Impacted crop to ... doughy or squishy crop?

[WaveyCreekChickens]

I won't be entirely happy until she starts laying eggs again. Not because I want the eggs but because that's the last step to a healthy hen.

Well, I am cheering her on!
Priscilla is laying now, another yay!

 

[WaveyCreekChickens]

4 months later, Priscilla has sourcrop again.
I have a question @azygous :
Is sourcrop sometimes caused by habitual overeating?
Priscilla doesn’t seem to have a “full button”.
I am currently going by your advice I saw on your article (under comments), and leaving her with the flock. I treat her with Monistat, then give her her own bowl of yogurt with either garlic, egg or chicken food in it, and then put her back with the others. She rushes from bowl to bowl and shoves food in, drinks lots and tries to push more food down. I ended up limiting the free choice feeder time, and am thinking about just feeding everyone twice a day for 10 minutes.
I would appreciate your opinion. Thanks!

 

[azygous]

It sounds like this girl is a compulsive eater. I'm not joking. Chickens have compulsions like humans. It's something in the brain.

You might have good luck with fermented feed. It's usually fed twice a day so food is only present in the run during those periods. Chickens generally consume half a cup of feed per day, sometimes a little more if they're laying. I've been feeding FF for about ten years and it's definitely not necessary to have food accessible all the time.

Back to your main question, I suppose it's possible that if a chicken is eating constantly, the crop won't ever completely empty. It also may be overtaxed. It might be worthwhile to monitor her food intake.

Have you checked for pendulous crop? Having an over-full crop could be causing it to sag and have trouble emptying at night. Maybe a crop bra at night could help until the crop returns to normal size with adjusted food intake.

 

[WaveyCreekChickens]

It sounds like this girl is a compulsive eater. I'm not joking. Chickens have compulsions like humans. It's something in the brain.

Yes, I believe that is true. She is the lowest on the totem pole, which makes it harder for her to eat her fill in one go. Maybe that is where it stems from. I started the twice-a-day-feeding this morning. I hope it will help. I do wet feed (layer feed mixed with goat milk/yogurt/water) in the pm and dry food in the morning. I will give a little snack at lunch to tide them over, as there is still snow and ice here, nothing much to eat outside.
I have tried the crop bra last time around, and it didn’t make a difference. I still have it, might try again.
Thanks soo much!!!!