hanging in, we have not attempted surgery just too risky. I've called several vets in and around my area and get the same answer, they can look at her but can't preform a life saving surgery... so frustrating. We have managed to get her crop to empty just by moving the foreign item away from the crop drain with light massage. We did have an x-ray and the item is visible but we can't tell what it is. They don't think it is metal and it feels like some kind of root mass when palpated, which we have found in the run. We are hoping it will eventually break down enough to pass. She still vomits any time she drinks lots of water. We are giving monistat twice daily although she doesn't smell sour.... not sure what else may be causing her to vomit. The x-ray showed no other abnormal findings. Any one have any suggestions on further action we can try to either get the item to break down and or stop the vomiting???? We thought about trying digestive enzymes for dogs on her food? She does eat, drink, lay eggs, and her poop range from normal to watery..

 

[ShiviBear]

I am sorry your hen is not feeling well and I hope she recovers quickly.
It sounds like you are doing absolutely everything you can to help her....hope my post gives you some hope.


My head honcho rooster ate a big (2-3 inch) stick at some point and it was stuck in his crop. I wasn't sure for how long it has been there when I discovered it as he never acted sick or uncomfortable and I discovered it by complete chance.
I could clearly feel that it was a stick through the skin and thought there was NO WAY he could pass it in either direction.
I gathered materials and prepared to do surgery the next day, and although I had no idea what I was doing and have never done surgery on a chicken before, I considered it a life saving procedure.

Next day came, I gathered my materials, pulled up crop surgery instructions/video on this indispensable site, grabbed the rooster....but the stick was no longer there. I poked and prodded in confusion (and hope), but alas, the stick was no longer residing

Somehow he passed it between the time I discovered it and the next morning. I still have no idea how this was possible, it was a very long and relatively sharp stick.
I didn't separate him because I wanted him calm for the surgery the next day and because he had freedom to roam I never found the offending item to confirm its existence.

Sending your lovely hen healing vibes.

 

[95eanimal]

still poor bird

 

[Southeast Chicken Mom]

I have a 10 mo bantam cochin ee that has had ongoing crop issues. She has had sour crop which I treated with monistat, doughy crop that I treated with tube feeding the spice mix. She now has impacted crop. When we give her fluids the crop loosens up and she has been having small poops. The issue is when her crop is loose and we are doing massages we can palpate a item that feels hard and too large to pass through her crop drain. I feel that at this point surgery is the only way to combat this issue. I've watched a bunch of videos and it seems straight forward my biggest reservation is closing the incision. Some videos say it has to be sutured others say you just bandage it and it will close on its own. Any opinions or thoughts would be more than welcome... please help we are fully vested in saving this girl.. while our farm vet will see chickens they say they are not allowed to do crop surgery..

Hi. I’ve done three crop surgeries over the years. I stitched two, using Vicryl Plus and a simple continuous running suture. In the last one, I let the incisions heal without sutures. After incising the skin, you slide the incision over and incise the crop, so the two aren’t directly on top of each other. After very thoroughly cleaning the wound (never, ever use hydrogen peroxide because it can cause necrosis), the incisions can actually heal up without skin bonding or sutures. We packed the wounds with a sterile dressing with Vetericyn Plus and Makuna honey, changing out the dressing each day.

I’ve attached a picture of the sutures we used, for your convenience. My thoughts are with you. It’s never easy when your chooks are ill.

 

[mldoublee]

Hi. I’ve done three crop surgeries over the years. I stitched two, using Vicryl Plus and a simple continuous running suture. In the last one, I let the incisions heal without sutures. After incising the skin, you slide the incision over and incise the crop, so the two aren’t directly on top of each other. After very thoroughly cleaning the wound (never, ever use hydrogen peroxide because it can cause necrosis), the incisions can actually heal up without skin bonding or sutures. We packed the wounds with a sterile dressing with Vetericyn Plus and Makuna honey, changing out the dressing each day.

I’ve attached a picture of the sutures we used, for your convenience. My thoughts are with you. It’s never easy when your chooks are ill.

Where did you get the sutures?