laying on ground, very hard crop.

[rosyposyosy]

my almost seven month old banty cochin is going through molt now. today i saw her on the ground, in the leaves, as if she was on a nest. but she just sat there. later on, she looked as if she was suffering, in her run, not even bothering to peck at my 13 week old chick who was running around. I picked her up, and her crop was as hard as a rock!!! And I mean HARD! What could this be from? Something she ate? Will it go away?

 

[rosyposyosy]

also - her comb has gotten smaller, and more pinkish. And her earlobes have brown spots on them. I put vaseline on her comb and wattles, after about 15 minutes they seemed redder already!

 

[dlhunicorn]

Is there temp swings now where you are )like warm in day cold at night) If you bring her inside where it is warm and temp stable it will help her discomfort will be easier to monitor her progress ...stop all feeding of grains and gently massage her crop if it still remains compact in the morning when it should have emptied

 

[rosyposyosy]

last night she didnt poop. her crop was still hard - I havent thought about it til now, but i haven't seen her poop today. So do I just not feed her tommorow? She's in a coop with a heat lamp, so that should be stable enough. Ok, will do! I'll massage first thing tommorow morning! should I keep her in the coop all day tommorow?

 

[dlhunicorn]

yes...she may have an impacted crop and you do not want her around any straw hay grass clippings etc.... no more fiber like that until you get the crop issue settled which unfortunately in extreme cases needs a vet to open up and remove the impaction.

 

[rosyposyosy]

oh ok! the run has straw, and then i free range, and that gives her access to grass. I have them on organic layers pellets. should i just keep her in the coop, with water, or should i get an apple or something for her --- oops, nevermind, that was stupid! FIBER!

wait - don't I want her to digest her food?

i know she can survive a day on just water... but will she be ok? I leave the house around 7, and get back around 4 to 5ish.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Add ACV tot the water (you should actually test the water ph to more accurately determine how much aCV you need to get the ph down to around 4 /4.5 ) however a tspoon in a half gallon should suffice...also offer her a live culture yogurt free choice. No grains and such is correct,...

 

[rosyposyosy]

I don't have any ACV

nor will I have time to get it before I leave tommorow. The only yogurt I have in my fridge is expired (3 days) digestive health yogurt. Will that be ok? Or is just plain water better?

Also (I'm sorry for all these questions!!) I only have 3 chickens, one is too young to be with the bigger ones, the others are inseperable. Is it ok to keep my EE with her tommorow? or not?

 

[dlhunicorn]

yes...)dont use the overdated yogurt)
plain water will do...plain ole applecider vinegar will do if you dont have the organic stuff
Just make sure she has no access to any straw or hay or such

 

[rosyposyosy]

Ok! Thank you sooooo much! I really hope this works!