Impacted Crop in RIR hen

[Bateleur]

Hi,
My 2 year old RIR hen has what I'm pretty certain is impacted crop given that she has a hard mass in her crop and has been lethargic all day. I ran some Google searches and a lot of information I found was contradictive, so I would really appreciate any advice on remedies. So far I've given her canola oil (she simply drank it out of a plastic spoon) and crop massages twice so far today and I've isolated her in an indoor hutch away from food and water all day. About how often should I give her oil and crop massages? Does grit truly work, and would chick grit (which I already have on hand) suffice? Is there any other treatment that can be done before the last resort of taking her to a vet for surgery? About how much will the average cost for surgery run?

Thanks in advance for any advice; this is the first major ailment I've run into with my chickens and being relatively new to chicken ownership (I've had my two since they were baby chicks), I'm worried sick for my girl.

 

[Lisaroohoo]

Hi
I'm sorry to hear about your RIR I am going through same with mine. I was told it must be olive oil so that's what I gave her 1 tsp and then I put some on my hand and while holding her like a football with her beak toward ground massage crop gently and bring it up out her beak.They can aspirate so only do a little at a time 10 sec and then let her rest for a few and start again. I have mine isolated and put her in the garage with a heat lamp and straw and colloidal silver in her water and that's it. No food. Waiting and checking... it is nerve wracking for sure. Tom. I am taking mine to the vet if she is not majorly improved. I don't know how much surgery is. Wishing you all the best with your RIR let me know how she does

 

[Bateleur]

Lisaroohoo, I hope your hen is doing well!

As for mine, it doesn't seem like the mass in her crop is moving. It's not very noticable when you look at her but it feels ping pong ball sized and malleable. She's been passing droppings, albeit watery/oily and foul smelling with tiny lumps and I can't find any signs of plant matter or parasites. I can't get a good whiff of her breath either.

The day after I posted this thread, I put water back in her enclosure with some drops of olive oil in it but I haven't seen her drinking too much. Her appetite isn't very big, though I've been giving her some watered down plain greek yogurt (which she seems to really like) in hopes that it would get some nutrients into her while being easy to pass. Unfortunately she won't drink oil from a spoon anymore, probably because she doesn't like the crop massages that follow. It feels like trying to give medicine to a stubborn kid haha. Last night I tried using a plastic syringe to get more water into her, but even with an extra set of hands to help me, keeping her beak open was difficult and I worried a lot about accidentally getting water in her respiratory system.

Her movement is a bit more perky now than she was when I first discovered something was wrong, but at this point I really want to take her to a vet just to confirm what may be wrong and get her back on track. Unfortunately the earliest I can do it is Tuesday unless I can find a ride on Monday so I'm really hoping she can hang on until then.

 

[Lisaroohoo]

Thanks bateleur. I'm sorry to say Red didn't make it. She died sometime overnight Thurs.
I did get her to the vet and she had a mineral blockage down low that was causing her to back up into her crop.
I wish you well with your hen and you have a better outcome than I did. It was heart breaking.
Let me know how she's doing.