hellotrixie
Songster
Hello to all of you out there in chicken land. I haven't posted in a while because I have a 1 year old and no time, but I find myself in a situation where I'd like to hear from other chicken keepers. I only have two chicken friends to talk to IRL.
This is a bit long...I've put a TLDR; at the end of the post in case you don't want to read through it all.
I have an EE called Blondie who has a mass in her crop that won't pass. It feels like a big wad of chewing gum. Other than this mass, her crop fills and empties normally.
I have had her isolated in my garage for 8 days trying to clear this mass. Initially, I fasted her on only water for a little over 24 hours. I then gave her frozen coconut oil bits and tried massage. After about 36 hours I decided that she needed something to eat as she was very perky and looking for food in every corner of the dog crate. I fed her a pumpkin puree/olive oil slurry, waited a while, then tried more massage to no avail.
I began to feed her small amounts throughout the day, alternating the pumpkin slurry and a slurry of her pellets mixed with water. I also added Nutridrench to her water. I regularly checked and massaged her crop. If I was massaging after the pellet slurry, I fed her coconut oil bits beforehand.
After a couple of days with no progress, I took her to a local vet who sees poultry. She told me to keep doing what I was doing, but to give a stool softener (not laxative) twice a day 30 minutes before the massage. She also said she does not do crop surgery.
I followed these instructions for another 5 days but the mass still has not cleared. It is pliable, and I can massage it into different shapes, but I cannot seem to break it up. I stopped the stool softener and oil treatments because I didn't feel I was making any progress. I switched her from the slurry diet to wet pellets.
Blondie is eating well and drinking plenty of water (I'm measuring). She also has normal poo (a bit watery right now because it is hot here and she is drinking a lot). She last laid an egg about a week ago, but I'm not super worried about this because she has been in the garage (not a lot of sunlight), it is very hot, and she's obviously been a bit stressed by her confinement and all the handling that she's not used to.
Today I took Blondie to an exotic vet with more bird experience. She told me that other than the mass in her crop, Blondie seems really healthy. Her weight is good, her abdomen feels good, heart/lungs sound good. She did some nice healthy poops while being examined, and the vet agreed they look ok. She does not have sour crop, and the vet didn't feel that her crop has become pendulous, presumably because things are still moving.
This vet recommended surgery (plus pre-surgical tests) to the tune of $500 - $1500 depending on what I elect in terms of tests, as some of the things like pre-surgery x-rays and blood work are recommended but optional. As much as I want to do right by Blondie, I simply cannot afford even the low end of this.
I also feel that I cannot keep Blondie isolated/confined forever...she needs to be allowed to be a chicken again eventually. Plus she has begun feather picking, I'm assuming out of boredom. I gave her some sturdy parrot toys I had hanging around and that seems to be helping somewhat.
I see two choices going forward, and I'm just wondering what other experienced keepers would do.
Option 1: Back to the flock with monitoring
I can try weaning Blondie back to her regular pellets from her wet diet and, assuming that goes well, reintroduced her to the flock. I can check her crop in the mornings and watch her behavior. Maybe this will resolve itself over time.
Option 2: Home crop surgery
I've done a bunch of research on crop surgery, and I actually already have all the supplies at home. I have a strong stomach, steady hands, and a husband who is a good helper and could hold Blondie during surgery. I'm just nervous about doing this because, well, I'm not a vet or a surgeon.
So...I'm just looking for opinions to help me make my decision. Let me know your experiences and thoughts if you have time. Thanks in advance!
TLDR; I have a hen with a gummy mass in her crop that won't clear. She eats/drinks/poops/acts normal. Have been to two vets. Can't afford crop surgery at the vet. Should I move her back to the flock and monitor her, or attempt home surgery?
This is a bit long...I've put a TLDR; at the end of the post in case you don't want to read through it all.
I have an EE called Blondie who has a mass in her crop that won't pass. It feels like a big wad of chewing gum. Other than this mass, her crop fills and empties normally.
I have had her isolated in my garage for 8 days trying to clear this mass. Initially, I fasted her on only water for a little over 24 hours. I then gave her frozen coconut oil bits and tried massage. After about 36 hours I decided that she needed something to eat as she was very perky and looking for food in every corner of the dog crate. I fed her a pumpkin puree/olive oil slurry, waited a while, then tried more massage to no avail.
I began to feed her small amounts throughout the day, alternating the pumpkin slurry and a slurry of her pellets mixed with water. I also added Nutridrench to her water. I regularly checked and massaged her crop. If I was massaging after the pellet slurry, I fed her coconut oil bits beforehand.
After a couple of days with no progress, I took her to a local vet who sees poultry. She told me to keep doing what I was doing, but to give a stool softener (not laxative) twice a day 30 minutes before the massage. She also said she does not do crop surgery.
I followed these instructions for another 5 days but the mass still has not cleared. It is pliable, and I can massage it into different shapes, but I cannot seem to break it up. I stopped the stool softener and oil treatments because I didn't feel I was making any progress. I switched her from the slurry diet to wet pellets.
Blondie is eating well and drinking plenty of water (I'm measuring). She also has normal poo (a bit watery right now because it is hot here and she is drinking a lot). She last laid an egg about a week ago, but I'm not super worried about this because she has been in the garage (not a lot of sunlight), it is very hot, and she's obviously been a bit stressed by her confinement and all the handling that she's not used to.
Today I took Blondie to an exotic vet with more bird experience. She told me that other than the mass in her crop, Blondie seems really healthy. Her weight is good, her abdomen feels good, heart/lungs sound good. She did some nice healthy poops while being examined, and the vet agreed they look ok. She does not have sour crop, and the vet didn't feel that her crop has become pendulous, presumably because things are still moving.
This vet recommended surgery (plus pre-surgical tests) to the tune of $500 - $1500 depending on what I elect in terms of tests, as some of the things like pre-surgery x-rays and blood work are recommended but optional. As much as I want to do right by Blondie, I simply cannot afford even the low end of this.
I also feel that I cannot keep Blondie isolated/confined forever...she needs to be allowed to be a chicken again eventually. Plus she has begun feather picking, I'm assuming out of boredom. I gave her some sturdy parrot toys I had hanging around and that seems to be helping somewhat.
I see two choices going forward, and I'm just wondering what other experienced keepers would do.
Option 1: Back to the flock with monitoring
I can try weaning Blondie back to her regular pellets from her wet diet and, assuming that goes well, reintroduced her to the flock. I can check her crop in the mornings and watch her behavior. Maybe this will resolve itself over time.
Option 2: Home crop surgery
I've done a bunch of research on crop surgery, and I actually already have all the supplies at home. I have a strong stomach, steady hands, and a husband who is a good helper and could hold Blondie during surgery. I'm just nervous about doing this because, well, I'm not a vet or a surgeon.
So...I'm just looking for opinions to help me make my decision. Let me know your experiences and thoughts if you have time. Thanks in advance!
TLDR; I have a hen with a gummy mass in her crop that won't clear. She eats/drinks/poops/acts normal. Have been to two vets. Can't afford crop surgery at the vet. Should I move her back to the flock and monitor her, or attempt home surgery?
My chickens are not my pets. So, I personally would not take a sick chicken to the vet and pay their bills. I would not consider paying a vet for an expensive surgery on any of my chickens. I think you would be better off using that money to raise your 1 year old child.
