Impacted crop keeps coming back.

[Casper417]

Hi, I have a lemon Brahma and about a month ago her crop got very big and it started to irritate her and she started moving her neck like she was trying to sick it back up. so i did some research and gave her water with Epsom salts in and apple cider vinegar i also took her off any dirt and food. After about a few days it went down in size and eventually returned to normal and she was a lot happier so i gave her a dish of corn soaked in water and olive oil every morning and night. She is now back in the outside run and eating corn with the others. The crop stayed normal for about 10 days then it started to get bigger again so i put her back on soft corn and it went down again. But when shes outside she is constantly eating anything she can out of the dirt and eating leaves off trees. I don't know what to do with her because i cant keep her inside or off dirt forever but if she goes outside she eats everything and that's when the crop becomes impacted. Any Suggestions Please?

Thank You.

 

[Kiki]

Corn is not a good food for them. Read this:
http://articles.extension.org/pages/69065/feeding-chickens-for-egg-production

 

[coach723]

Do your birds have access to grit, free choice, all the time? Lack of grit can cause issues.

 

[Casper417]

when i said corn i mean they are fed a mixture of layers pallets and split maize. They have crushed oyster shells available because i read that helps break their food up. Do they need grit aswell as oyster shells?

 

[Kiki]

Oyster shell does NOT help break up their food, it is for extra calcium only.
Grit breaks up the food.

 

[Kiki]

Any type of corn is just like feeding them chips.
Keep the corn/maize to a minimum.

 

[coach723]

YES!! Oyster shell is a soluble source of calcium which laying hens need, Grit is insoluble (usually ground granite) stone that they use to grind their food in the gizzard. It is really important for their digestion. They don't have teeth to chew, so the granite/grit provides that for them. Some environments have enough small pebbles and stones that they find it there, but I would always recommend to have a separate dish/feeder of grit available for them so they can get the grit if it's needed. They know when they need it, and I suspect that may be what is going on with your bird. Things like seeds, grains, plants, fruits and veggies they need the grit to grind it up, the more fiberous, the more they need it. Without the grit they can end up with an impaction, and many times an impaction can be fatal. Disease and illness can also be causes of impactions and 'slow crops', but based on your description, I would first suspect the lack of grit.