Hey all. I have a "crop diary" to share. It all began with my discovering the definitive video of an impacted crop surgery posted by "Sweetgrass."
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...baseball-size-video-is-ready/60#post_12382372https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/457391/impacted-crop-baseball-size-video-is-ready/60#post_12382372[/URL]
Thank you, Sweetgrass!
The hen is around one year old. She is an EE I purchased as part of a group of EE pullets from a local farm. She has been a faithful layer of green eggs and a model citizen of the laying flock. The flock has been recently moved to winter quarters; they are in various stages of molt. I was aware the EE was hanging back a bit, but didn't look more closely until last Saturday. I had a suspicion that it was an impacted crop because her chest looked a little pendulous. Saturday evening, when the birds had roosted, I went in the coop and felt her crop - baseball sized and hard as could be.
I lucked on the awesome crop surgery video posted by Sweetgrass, and decided this was the best course of action. I rounded up Nikki as an assistant, and Sunday, three days ago, we did as suggested. I didn't have a scalpel, but used a new x-acto knife, which worked great. I wiped the blade with alcohol before using it. The cuts went well, with little bleeding. I hauled out a black, tarry wad of the NASTIEST stuff! I used a plastic tweezers for the bulk of the removal. Toward the last, I used a bottle of saline, warmed in a bowl of hot water, to lavage the crop and help dislodge the last bits of
!
Closing with super glue was a challenge, but I did my best with the crop tissue, then the skin layer. The hen was lovely about the whole thing. She was half - starved, so the next challenge was not to offer her too much and hyperextend her crop. I gave her a teaspoon of plain yogurt and a little water, which she took on her own.
That evening, I realized that the incision was weeping. I used cotton balls and a hair dryer on the poor thing, reapplying super glue to the exterior incision. It has held since.
She now has a name, "Wig"; she looks like a wig! The next issue I've encountered is sour crop. Wig has an appetite, and I've offered her small amounts of wetted layer crumbles and water throughout the day. She has had improving poops, though she has drained watery yuk several times when she lowers her head. So today I discovered another BYC thread on treating sour crop, the soft, enlarged condition of the crop likely caused by a fungal infection.
I came home armed with 200 mg Miconazole suppositories, which I cut into thirds. Each dose will be 66 mg or so. I chopped the waxy, one third dose up, and she cleaned it from a plate. I will try the 66 mg dose a.m. & p.m. for a couple of days, or until I see true improvement, which, honestly, I have already. Her crop has shrunk down nicely for the first time since this began. I'm also going to make sure she has a teaspoon of plain yogurt a few times a day.
She's in the house, making a mess, but nothing too unmanageable! She has a crate to sleep in and travel to and from my work so she can have small feedings throughout the day. The power was out this afternoon, and as it grew dark in the house, she chose a spot in the kitchen to roost while I was out doing chores. "Dangerously close to the Romertopf, old girl!"
I am so grateful for BYC and it's devoted members for helping me give this hen a fighting chance to stick around a while longer. In the past, impacted crops have either croaked or gone to the chopping block. Miss Wiggy thanks you, and so do I!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...baseball-size-video-is-ready/60#post_12382372https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/457391/impacted-crop-baseball-size-video-is-ready/60#post_12382372[/URL]
Thank you, Sweetgrass!
The hen is around one year old. She is an EE I purchased as part of a group of EE pullets from a local farm. She has been a faithful layer of green eggs and a model citizen of the laying flock. The flock has been recently moved to winter quarters; they are in various stages of molt. I was aware the EE was hanging back a bit, but didn't look more closely until last Saturday. I had a suspicion that it was an impacted crop because her chest looked a little pendulous. Saturday evening, when the birds had roosted, I went in the coop and felt her crop - baseball sized and hard as could be.
I lucked on the awesome crop surgery video posted by Sweetgrass, and decided this was the best course of action. I rounded up Nikki as an assistant, and Sunday, three days ago, we did as suggested. I didn't have a scalpel, but used a new x-acto knife, which worked great. I wiped the blade with alcohol before using it. The cuts went well, with little bleeding. I hauled out a black, tarry wad of the NASTIEST stuff! I used a plastic tweezers for the bulk of the removal. Toward the last, I used a bottle of saline, warmed in a bowl of hot water, to lavage the crop and help dislodge the last bits of
!Closing with super glue was a challenge, but I did my best with the crop tissue, then the skin layer. The hen was lovely about the whole thing. She was half - starved, so the next challenge was not to offer her too much and hyperextend her crop. I gave her a teaspoon of plain yogurt and a little water, which she took on her own.
That evening, I realized that the incision was weeping. I used cotton balls and a hair dryer on the poor thing, reapplying super glue to the exterior incision. It has held since.
She now has a name, "Wig"; she looks like a wig! The next issue I've encountered is sour crop. Wig has an appetite, and I've offered her small amounts of wetted layer crumbles and water throughout the day. She has had improving poops, though she has drained watery yuk several times when she lowers her head. So today I discovered another BYC thread on treating sour crop, the soft, enlarged condition of the crop likely caused by a fungal infection.
I came home armed with 200 mg Miconazole suppositories, which I cut into thirds. Each dose will be 66 mg or so. I chopped the waxy, one third dose up, and she cleaned it from a plate. I will try the 66 mg dose a.m. & p.m. for a couple of days, or until I see true improvement, which, honestly, I have already. Her crop has shrunk down nicely for the first time since this began. I'm also going to make sure she has a teaspoon of plain yogurt a few times a day.
She's in the house, making a mess, but nothing too unmanageable! She has a crate to sleep in and travel to and from my work so she can have small feedings throughout the day. The power was out this afternoon, and as it grew dark in the house, she chose a spot in the kitchen to roost while I was out doing chores. "Dangerously close to the Romertopf, old girl!"
I am so grateful for BYC and it's devoted members for helping me give this hen a fighting chance to stick around a while longer. In the past, impacted crops have either croaked or gone to the chopping block. Miss Wiggy thanks you, and so do I!
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