Impacted crop advice

[TurtletheCoturnix]

And, one last question before I do it tomorrow, how exactly do I get the 0.75 cm-long capsule and the bits of coconut oil into her beak without accidentally choking or strangling her to death? After I got the mineral oil in her today, her neck and breast feathers were completely covered in oil, and she didn't get much down.

 

[azygous]

She can swallow the long pill just fine. By opening her beak and placing it on her tongue, she will swallow it. I know some humans have a lot of trouble swallowing pills, especially large ones, but chickens do not have this issue.

What brand of stool softener are you using? It should be a non-stimulant Dulcolax or generic. The kind I use is a Walmart brand and it's a very tiny pill, about the size of pea.

The entire point of doing coconut oil is to be able to get an oil into her without the danger and mess and waste of a liquid oil. If you are using unrefined coconut oil, the stuff is only liquid over 70F. By chilling it in the fridge first or using it at cool room temp, you can slip pea-size pieces into her beak and no oil will go any where else, only down her esophagus, because her tongue automatically sends it there and not her airway.

This is why I began advising coconut oil for this purpose several years ago, instead of the mineral oil or olive oil BYC ers were recommending at the time. I was dosing a tiny baby chick with constipation, and I was desperately afraid, as you presently are, that she would aspirate the oil and die. I got the sudden notion to use the coconut oil which is not a liquid oil at room temp or below, and I slipped tiny slivers into her beak with no problem at all. It saved her life, as a matter of fact.

It may save your chicken's life. I would do it tonight and not wait until morning unless you simply must sleep right now. If you do wait until tomorrow, she will be that much weaker and closer to death and harder to treat successfully. But if this persists into tomorrow and is still not resolved, please use the stool softener.

 

[TurtletheCoturnix]

Ok, I fed the two teaspoons of coconut oil, and massaged her. Not much stuff has gone down, but at least it's not hard anymore.

I have a new thought: what if I fed her ACV? Does that help break down the grass?

 

[azygous]

ACV doesn't do anything for crop disorders, and could make things worse.

Compared to your other hens, how does this hen's crop hang? Low, medium, or about up where the other hens' crops hang? If you view your hen from the side, does the crop hang low and perhaps even moves as she walks? https://poultrykeeper.com/digestive-system-problems/pendulous-crop/

I'm wondering if maybe she has a pendulous crop and this is why the crop isn't emptying. Remember, the "drain" is about a third of the way up from the bottom of the crop. Anything below that will not reach the drain and the crop will always be a little full.

When an impacted crop fails to respond to oil, stool softener and massage, continues to be full and hard, crop surgery is the last resort. I've talked several members through the surgery before. It's not difficult and no suturing is necessary. You would need someone to assist you.

The other option before surgery is a crop bra after you massage and soften the crop contents as much as you can. I'm also concerned that the crop has started to go yeasty by now and miconazole treatment should be started.

 

[TurtletheCoturnix]

Not pendulous crop, it doesn't hang low and there isn't much stuff in it. But you might be right about the forming sour crop.

Today in the morning her crop was hard, then she drank some water and oil, then it became soft and mushy. She might have drunk some water in the afternoon, but the water still hasn't drained. Just this morning I found oil in her poop (coconut oil), which meant the fluids still could go down.

The remaining stuff in her crop is just not draining, and it's almost been two weeks. I really don't know anything at this point. It could be beginning to be sour crop, her gizzard might be impacted, or it's just her crop that's impacted. I don't know what is impacted!

She still poops. But nothing is in the poop, just water, and little bits of green stuff, which doesn't look like grass, but is it grass?

I am fairly sure what is still in her crop is long grass strands.

Today her energy level is ceasing. Does molasses water help? Will it give her some energy?

 

[azygous]

I suggest you start her on miconazole (twice a day for exactly seven days, no more, no less). The crop being soft and full of liquid sounds like yeast is colonizing now. Molasses will produce diarrhea or liquid poop, but you really do not want to feed the yeast, and molasses would do that. Stay away from sugars and carbs for now. Boiled egg or mackerel or dry crumbles would be better for her until the yeast is under control.

Do you have Poultry Nutri-drench? That is what you need to give her for energy for a few days.

Unless you see any actual grass in her stool, the green you see is likely bile from starving.

 

[TurtletheCoturnix]

Ok, I need to take some action soon. I don't know how long she can last. So assume it hasn't become a sour crop in the morning. Can I give your surgery a shot?
Please tell me (with details!) how to do it if I should.

Ok, now for the second option. Assume it has turned sour. What should I do? Will she even last another 7 days? I'll see if I can get the Poulty Nutri Drench tomorrow.

 

[azygous]

Treat the yeast in her crop regardless of surgery. Surgery will remove the grass in her crop, but won't remove the yeast.

Use miconazole vaginal yeast cream. Get it at the pharmacy where the women's hygiene products are. Do this immediately. You are right. This is going to starve your hen if it goes on any longer. It may have already gone too long already.

Squeeze a half inch of cream out of the tube onto your finger and pry open her beak and wipe the cream off just inside her beak. Please get over the notion she will choke if you put anything into her mouth.

Do this two times a day, starting right now. In the morning, give her another dose, and in the late afternoon, the second dose. You will do this every day for seven days, not counting tonight.

It's late, and I will describe the surgery in another post in the morning.

 

[azygous]

Oh well, here's the surgery directions and a very easy video to follow.

Supplies to assemble:

A helper
Vetericyn wound spray
Betadine or alcohol
Saline wound flush
Sharp, sterilized cutting tool such as a one-sided razor blade or Xacto knife.
Sterile gauze
Tube of super glue
Latex gloves
Bath towel
Scissors to cut away feathers from incision site

Surgery:
-Wrap hen securely in a bath towel confining wings and feet, but leaving the crop exposed. No anesthesia is required. No pain meds.
-Have your helper hold the hen on her back on a hard surface or table.
-Locate the spot where the lump is most concentrated.
-Trim her feathers away so just skin is exposed.
-Prep the site with Betadine or alcohol to remove external bacteria.

Make a one inch incision in the skin. Do not cut any deeper than the outer layer. This will expose the crop sack.

Next, cut a one-inch opening into the crop sack, slightly offset to the outer cut. This is very important. You should be able to see the obstruction, grass or maybe something else that shouldn't be in there.

Putting slight pressure on the crop, push the obstruction toward the opening and pull it out. Continue until you can't get anything else out of it.

Irrigate the inside of the crop with a generous amount of saline until the saline comes out clean.

Dry the incisions by patting with sterile gauze. First apply super glue to the edges of the inner incision. Hold the tissue together until it bonds, about one minute. If it doesn't hold, apply more glue and continue to hold it until it bonds.

Glue the outer incision as you just did the inner one. Spray the incision liberally with Vetericyn. This promotes the tissue to grow together and heal. Do this twice a day for the next two days.

Feed only soft food such as yogurt, soft boiled egg, apple sauce, or gruel made from mixing water into her feed until it's soupy for the week following surgery. Give her a dose of Nutri-drench each day for five days plus continuing the miconazole for seven days.

 

[TurtletheCoturnix]

It's not so mushy, but like dough this morning. It's turning into a sour crop. But, will I still be able to perform a surgery on sour crops? And there is not a "tennis ball lump" of grass in her crop. Is it still okay to perform surgery on a tiny bit of grass?