Impacted crop from oyster shells

[PurpleCArTires]

Hello Chicken Lovers!
I have a young lady (almost 5 months) who injested a bunch of oystershell and impacted her crop. She is a black Asian/RIR cross.

It started 3 days ago, i noticed her crop was huge! So i brought her inside in a dog crate for observation. Her crop was still huge in the morning amd felt like a huge water balloon about the size of a softball. As i massaged it, she started vomiting stinky liquid. So i figured it was a sour crop infection and immediately took her off food and only gave her water with ACV. She hasnt had anything to eat for about 36 hrs, amd her crop is no longer squishy, but now its a hard lump about the size of a golf ball. When i massage it, i can feel the oyster shell in there.

I doubt she will vomit it out. Had anyone had this happen before? Did the oyster shell dissolve or did you need to cut it out?

She is still pooing, although its a little watery.

(BTW.. They have free choice food, water, grit, and shell all the time... Plus treats and they free range).

 

[azygous]

It's more likely grit you feel in the crop. Oyster shell is water soluble and rarely, if ever, causes crop impaction. Also, I've never seen or heard of a hen binging on oyster shell. It's not a food source and usually is consumed in small amounts to satisfy a fleeting craving.

That said, you should keep an eye on this hen in case she has a condition called "pica" where non-food stuff is binged to the exclusion of real food. If you see her spending lengthy time at the oyster shell dispenser, steps need to be taken to try to break her of this compulsion.

Holler for me if you discover that's a problem, and I'll help you try to fix it. Meanwhile, you can try to mointor her poop to see if she's getting enough food to eat. If she isn't her poop will be watery with green chunks.

Offer plenty of water, and you can try to massage the gritty lump to clear it out.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

It's more likely grit you feel in the crop. Oyster shell is water soluble and rarely, if ever, causes crop impaction. Also, I've never seen or heard of a hen binging on oyster shell. It's not a food source and usually is consumed in small amounts to satisfy a fleeting craving.

That said, you should keep an eye on this hen in case she has a condition called "pica" where non-food stuff is binged to the exclusion of real food. If you see her spending lengthy time at the oyster shell dispenser, steps need to be taken to try to break her of this compulsion.

Holler for me if you discover that's a problem, and I'll help you try to fix it. Meanwhile, you can try to mointor her poop to see if she's getting enough food to eat. If she isn't her poop will be watery with green chunks.

Offer plenty of water, and you can try to massage the gritty lump to clear it out.

Thank you for your ideas! I went out and saw her sisters eatting away at the oyster shell like crazy too this morning. So i took it out of their pen. Ill return it in a few days. We have 8 inches of snow right now and maybe they are confused lol.

Luckly none of the other ladies have huge balloon crops but i will be keeping an eye out.

I gave her some coconut oil and she has lots of fresh water. Ill keep massaging her and hope it clears up. Its very hard like rocks in a balloon or a stress ball lol.

 

[NatJ]

Not an expert, but I wonder: would it make sense to also give her a dish of the usual food?
--it might help knock loose the oyster shell and push it on into her digestive system
--it might just bypass the oyster shell and get digested, but at least then she would have some nutrients

(I've never dealt with a situation like this, so just guessing about it.)

For the other hens, double-check that they have food, just in case they are actually hungry. Sometimes feeders get clogged up or buried when the hens scratch bedding or something like that.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

Not an expert, but I wonder: would it make sense to also give her a dish of the usual food?
--it might help knock loose the oyster shell and push it on into her digestive system
--it might just bypass the oyster shell and get digested, but at least then she would have some nutrients

(I've never dealt with a situation like this, so just guessing about it.)

For the other hens, double-check that they have food, just in case they are actually hungry. Sometimes feeders get clogged up or buried when the hens scratch bedding or something like that.

Yeah i double checked their food and they have lots and can still get to it.
Ill try to give her a little soft food in a bit and see if it helps. At this point I am worried she will get a pendulous crop and be crippled for life.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

Update! So i ended up doing the crop surgery on little Red River. Her crop had sooo much junk in it. She had tons of oyster shells, grasses, and even some fabric looking stuff .

After the surgury, i withheld food another 24 hours and just gave her ACV water. She pooped out like a tablespoon of oyster shells! Then i started giving her very watery mash in tiny portions for 3 days, then upped her to some scrabble eggs and back to regular feed. I put her back out with her friends a few days ago and have been watching her closely. She is not over indulging on the oyster shell anymore and has not developed pendulous crop! I am so thankful, but all sign show she is going to make a full recovery!

 

[azygous]

You are AWESOME!

 

[Pabbott]

Hello Chicken Lovers!
I have a young lady (almost 5 months) who injested a bunch of oystershell and impacted her crop. She is a black Asian/RIR cross.

It started 3 days ago, i noticed her crop was huge! So i brought her inside in a dog crate for observation. Her crop was still huge in the morning amd felt like a huge water balloon about the size of a softball. As i massaged it, she started vomiting stinky liquid. So i figured it was a sour crop infection and immediately took her off food and only gave her water with ACV. She hasnt had anything to eat for about 36 hrs, amd her crop is no longer squishy, but now its a hard lump about the size of a golf ball. When i massage it, i can feel the oyster shell in there.

I doubt she will vomit it out. Had anyone had this happen before? Did the oyster shell dissolve or did you need to cut it out?

She is still pooing, although its a little watery.

(BTW.. They have free choice food, water, grit, and shell all the time... Plus treats and they free range).

My older Barred Rock is doing the same. But is passing all through her crop other than the oyster shells
I gave her a few drops of coconut oil and messaged for a few minutes. Will do that several times a day until she is all better. Oh ya- prayer works great too

 

[Pabbott]

My older Barred Rock is doing the same. But is passing all through her crop other than the oyster shells
I gave her a few drops of coconut oil and messaged for a few minutes. Will do that several times a day until she is all better. Oh ya- prayer works great too

Last night when I tucked them in my hen was doing this swallowing thing- praying her night went well. If not back into quarantine-oil & message - keep praying

 

[PurpleCArTires]

Last night when I tucked them in my hen was doing this swallowing thing- praying her night went well. If not back into quarantine-oil & message - keep praying

Praying her night went well!! I tried the oil and massage for a few days and it different make a difference for mine. But what I think happened is she injested the fabric stuff (looked like a strip of a tshirt or something?? Lol) and it clogged her up and then she feasted on oyster shells trying to loosen it herself. I am pretty convinced it wouldnt have worked itself out, so I am thankful i went with the surgery and cleared it out. It was amazing how much she had in there and the smell was awful. And the surgery/pain didnt affect her. But she was so hungry at that point she was trying to eat it while I was pulling it out! Gross lol.