Hen with recurring squishy crop - Advice Needed

[tarahharlin]

Hi,

I have a Blue Splash Marans hen that will be 2 years old this Spring. Over this past year, she's had a squishy crop that seems to come and go. The first was last Jan.2020, which I actually posted about. However, we now have dealt with this in Oct/Nov and I just finished treating her with Monistat during the first week of February and now it's back again. Every time I've treated her with the Monistat, it has been successful and eventually clears up. It's interesting because the crop issue last Jan and the one this Oct/Nov all coincided with the start of her molting. The one early this February was just prior to her starting to lay again.
I do check their crops every morning, so I always catch this quickly. She's acting okay, eating/drinking and poops appear to look pretty normal and has never acted sick during any of these episodes. I did deworm her with Valbazen at the beginning of February when this last crop issue came up wondering if worms could've been an issue. They are on Purina Layena Free Range and have access to grit. I'm really at a loss with all of this and curious to what could be causing this. I guess my biggest question is...am I okay to keep treating her with the Monistat, since I just did the first week of February?

I would appreciate any advice/insight.

Thanks!

 

[Eddie12109]

I’m sorry no one has answered yet. My best bet would be pendulous crop.
I can’t say that it isn’t caused by the other reasons but I have a hen who was constantly coming in to be treated for sour crop and the in January it just wouldn’t go away so I got a crop bra and she hasn’t had an issue since! I would recommend just getting one for her next episode and leaving it on and seeing what happens. Hopefully someone with more advice can help.
Also I’m not sure about the monistat

 

[tarahharlin]

I’m sorry no one has answered yet. My best bet would be pendulous crop.
I can’t say that it isn’t caused by the other reasons but I have a hen who was constantly coming in to be treated for sour crop and the in January it just wouldn’t go away so I got a crop bra and she hasn’t had an issue since! I would recommend just getting one for her next episode and leaving it on and seeing what happens. Hopefully someone with more advice can help.
Also I’m not sure about the monistat

That's really interesting and good to know. Pendulous crop had crossed my mind, but I guess I was hoping that we weren't already at that point. I did buy a crop bra last fall and had her wear it for a bit....wow, that was quite the ordeal at first. lol I feel like the one I got doesn't fit the best and she picks at the ties, so it gets loose and falls off eventually. What kind was the one you got your hen? I'm glad to hear that helped your girl!
Thanks for the reply

 

[casportpony]

You might want to try treating for capillary worms with fenbendazole (Safeguard). Give 0.23 ml per pound of body weight orally for five days.

 

[tarahharlin]

You might want to try treating for capillary worms with fenbendazole (Safeguard). Give 0.23 ml per pound of body weight orally for five days.

I'll pick some up and give that a try. I've been wanting to add Safeguard to their chicken med cabinet anyway. Do you think I should still continue the Monistat with her along with trying a crop bra?
She just laid an egg yesterday and seems to be acting normal. I also forgot to mention that her abdomen feels normal as well. I do notice this girl eats more grit than the others.

 

[casportpony]

Can you post some pictures of her?

 

[tarahharlin]

Can you post some pictures of her?

Here's Sweet Pea. I just checked her crop and let them out of the coop. You can definitely see her crop here. It was less than what it was when she went to bed, but still full. Do you think it could be pendulous, since this has happened multiple times now?

 

[tarahharlin]

Also, here's a poop picture. I scooped it up out of the run to get a better pic, so there is some straw stuck to it.

 

[Eddie12109]

That's really interesting and good to know. Pendulous crop had crossed my mind, but I guess I was hoping that we weren't already at that point. I did buy a crop bra last fall and had her wear it for a bit....wow, that was quite the ordeal at first. lol I feel like the one I got doesn't fit the best and she picks at the ties, so it gets loose and falls off eventually. What kind was the one you got your hen? I'm glad to hear that helped your girl!
Thanks for the reply

oh yes i understand, i bought a crop bra and it didnt fit at all! It was horrible. I will put a link to where i got my crop bra. And thank you! Yes my hen sometimes gets irritated but it but she seems to not notice it usually. i got two bras from this website and they are made of different materials, one is loose and weird and the other is fine. i believe you can request a specific type and the one that fits well is white with bumble bees it also seems to be made of cotton while the other is made of a Cotton/dri-fit material. Hope this helps!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/779998...ken&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1

Here's Sweet Pea. I just checked her crop and let them out of the coop. You can definitely see her crop here. It was less than what it was when she went to bed, but still full. Do you think it could be pendulous, since this has happened multiple times now?

I would think it is leaning towards pendulous but even if its not, the bra will be able to quicken that process up.

 

[tarahharlin]

oh yes i understand, i bought a crop bra and it didnt fit at all! It was horrible. I will put a link to where i got my crop bra. And thank you! Yes my hen sometimes gets irritated but it but she seems to not notice it usually. i got two bras from this website and they are made of different materials, one is loose and weird and the other is fine. i believe you can request a specific type and the one that fits well is white with bumble bees it also seems to be made of cotton while the other is made of a Cotton/dri-fit material. Hope this helps!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/779998...ken&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1

I would think it is leaning towards pendulous but even if its not, the bra will be able to quicken that process up.

This is super helpful...thank you! I just checked the website and this is one I looked at originally. Now I wish I would've bought from them in the first place. I don't see the bumble bee one available, so I think I'll just have to guess and hope for the best. Either way, I would think it's got to fit and work better than the one we have now. Thanks again!