Help! Pendulous/blocked crop.

[Chick-A-Holic]

One of my 8 week old Sussex pullets has got an extremely enlarged crop(think large orange/small grapefruit size). I give my chickens free-choice feed and water so for the past week I assumed I had been catching her right after she ate. Well, I thought it was a little strange that she seemed to always be full so I took away their feed and water overnight and her crop is just enormous! I do not have access to a poultry vet, so I'm hoping someone on here can help me help my chick. Her crop is not hard, it is squishy if that matters? Thank you so much for reading!

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

One of the most imformative websites for chicken ailments:

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/answers-from-chicken-vet-on-impacted.html

also,, if her crop has become pendulous it will likely never return to normal,, i have a dear old hen, blue andalusian who is so old she's gone a pale gray, who ended up with one,, she looks rather comical walking around the yard with a softball sized crop swinging around but it has never seemed to bother her

 

[Chick-A-Holic]

I love the Chicken Chick! Her blog is the reason I found this site actually. Lol Well, I squirted about half a syringe of veg oil down her throat and massaged her crop some more.

I don't mind if her crop stays pendulous, I just want her to be okay.

 

[KurtG]

Did she have access to anything to block it 9grass,etc.)? We had a Black Copper Marans get an impacted crop at ~5 weeks after being outside a short while (it appeared pendulous as well). We had to do home surgery. Clara Barton, has recovered and doing well with others in the coop.

If it is just slow or sour, I would feed it probiotics..all that oil/massage/vomiting did nothing for ours. It was the surgery that saved her.

 

[Chick-A-Holic]

Yes, she gets turned out in a covered run a few times each week for about 10 mins so I'm thinking it's blocked grass(even though I keep the grass short). I will try the probiotics - her crop is not sour, it just isn't emptying properly.

I'm not sure I'd be able/comfortable doing the surgery. If it doesn't clear up soon I will probably just have to put her down.

 

[KurtG]

The surgery is no worse than putting one down (I have now done both). Clara Barton, lol, did not squirm or make any noises. The worse part was my nerves and the intitial cut. The skin is hard to cut without stretching it really tight first. There was no bleeding either when I cut the skin layer or the crop. Pulling and massaging the grass out was nasty though. The more grass I pulled out, the more came... I through some powdered septic antibiotics my wife had on the incision site and that was a mistake as it was exceedingly difficult to see to sew. I had gotten some dissolvable sutures on the internet (a few $ each) and sewed her up and dumped iodine wound dressing on her. She sat under her light with not much action for a few days eating cooked egg sprinkled with probiotics. About a week in or so she was moved back to the coop. She has been in the coop 3-4 weeks with the others now and you can not even find her incision and her crop has shrunken back to normal size.

fwiw- Clara was only out in the yard a few times a few minutes each before this incident.

 

[casportpony]

What does her poop look like?

-Kathy

 

[Chick-A-Holic]

Kathy, her poo was a putrid orange water.


Well, Mable wouldn't eat or drink all day and her crop was beginning to feel hard so we decided to put her down. It was a hard decision, but I did not want her to suffer.

 

[Chick-A-Holic]

I decided to add the last photo I took of her. This was taken on the day I assume the blockage occurred.. She is the pullet in the back.

 

[casportpony]

Sorry for your loss.

-Kathy