- Jan 5, 2009
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Hi, last year during a bad moult, my now 7 yo buff orpington ended up in a horrible crop yeast infection. Crop surgery got rid of all the blockages and then she was on meds for the yeast. She didn't have much debris in her crop last year during surgery, but opening it up and cleaning her out allowed the roughage stuck in her colon to move on out somehow.
She is on the schedule for crop surgery again in two days. Moulting makes her sick. I've seen it in a few of my hens that they just can't handle a moult well. Stop eating, crop impacts, they try to eat roughage etc. I have seen her eating her feathers (she is not eating the new feathers coming in .... she's eating the old feathers being shed!) and I've got her crop down to the size of a large marble. This has been going on for a month. Two weeks ago I got her completely emptied out but she filled back up on me bc I released her too soon. She was about the size of two golf balls at that point. I have worked with her over the last two weeks to get it to shrink.
Only large marble size remains and I think it's possibly bundled feathers, although it's very firm in the mornings. I think some of them already passed went through bc she's desperate to eat anything such as pine shavings, etc. She has only pooped out one feather so far. I'm concerned there are some trapped in her gizzard unable to exit. Probably why she's eating feathers. So she's in this vicious circle right now. Eating the very thing that's making her worse.
She eats feed but stays inside my house with me all day. It's very stressful having to watch for her to groom and when the feathers fall on the table I have to grab them before she does. I'm concerned even if I proceed with surgery on Friday that she will just eat more feathers and fill back up again post-surgery. But I'm afraid if I don't get it then her already affected gizzard could be all the way blocked.
I have searched the forums as I normally do before I post and I can't find any info on hens eating feathers. Anyone have experience how to deal with this?
Thanks.
ETA: I am unable to delete this thread, but she is now pooping out feathers. So hopefully with time this will resolve.
She is on the schedule for crop surgery again in two days. Moulting makes her sick. I've seen it in a few of my hens that they just can't handle a moult well. Stop eating, crop impacts, they try to eat roughage etc. I have seen her eating her feathers (she is not eating the new feathers coming in .... she's eating the old feathers being shed!) and I've got her crop down to the size of a large marble. This has been going on for a month. Two weeks ago I got her completely emptied out but she filled back up on me bc I released her too soon. She was about the size of two golf balls at that point. I have worked with her over the last two weeks to get it to shrink.
Only large marble size remains and I think it's possibly bundled feathers, although it's very firm in the mornings. I think some of them already passed went through bc she's desperate to eat anything such as pine shavings, etc. She has only pooped out one feather so far. I'm concerned there are some trapped in her gizzard unable to exit. Probably why she's eating feathers. So she's in this vicious circle right now. Eating the very thing that's making her worse.
She eats feed but stays inside my house with me all day. It's very stressful having to watch for her to groom and when the feathers fall on the table I have to grab them before she does. I'm concerned even if I proceed with surgery on Friday that she will just eat more feathers and fill back up again post-surgery. But I'm afraid if I don't get it then her already affected gizzard could be all the way blocked.
I have searched the forums as I normally do before I post and I can't find any info on hens eating feathers. Anyone have experience how to deal with this?
Thanks.
ETA: I am unable to delete this thread, but she is now pooping out feathers. So hopefully with time this will resolve.
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