Impacted Crop or Sour Crop?

[ChickensRsmart]

I've been looking at similar threads and I don't see exactly what I'm dealing with (probably not anyway), so I decided to post a new thread.

I have an older hen and her crop hasn't emptied for the last couple of days (maybe 3 days). It's not full (maybe a bit more than half full), but there's a lot more in there than she usually eats before going to bed on any given evening. I can feel the grains in her crop and they make a fairly tight ball at the bottom of the crop and it will break apart with soft massaging. But her crop continues to fail to empty the next morning.

She's produced a few smaller (and drier) looking poops today - so something must be getting through her. She will also infrequently extend her neck and "shiver" as if her there is some discomfort - and sometimes while gently messaging her crop, she will do it as well - I would estimate that she does this perhaps 1 or 2 times per hour...

She's had all food withheld today (and she wants to eat). I've only supplied her with garlic water. Has anyone had a similar problem? I also don't smell any bad breath, but it's not always easy to smell a chicken's breath.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you post some photos?
Is her crop pendulous?

In the meantime, read this.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/impacted-crop-or-sour-crop.1492500/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks Aunt Angus and Wyorp Rock.

I gave her a little bit of layer crumble soaked with warm water - she ate maybe a 1/4 tsp. She is pooping, so I've read that you can feed them any kind of food that dissolves in water. It's still hard to say if her crop is emptying (judging from the food I can feel in her crop), but it must be because she is pooping...and there is definitely fecal matter in her poops.

She's still drinking garlic water and I've been putting a little bit of olive oil into her 2 or 3 times a day - 2 times if I can get a reasonable amount into her. I also added some probiotics and a bit of electrolyte-vitamin powder to her water.

Does anyone know if it's relatively low risk to give her a dewormer - just in case it's from worms - large or microbial? I've read that I can use a pea sized blob of Safe Guard for horses - it's got fenbendazole in it, and this is supposed to be the stuff that works for chickens?

I apologize, I thought I gave you the link for treating crop issues. I didn't. That link I gave you was to your own thread. Chalk it up to a Geezer moment
Here's the correct article link for you to read through -very good info and what I use as a guide to treat my own birds
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

A crop issue is often caused by an underlying condition - reproductive disorders, worms, coccidiosis and infection are a few.
De-worming can be done to see if that helps with crop problems, however, I've found that reproductive disorders are an extremely common cause of crop symptoms.

Safeguard Equine Paste or Liquid Goat Dewormer can be used to treat poultry. Dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row. "Pea Size" is not good info.

 

[ChickensRsmart]

Have you withheld food overnight yet? I know you did during the day.

Yes by the way. She doesn't eat at night - none of my chickens eat at night (unless there is one who is sick and then I provide a light to keep it warm...low hanging light bulb (heat bulb).

Here are some pictures of my old girl. I included a side profile so you can see her crop bulge. It's bulging more now in the pictures because I let her eat some soaked layer crumble - about a 1/4 tsp at a time - 3 times today. She's been pooping a lot today. At least 10 times since this morning. And her poops were DRY. 3 or 4 would come out dry (a couple of them pretty good size for such a little chicken). Then another would come out looking wet - only to be followed by another much dryer poop.

In any case, all the poop has to be a good sign...I am now starting to think that her little intestines might have been blocked up...

 

[ChickensRsmart]

I apologize, I thought I gave you the link for treating crop issues. I didn't. That link I gave you was to your own thread. Chalk it up to a Geezer moment
Here's the correct article link for you to read through -very good info and what I use as a guide to treat my own birds
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

A crop issue is often caused by an underlying condition - reproductive disorders, worms, coccidiosis and infection are a few.
De-worming can be done to see if that helps with crop problems, however, I've found that reproductive disorders are an extremely common cause of crop symptoms.

Safeguard Equine Paste or Liquid Goat Dewormer can be used to treat poultry. Dose is 0.23ml per pound of weight given orally once a day for 5 days in a row. "Pea Size" is not good info.

Thanks again! I will go over this article. I am more hopeful today that she's going to recover...she's really pooping a lot - more like a normal chicken. But I have now got to try and figure out what led to the issue (If I can find out).

A good start I imagine would be taking a fecal sample and sending it off to a lab...I've done this before when I lost my horse to Salmonella. I took samples of wild birds, my chickens - even my dog's poop - and sent it off to be tested. They found the same strain of Salmonella in the wild bird feces...I just put the stools of wild doves, barn swallows, and a couple of other birds (smaller ones that I can't identify) that were always pooping in my horse's pasture - onto one of the sample containers. They found the same strain (Salmonella Uganda) in the wild bird poop...turns out this strain of Salmonella is deadly (in the top 3 of the most virulent forms) - but only deadly to cattle and horses... It was one of these birds types (at least) that carried it.

 

[ChickensRsmart]

She's lovely! ❤

I suggested overnight simply to see if it was emptying fully overnight. But if you don't give your flock access to food, then you don't need to worry about that step.

Let me change my question then: Have you checked her crop first thing in the morning, before letting her eat? That's a good way to know if it's blocked. But if she's pooping regularly, she's not (like you said).

It could be worms, then. Or a reproductive issue. Poor girl. I hope it's resolved soon.

Thanks again AA and WR.

Yes, her crop was not emptying - a check in the morning (before she gets to eat) showed that it wasn't going down.

She hasn't laid eggs for a number of years - I figured because of her age. I used to think also (maybe I'm wrong?) that a hen that doesn't lay eggs anymore will be safer from problems like egg yoke peritinitis or egg binding?

I will find out if it's worms - I suppose if it's not then it must be due to something like a reproductive issue? Or a tumor or some kind of mass...

 

[ChickensRsmart]

Pooping is good!

Yes, getting a fecal float would be helpful in knowing whether you need to de-worm her or not.

Thanks yet again WR. I will definitely do that first. I'd rather not give her a dewormer if I don't have to...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks WR.

What kind of stool softener would be best? Is it generally safe to use - or try? I get the sense that she's probably got a partial blockage...the only question is - what is blocking her...

Store brand or Ducolax brand is fine - just make sure it's stool softener stimulant free (not a laxative).
I've used stool softener with my birds before without any issues. Every case can be a little different.
The only other thing you could try would be a flush. I think @azygous recommends a molasses flush further in the comment section of her article.

 

[azygous]

Or an Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) flush. It will really scrub out a chicken's digestive tract. I recommend going the full one teaspoon of the salts mixed into half cup warm water tubed into the crop twice a day for three days. After that, if the chicken remains impacted, there is some organic reason for it.

 

[ChickensRsmart]

Or an Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) flush. It will really scrub out a chicken's digestive tract. I recommend going the full one teaspoon of the salts mixed into half cup warm water tubed into the crop twice a day for three days. After that, if the chicken remains impacted, there is some organic reason for it.

Thanks azygous!

Would the half cup with a full teaspoon also apply to a bantam hen?