Impacted crop help

[Bella vista]

My hen is a 19 week red sexlink. For about four days the crop has been the size of a golf ball. Sometimes a little mushy on top but mostly really hard. Her normal diet is chick feed but we just switched to layer crumbles since she started laying about 2 weeks ago. She still is eating and drinking fine.
I am trying to figure out the reason for the clog! I had been sprinkling scratch once a day.. ( I have since stopped because of the heat.) Maybe the corn? All the hens are fussy with the straw in the nesting boxes... Maybe she ate too much straw? They are in a dirt run. I'm thinking it has plenty of grit...? Will grit help with this impaction?
I have been researching everything here on impacted crop so I fed olive oil/ bread and started massaging the crop today. This is not helping yet. How long should I let this go before doing crop surgery?.... Advise???

 

[Charm1704]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/newestpost/620398


I had the same problem...this was my post....~Charm1704

 

[Bella vista]

Thank you! If I end up doing the surgery I can't decide to use super glue, or suture. I've read pros and cons for both. I have a ER nurse friend who said she would suture for me if I went that route. How did you flush the crop after you emptied?

 

[Jaycee2]

When are you checking the crop? Check first thing in the morning to see if it's empty.

 

[Bella vista]

I'm still feeding olive oil soaked bread and doing massages. The crop is still the same size but is softer and easier to manipulate today. Maybe it's working

 

[Charm1704]

I didn't flush the crop.....just got all of the hay out....I did end up sewing her up with a new sewing needle and quilting thread though....~Charm1704

 

[casportpony]

I'm still feeding olive oil soaked bread and doing massages. The crop is still the same size but is softer and easier to manipulate today. Maybe it's working

I found a sick hen the other day and her crop was full of grain and rock hard, so I gave her 60ml of pedialytle and massaged her crop. By the morning it was half the size... gave another 60ml of Pedialyte and that fixed her.

Curiously, why do people give olive oil? I'm no expert, but I think mineral oil would be a better choice as it would definitely help stuff move through the intestines, olive oil won't, it will just get digested.

-Kathy

 

[babyjaycol]

My beautiful and sweet Matlide has been looking like Dolly Parton of late, and I didn't know what to do. I spoke with the state vet and he said for me to give her yogurt and I asked about adding mineral oil to it and he said, yes, good idea. I have been doing that for a couple of days, today gave her pellets mashed up in water with added mineral oil, later today yogurt and mineral oil, and have been doing massages. Her crop seemed a lot harder Saturday (no smell of sour crop during any of this thank goodness) when I started all of this, and now it feels squishier but not smaller. I called him back today to update and ask what if anything I needed to do, and he said add a little grit to the yogurt too and continue with the massages. I asked about surgery and he said give it a week or so with soft food, oil and massages if she's feeling well, which she is. He said I'm essentially acting as an external gizzard by adding good bacteria in there, a little grit, and massaging. The stuff should start/continue to break up and make its exit. I sure hope so. Didn't want to do surgery since she feels good otherwise. She is pooping like a champ, and still laying! But really wants to get out of isolation hahahaha!!

 

[casportpony]

My beautiful and sweet Matlide has been looking like Dolly Parton of late, and I didn't know what to do. I spoke with the state vet and he said for me to give her yogurt and I asked about adding mineral oil to it and he said, yes, good idea. I have been doing that for a couple of days, today gave her pellets mashed up in water with added mineral oil, later today yogurt and mineral oil, and have been doing massages. Her crop seemed a lot harder Saturday (no smell of sour crop during any of this thank goodness) when I started all of this, and now it feels squishier but not smaller. I called him back today to update and ask what if anything I needed to do, and he said add a little grit to the yogurt too and continue with the massages. I asked about surgery and he said give it a week or so with soft food, oil and massages if she's feeling well, which she is. He said I'm essentially acting as an external gizzard by adding good bacteria in there, a little grit, and massaging. The stuff should start/continue to break up and make its exit. I sure hope so. Didn't want to do surgery since she feels good otherwise. She is pooping like a champ, and still laying! But really wants to get out of isolation hahahaha!!

Call him back and tell him I recommended tube feeding fluids and see what he says.
Read this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...cken-and-give-subcutaneous-fluid#post_9910754

-Kathy

 

[babyjaycol]

He did recommend that too but I don't want to try it. I am really good at putting feeding tubes down the air hole and I don't want to ever do that again.