Hard egg shaped crop?

[sdaikus]

My little silkie -who is new to laying and lays every few days or so .. she has been in the nesting box for 3 days now with no egg. She comes out a couple times, but seems very uncomfortable. I picked her up and I think I can feel an egg, but it’s where her crop is? If you pull her out of the nesting box she will eat, drink and poop. I don’t smell any sour odors. I crushed up a tums and mixed it with food yesterday and she ate some, but this morning she is still doing the same thing. Any thoughts?

 

[azygous]

Likely impacted crop. Has she been having access to grit? It's one of the things folks often overlook for their chickens. Often there's grit in the natural soil, but perhaps not enough sometimes. You may need to buy some.

To treat impacted crop, give her some oil, about a teaspoon at a time, and massage her hard crop gently in a circular motion. If you have coconut oil, it's easiest to work with, just slip a small solid bit at a time into her beak.

If the mass doesn't break up after three rounds of oil and massage, give her a stool softener such as Dulcolax. Any brand will do, but it mustn't have a stimulant.

It could be she also has egg laying issues. If she has been laying regularly, and should have produced an egg by now, you can give her some calcium supplement such as calcium citrate, and soak her in warm Epsom salt. The calcium helps with the muscles contractions needed to propel the egg, and the warm soak can help relax her.

 

[sdaikus]

Likely impacted crop. Has she been having access to grit? It's one of the things folks often overlook for their chickens. Often there's grit in the natural soil, but perhaps not enough sometimes. You may need to buy some.

To treat impacted crop, give her some oil, about a teaspoon at a time, and massage her hard crop gently in a circular motion. If you have coconut oil, it's easiest to work with, just slip a small solid bit at a time into her beak.

If the mass doesn't break up after three rounds of oil and massage, give her a stool softener such as Dulcolax. Any brand will do, but it mustn't have a stimulant.

It could be she also has egg laying issues. If she has been laying regularly, and should have produced an egg by now, you can give her some calcium supplement such as calcium citrate, and soak her in warm Epsom salt. The calcium helps with the muscles contractions needed to propel the egg, and the warm soak can help relax her.

Thank you for your help. She just started laying and she isn’t laying regularly yet. I crushed up a tuna yesterday, but that doesn’t seem to have helped.

If it is an egg and I treat it like an impacted crop, do I rush breaking the egg in her? She is still eating and drinking, but laying in the nesting box like she is “broody”.

When she does lay an egg I have to pull her off bc she lays on it all day.

 

[sdaikus]

Tuna should be tums lol

 

[azygous]

I hope you aren't confusing the front end of the chicken with the back end. The "egg" shape on the chest is likely impacted crop from the contents not being able to break up and go down into the rest of the digestive system.

The inclination to remain on a nest may or may not have something to do with an obstruction in the egg "chute". The egg laying has nothing to do with the crop.

The inclination to remain on a nest could also be from hormones dictating to the Silkie that she should incubate some eggs and raise some chicks. (Broody)

By far, your most critical and life threatening issue is the crop. You need to treat it or risk having this chicken starve to death from lack of food getting absorbed into her system.

 

[sdaikus]

I hope you aren't confusing the front end of the chicken with the back end. The "egg" shape on the chest is likely impacted crop from the contents not being able to break up and go down into the rest of the digestive system.

The inclination to remain on a nest may or may not have something to do with an obstruction in the egg "chute". The egg laying has nothing to do with the crop.

The inclination to remain on a nest could also be from hormones dictating to the Silkie that she should incubate some eggs and raise some chicks. (Broody)

By far, your most critical and life threatening issue is the crop. You need to treat it or risk having this chicken starve to death from lack of food getting absorbed into her system.

No it’s definitely to the right of her breast bone (left if you’re looking at her face to face) it’s just sooo hard and she so much smaller then my other chickens bc of her breed I get nervous. I will give coconut oil when I get home and buy grit on my way home. Thank you for your help.

 

[sdaikus]

I hope you aren't confusing the front end of the chicken with the back end. The "egg" shape on the chest is likely impacted crop from the contents not being able to break up and go down into the rest of the digestive system.

The inclination to remain on a nest may or may not have something to do with an obstruction in the egg "chute". The egg laying has nothing to do with the crop.

The inclination to remain on a nest could also be from hormones dictating to the Silkie that she should incubate some eggs and raise some chicks. (Broody)

By far, your most critical and life threatening issue is the crop. You need to treat it or risk having this chicken starve to death from lack of food getting absorbed into her system.

It was an egg!! She layed her egg and is all better. I’m assuming the calcium from yesterday helped!

Now the search begins on how to break a hen from being broody

 

[azygous]

It was an egg you felt in the abdominal area just below the crop?I suppose with a bantam, there isn't much of a spread between the two.

Just to be certain there are no crop issues, check her crop first thing in the morning to be sure it's flat and empty.

Breaking a broody requires a broody cage to allow air to circulate freely under the broody to lower her body temp. This interrupts the hormones. If you don't do this, she will keep churning out hormones. It takes about three days to break a broody.

 

[sdaikus]

It was an egg you felt in the abdominal area just below the crop?I suppose with a bantam, there isn't much of a spread between the two.

Just to be certain there are no crop issues, check her crop first thing in the morning to be sure it's flat and empty.

Breaking a broody requires a broody cage to allow air to circulate freely under the broody to lower her body temp. This interrupts the hormones. If you don't do this, she will keep churning out hormones. It takes about three days to break a broody.

Yes? It’s weird.. unless it was impacted but the soft food, plenty of water and not eating on her own cleared it and then she just happpened to lay an egg as well? I’m going to keep a close watch.

Will do and good to know! Thanks for all your help, is much appreciated.