Impacted Crop - Part 2 - Paper compaction

[vantain]

Once again, my hen is back in the house. Yesterday, she struggled with laying another soft shelled egg that burst when she pooped. It was a mess...everywhere...poop, yolk, ick...

Throughout the rest of the day, she did nothing but drink water. So much, that she was just regurgitating it every time she put her head down to get more. After I brought her inside for the night, she continue to drink, and drink, and drink. I left her for about an hour, and during that time she had a lot of watery diarrhea.

So here is where it get weird, and it is my fault. I had lined her cage with a paper grocery bag. When she pooped her water mess on it, it soaked obviously, and she was eating it. There was a sizable hole in the paper bag where she had consumed all of the paper in that time I was gone.

Anyhow, this morning, she has a noticeable hard lump in her crop. She continues to drink water excessively, but it appears to just pass through the papery mass in her crop and right back out the vent eventually. Her poops right now are all just water. I think it is good that she is drinking the water because hopefully, eventually, that paper will break down more and pass.

Anyone else had this happen? I'm mortified that I just made her problems worse for her. I'm afraid to let her eat anything else, due to the compaction of paper, likely blocking any other solids.

Advice?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Your hen is also having some reproductive problems?
If she doesn't pass the paper you can try giving her 1 stool softener (stimulant free!) and massage the crop to see if that helps break it down.
She may have a blockage lower somewhere that is causing her trouble too.

Have you tried anything to help firm up the eggs - extra Calcium?

Crop issues are often a symptom of an underlying cause - reproductive problems, worms, coccidiosis, infection, etc. You may want to explore these and figure out it any of these are the cause of the re-occurring crop problem.

 

[vantain]

Your hen is also having some reproductive problems?
If she doesn't pass the paper you can try giving her 1 stool softener (stimulant free!) and massage the crop to see if that helps break it down.
She may have a blockage lower somewhere that is causing her trouble too.

Have you tried anything to help firm up the eggs - extra Calcium?

Crop issues are often a symptom of an underlying cause - reproductive problems, worms, coccidiosis, infection, etc. You may want to explore these and figure out it any of these are the cause of the re-occurring crop problem.

Yes, she has been laying soft shelled eggs for more than week now. I had another thread related to this, about this same bird. She's 11 months, and was a great layer up until this started.

 

[vantain]

Right now, she is going crazy in the wire kennel, wanting out.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are two other threads about this hen for background:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/first-case-of-impacted-crop-advice.1296129/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/baytril-dosage-for-sick-hen.1297482/

Sorry about your hen continuing to be sick. I would try the stool softener or give some mineral oil in egg, and make sure that she has grit available. Are you still giving calcium every day?

 

[vantain]

Here are two other threads about this hen for background:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/first-case-of-impacted-crop-advice.1296129/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/baytril-dosage-for-sick-hen.1297482/

Sorry about your hen continuing to be sick. I would try the stool softener or give some mineral oil in egg, and make sure that she has grit available. Are you still giving calcium every day?

I did have her on the Baytril as you had suggested, but stopped that on Sunday. And yes, I do give her one calcium tablet, crushed, every day. It is the calcium + D3 supplement type.

As far as today, I gave her some scrambled eggs with 3ml of mineral oil. She is still drinking water. She has grit available.

 

[vantain]

Correction, she had grit. She dumped it all completely outside her crate. Like I said, she is going crazy in the crate. She wants to be out with her flock mates. She is not lethargic at all.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If she is going crazy, then you may just want to let her back out with the flock and check on her several time throughout the day. She may be trying to get out so she can go lay an egg. I separate different hens for breeding, etc. but if I have them in an enclosure and they don't normally lay an egg there, they will sometimes stalk the fence wanting out so they can get to their favorite nesting box.
Stress like that is not good for them.

 

[Eggcessive]

If she is going crazy, then you may just want to let her back out with the flock and check on her several time throughout the day. She may be trying to get out so she can go lay an egg. I separate different hens for breeding, etc. but if I have them in an enclosure and they don't normally lay an egg there, they will stalk the fence wanting out so they can get to their favorite nesting box.
Stress like that is not good for them.

X2.

 

[vantain]

If she is going crazy, then you may just want to let her back out with the flock and check on her several time throughout the day. She may be trying to get out so she can go lay an egg. I separate different hens for breeding, etc. but if I have them in an enclosure and they don't normally lay an egg there, they will sometimes stalk the fence wanting out so they can get to their favorite nesting box.
Stress like that is not good for them.

Ok..I put her back out. Hopefully she will continue to drink her water and get that lump of paper out of her crop.