Large Crop

[prncs13]

My hen Velvet has an extremely large Crop that sways when she runs. Nana has a big one too but Velvet's seems much more pronounced. Is there anything that can be done to help her. She eats, drinks, runs and plays with the other chickens but I don't want this to be a problem. She is an older hen.

 

[speckledhen]

Could be pendulous crop. Coincidentally, I lost my hen, Velvet, last year when her crop became sour during a hard molt. She upchucked and choked as I was carrying her to the house. She had always had a swingy crop. If it's not soured and not impacted, it may be just peculiar to her and nothing to worry about. Lost her "sister", Skye, a few weeks ago when her crop just quit working during her molt. Both were blue Orp hens.

 

[AmyBella]

Do a search for sour crop, impacted crop and pendulous crop up in the window on the upper left side of this webpage. There are quite a few threads about this. My rooster was having issues for awhile, but he recovered nicely. His crop was big and hard at first, so I switched him to soft foods - wet mash, applesauce, egg yolk- and massaged it with a downward motion several times per day. I put apple cider vinegar in his water. He was better in a couple of days, but relapsed... I think he was eating really tough, fibrous grass and clogging it up again. I did the treatment for another week and he has been fine ever since.

The crop is basically a holding tank, so it will be large if they eat and drink a lot. Check her first thing in the morning, and if it is still large then you should begin treatment. Good luck! I'm sure they will both be fine, especially since they are acting normal.

 

[prncs13]

I have been checking different posts and there seem to be different methods (rub up/down, oil/baking soda). I think we will start with the oil and massage it down to her crop to soften it and then turn her slightly upside down and massage it up to see if she will throw up. The only time I wish I lived in Texas again. We had a chicken vet across the street from our house.
Michelle

 

[AmyBella]

Be really careful if you decide to make the bird throw up... a lot die from asphyxiation! It is quite common for the puke to go down the trachea and kill them. My philosophy is always to start with the simplest and least invasive remedy... give it a chance to work, and then get more radical with your treatment from there if you don't see improvement.

 

[speckledhen]

Usually, the intense massage and oil will help move things along, but both hens I lost during their molts did not respond to that treatment. The contents just turned "doughy" and would not budge. Crop surgery on one showed she really had only her main feed in there, all mushed up, but not moving out. Same with a necropsy on my last blue Orp who died; the crop wasn't really impacted, but just quit functioning. The molt is awful. Some hens do have a big, droopy crop and it never becomes an issue.

 

[prncs13]

She's not molting. I'll see what I can do with her. I hope just a little oil and rubbing might help.

Michelle

 

[4hooves&featheredfriends]

Separating her and allowing her to have water, olive oil and yogurt for 48 hours may help with the process. I have a BA that has now undergone 5, yes 5 crop surgeries due to a malfunction in her crop. I have never received a true diagnosis as the only vet in the area is the vet for Hubbard Farms and cannot by contract work on any other avians, so we keep a close eye on her.

The process for surgery, if it comes to that is online here, search "crop surgery". It is so "average" to do this - except I will never get use to the smell of fermented/soured crumbles. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[prncs13]

Hi,

Anyone know how much oil I should give her? It says syringe but that is kind of ambiguous.
Michelle

 

[thequackpack]

I just wanted to suggest something that may help the crop keep from souring.

1 Tablesppon of apple cider vinegar in 1 gallon of water for drinking. You can use the natural Apple cider vinegar you buy at healthfood stores which actually has enzymes and lots of good stuff in it its cloudy .. or you can use store bought Heinz brand Apple cider vinegar as well. But not white vinegar.

this acidifies the water and the crop maknig it a bit harder for fungus or yeast to grow.

Might consult a vet on it as well for dietart needs.

:0)