Enlarged crop

[Lkaiser]

I have a 4 year old barred rock who has had an enlarged crop for a few days now. I notice she also hitches up her right leg once and a while when she walks. I've checked her out and don't notice any other issues/lumps/bumps, however, she's been molting a bit lately as well. Not sure if it's related. She is eating and drinking normally.

I have a sand coop/run and recently opened a foraging area for them with omega 3-rich grasses. I mix their food - Modesto Milling Layer and Bar Ale High Energy Layer. I give them Bar Ale Tillies Treats as a scratch every few days. No changes other than adding the foraging area. I thought maybe she got too much dirt from the foraging area? Maybe at the omega 3 grass seeds and they are stuck in her crop? Maybe got a hold of a root from the foraging area?

After reading about Sour Crop and Pendulous Crop, today I massaged her crop and it's definitely squishy. It feels like there is sand in it - like cement that is being mixed. I gave her a small syringe of olive oil and turned her upside down. She vomitted a milky liquid. I didn't notice an odor. She didn't mind the crop massage so I don't think it was painful at all. I haven't noticed her poop. I closed off the foraging area for the day to see if that makes a difference.

Any ideas?

 

[Isaac 0]

Sorry, no one replied, how is your bird doing?

 

[Lkaiser]

I searched the forums and found instructions for creating a crop bra out of a sock. My girl is a pretty beefy bird so those ideas didn't work exactly, but gave me some ideas to try. Eventually, the only thing that worked was creating a tube using the foot of a mens sock with the toe and ankle portions cut off. It fit around her (and under her wings) perfectly. The crop support wasn't as firm as I would have liked, but it has been enough to get it to empty and she hasn't been picking at it so I feel like it's working. I have also been giving her apple cider vinegar and eliminating scratch so she doesn't overeat. I started all this a week ago and it seems to have gone down. I'm going to keep the support on as long as I can so her muscles have a chance to firm up and hold the crop in place better.