Hello, Maude just had a crop issue. It wasn't way hard and big nor smelly/squishy but was moldable, I could feel long hay strands in it and it wouldn't empty overnite. This was only the case for a few days. I brought her in on Saturday after observing her Friday (listless, not eating, went to roost early) when I felt her crop in AM and it wasn't empty. Started oil, massage and kept her hydrated as best as I could (syringing into a beak ain't as easy as some might say!). Saturday she was pretty much in a cage in a warm darkened room inside, on water, no solid food just some yogurt warmed up with oatmeal water. She didn't want her crumbles anyway and was quiet, not preening, just standing there or lying down. In the morning Sunday her crop was slightly smaller but wasn't empty. She still showed little interest in solid food. We moved her to the bathroom which has a cold tile floor and put towels by a mirror where she stayed most of the day with her "friend" in the mirror. She got one syringe of electrolytes and many massages and began to drink on her own. Poop kept coming and began to look normal -- less watery and more substantial. She began to eat some grit and crumbles in the afternoon along with the yogurt (she wouldn't touch the scrambled egg or the bread soaked in oil or the oatmeal itself but did eat about a tsp of plain tuna -- greedily I might add). She was calm and started preening before bedtime when we moved her into her cage in the bedroom which was much cooler than the day before. This morning her crop was flat!!!! Yippee!!!!! She is acting pretty normal for her (being the least aggressive bird I have). She's preening as we speak and when I put her in the bathroom for the day she immediately went to the crumbles and started eating. I've seen her sip water once but haven't been in there with her continually. I really think the no food for a day, massage, watery yogurt and then grit helped my girl. She eats a lot of knarly stuff and always has. My girls generally free range and it's mulch season. She is the one who gulps down long strands of hay. I hadn't been providing grit because I assumed that they would get it from the soil or the sand in the run. Now, having bought grit I see how it's sharp edged unlike the river sand and probably does a much better job at chopping stuff up. I can't completely curtail Maude from eating stuff that's hard but there is now grit in the run in a bowl next to the oyster shell. Phew, long story, now for the questions: Should I keep her in one more day? It will get down to near freezing tonight and she's been inside in a cool but not cold room. I can turn on the heat lamp in the coop but am not sure how much that will help. Should I open the windows in the room she's sleeping in and/or the day room (bathroom) to get her acclimatized to the weather outside before putting her out? Should I keep her in the coop/run when I first put her out so she doesn't go straight for the mulch again? Basically, how long is the recovery period from what I think was a beginning stage of crop impaction (caught before it really was "impacted")?
How is she doing? Great job catching the "problem" and helping her thru it. It really helps to know your birds personalities. I would go ahead and put her out if you feel she is spunky enough to watch out for herself. I offer grit and I live in the sand filled desert. I have found some birds are really picky about the type of "grit" that they prefer to ingest. I personally believe that lack of grit causes many crop problems in chickens.
