huge bulging crop- no feathers....

[chickenlisa]

my 1+ yr old hen (white faced black Spanish) has a huge bulging uncomfortable crop....before I fed them for the day. She doesn't want to run around to get food-Hard Boiled eggs I crushed up and gave them- and seems to step carefully and reach her foot up with each step to scratch at it as she walks slowly. It does feel full and granular sort of...Should I do anything or will it go down on its own?She isn't feeling right I can tell...she'd stay and talk to me as I gathered eggs...not normal for a yard full of egg treats and other kitchen scraps...everyone else was running around and grabbing as much as they could...not her though.
Help please? I don't want to lose her.
Lisa

 

[cajunlizz]

are you giving them grit ? I heard once you start giving them a varity of different foods or scrap , grit helps them to digest the food . Try that . I add some grit to all my food

 

[chickenlisa]

yes she has grit and oyster shell and has a yard with lots of little pebbles, dirt, etc... available...

 

[cajunlizz]

maybe call a vet and ask him

 

[cajunlizz]

Quote:
well , how is she doing? Did you find out what the problem was ?


I FOUND this article on Crop impactions :

I've had two hens develop a crop impaction in the last two months. Both had lost a lot of weight and one could barely stand up. She acted as if she was dizzy and kept falling over.

To cure, I added about 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar to a gallon of water. That was their only source of water for about 3 days. The idea is to make a slightly acidic drink for them to aid in dissolving the impaction. The first few days, I fed the hens about two tablespoons of finely diced red tomatoes. The tomatoes were fed once in the morning and again in the evening. After they eat the tomatoes, it is important to massage the crop and try to embed the tomatoes into the crop mass. I squeezed the crop mass between my thumb and index finger until my thumb and finger almost touch together. Both of my hens had impactions that were about 3/4 the size of a tennis ball and it felt like Silly Putty or a thick Play Dough.

Besides the tomatoes, I dissolved some multi-vitamins in their drinking water and also fed them strawberry yogurt and some applesauce. I found that when they had this compaction, they would not even attempt to eat their pellets so I kept them on a liquid diet. After the first week, I introduced some canned dog food (canned cat food would also work), but I mixed the dog food with some tomatoes or apple sauce to liquify it. After a couple of weeks, I added some moistened oatmeal to the applesauce or yogurt.

About three weeks, I pulverized some pellets and they would eat them that way and after a few more days, they start eating their pellets again. You can tell when they are ready for the pellets again because the crop impaction disappears totally.

I didn't think either of these hens would have lived, but after 3 to 4 weeks of this diet and crop massages, both hens look great and started laying eggs again.

I want to stress the importance of massaging the crop after the liquids have been consumed and try to break up the mass each time you do it. You will notice the mass getting softer and smaller as the days pass. Your chickens may be skittish at the beginning of treatment, but by the end, they will sit on your lap and not run away anymore. They enjoy the attention.

Also, I believe my hen's troubles started when the leaves started falling off the trees into their pens. They would run and catch the leaves and eat them before their comrades could get them. If your bird's compaction is caused by them eating wire, plastic, or aluminum foil, I don't believe my method would work.

 

[sammi]

sounds like the crop is impacted..

there are many threads here about this subject..try and do a search..
there is alo a sticky at the top of the page about surgery,,
you can try this technique:

http://happyhenhouse.proboards43.com/index.cgi?board=natural&action=display&thread=5257

 

[d.k]

* Maybe try isolating her with water only and NO food overnight and see if it goes down a little at least. Do you think you could be overfeeding them or is she just too greedy for her own good?? If it's not down by morning, surgery may be the only option. If it is down some, you might try olive oil and yogurt with a lighter meal regime for a bit to clear the contents. The yogurt, given regularly, should help boost digestive enzymes. What are you feeding?? Do they get a lot of stuff that swells when they drink water-- like rice or oats????