Impacted crop???

[ChellyRod]

My older hen has a large crop (about the size of a golfball). I was told full crops are normal (i forgot who told me), so im not to worried about it but I would love for someone to help me with a bit more info. I only feed my hens cracked corn and whatever they find around the run. I felt her crop earlier today and it felt very grainy (probably the corn). So i wasnt too sure if it can ONLY be impacted from grass and such or if it can be impacted from corn as well. How big is TOO BIG? What do I do to help her reduce it? Why does it happen? Thanks for your time everyone!

 

[beachbumbecks]

My older hen has a large crop (about the size of a golfball). I was told full crops are normal (i forgot who told me), so im not to worried about it but I would love for someone to help me with a bit more info. I only feed my hens cracked corn and whatever they find around the run. I felt her crop earlier today and it felt very grainy (probably the corn). So i wasnt too sure if it can ONLY be impacted from grass and such or if it can be impacted from corn as well. How big is TOO BIG? What do I do to help her reduce it? Why does it happen? Thanks for your time everyone!

 

[beachbumbecks]

Aloha, my rooster had an blocked a crop when he was in a pretty nasty accident (hit on the road - we have wild chickens in Hawaii). His crop was much larger than a golf ball and he kept trying to drink water, like every few minutes. His crop was filled with water. So, I took him to the vet and she cleaned it out. Saved his life. When he eats seed, etc., his crop is often a small golf-ball size, and I can feel grain in it. He was clearly in distress when it was blocked. Hope that helps.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Check to make sure it is empty in the morning. If its not emptying its probably impacted. Make sure the breath isnt sour to rule out sour crop

 

[coach723]

To clarify, a hens crop will fill when she eats, and empty as she digests. So a full crop at periods throughout the day is normal. They will often go to roost for the night with very full crops. The best way to check crop function is to check when she goes to roost at night, to see if there is food in the crop, and then check first thing in the morning before she has access to food and it should be empty. If that's the case then everything is probably working normally. Do you have grit available to them? Most of the time if they have adequate grit they can digest most things they eat. Impactions can be caused by various things, long fiberous plant matter is a common one, eating foreign objects, even disease or parasites can cause it.
As a side note, cracked corn is not the best thing to feed. It's low protein, high carb and can lead to health problems down the road, like fatty liver disease. They love it, yes, but it would be better to provide a balanced feed with a better protein content. If you want them to mostly free range, that's fine, just do the feed the way you do the corn now.

 

[ChellyRod]

To clarify, a hens crop will fill when she eats, and empty as she digests. So a full crop at periods throughout the day is normal. They will often go to roost for the night with very full crops. The best way to check crop function is to check when she goes to roost at night, to see if there is food in the crop, and then check first thing in the morning before she has access to food and it should be empty. If that's the case then everything is probably working normally. Do you have grit available to them? Most of the time if they have adequate grit they can digest most things they eat. Impactions can be caused by various things, long fiberous plant matter is a common one, eating foreign objects, even disease or parasites can cause it.
As a side note, cracked corn is not the best thing to feed. It's low protein, high carb and can lead to health problems down the road, like fatty liver disease. They love it, yes, but it would be better to provide a balanced feed with a better protein content. If you want them to mostly free range, that's fine, just do the feed the way you do the corn now.

Thanks so much for the helpful info! However, I did not know cracked corn (I also have scratch grains) wasnt too good for them. What food would you recommend?

 

[coach723]

I feed a flock raiser in the 18% protein range, and provide oyster shell on the side free choice in a separate feeder all the time. Non layer feeds don't have enough calcium for laying hens, but older birds don't need as much and roo's don't need the extra calcium. Long term too much calcium can lead to kidney issues or gout. So feeding the flock raiser and separate oyster shell meets the needs of all, those that need the calcium will take what they need. Both scratch grains and cracked corn can lead to deficiencies and other problems if given too much. Whole grain feeds can also be a problem as the birds will pick out the parts they like and leave the rest, so crumbles or pellets prevent that. Any treats, which really means anything but feed, should generally be 10% or less of the diet.