Looking Bad...

[tulie13]

I've been posting about my chickie with the crop problems, and I'm at my wits end now.

She just had a HUGE crop full of liquid, and I picked her up, didn't even really hold her "upside down" to try to help her get rid of what was in there, but there was SO MUCH liquid that she just let go. So basically the poor bird is THIRSTY, but the liquid isn't even going down her gullet - it's all just getting stuck in her crop.

I'm afraid I'm going to lose her.

Should I try something more drastic? Go ahead and put her down so she doesn't suffer? This has been going on for 4 days now. I don't want to lose her, she's so sweet. At what point should I put her down?

 

[raroo]

Have you tried the oil and massage procedure for impacted crops?

 

[4hooves&featheredfriends]

If it is looking bad....please go for the effort of performing crop surgery. Move quickly if she is really bad off.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=167344

GlendaHaywood can you post the directions as I gave them to you?

Have some medium thread and a needle available to suture the opening, once it has been irrigated. I'll keep an eye on this one.

 

[raroo]

If its only been four days I would try the oil and massage first before resorting to surgery.

I would stop feeding her completely, only give her small pieces of bread soaked in olive oil, or see if she will take the olive oil by itself, my girl drank it herself out of a little cup, and massage her crop using a downward pinching motion and do this several times a day. Give her access to lots of fresh water too. Its very important that she doesn't get anything to eat until the crop begins to go down. The crop should be getting smaller within 2 days if the massaging is working.

If the crop still doesn't get noticeably smaller after a couple days then I would think about surgery.

If it does begin to go down (it should be noticeably smaller) feed her small amounts of pellets (about a tablespoon) soaked in a 1/4 cup of warm water into a very soft warm watery mash mixed with a tablespoon of olive oil and continue to massage her crop after feeding this three or four times a day every day until it is completely back to normal. It should only take a couple days.

You will know it has gone down completely when you check in the morning and her chest is flat. If there is even a small amount still in her crop it still needs massaging. She will need to be isolated during this time so you can monitor and feed her properly.
You can give her small amounts of yogurt mixed with oil as well once it goes down.

When the crop is completely back to normal, you can make her a mash of pellets and warm water and start to bring her feed back up to normal amounts. Continue feeding her warm soft mash for several days after the crop is back to normal. Introduce hard pellets back in small amounts several times a day and increase daily until she can handle solid food again.

Also try and find what caused the impacted crop in the first place. Eating hay, long grass, shavings, etc.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

friend of mine(4hovesandfeatheredfriends) made this up for impacted crop surrgery
more professional than mine

Items Needed:

Betadine solution
Isopropyl Alcohol
Gauze Pads
Razor blade or Exacto-knife
Tweezers (surgical - if available, find at Vet Supply or Pet)
Hand Towel
Sutures or Heavy weight Thread
Sharpie sewing needle that will accommodate thread
Scissors
Antibiotic ointment
access to warm water, preferably a kitchen sprayer

To perform the surgery, a "surgeon" and "assistant" are needed. The assistant holds the bird, wrapped in a hand towel,from behind being sure to keep the wings secure and unflapping.

1. Approximately 1/3 of the way down the crop, located on the right the breast; push back the feathers and have the assistant hold the feathers away from the site. Place a few drops of betadine solution on a gauze pad and clean the dermis of the crop at the site of the incision.

2. Wipe the area with an alcohol pad. Allow to dry.

3. Holding the skin slightly spread, cut through the outer dermis with the cutting tool. The opening needs to be only 3/4" - 1" in length. (The incision that we made was more horizontal than vertical.) The skin is fairly tough, so you may have to apply several strokes. The tool will pass through the outer dermis and you might encounter adipose (fat) and then flesh before entering the crop.

4. Once the crop has been opened, material may start to be seen through the opening. Place the bird over the sink and massage the crop so that the contents move towards the opening. The surgeon can grab the contents and dispose in the sink. Once the material is removed, rise the site thoroughly with warm water. Additional material may come to the surface, massage the crop to feel if there are any additional contents. (Tweezers may be needed to remove blades of grass or in our case a cigarette filter.)

-Be careful not to tear the skin around the site with the massaging.

5. Rinse the site again. Pat dry with a gauze pad. Take a minimum of a dime size dose of antibiotic ointment and "pack" the site - lightly smearing the cream or ointment into the site.

6. Thread your needle, cutting a 12" section of doubled thread. Knot the end, leaving a 1/2" tail. Place 3-4 stitches through the dermis, catching the lining of the crop. End the stitches with a knot on the opposite end from which you started.

7. Allow the "patient" to recuperate isolated from the flock. Use newspaper for bedding, offer water and withhold grain. Offer plain yogurt 6-8 hours after. Yogurt and mash/grain can be offered on day 2. Water at all times.

8. Keep an eye on the incision, being sure that their is no tearing or redness. The stitches can be removed 7 days after surgery. Apply antibiotic ointment to the site.

We put our girl back with the flock on day 4, watching her closely.

I hope that this helps for future reference.

 

[4hooves&featheredfriends]

I agree with Raroo's recommendation for treatment based upon a moderate case of impacted crop, however, based upon the original post if she is considering culling - it certainly sounds like surgery might be timely.

I'm afraid I'm going to lose her. sad Should I try something more drastic? Go ahead and put her down so she doesn't suffer? This has been going on for 4 days now. I don't want to lose her, she's so sweet. At what point should I put her down?

Look for signs that nutrients are passing - if the manure becomes really hard, dark and infrequent then she is starting to become dehydrated and the food is not passing through. Extreme lethargy, droopy tail escalating to the opening of the beak (gasping) are signs that surgery is required.

I am not a vet, just a chicken owner that has been through this before.

Thanks Glenda for posting the method.​

 

[tulie13]

She is chirping almost incessantly, somewhat weak sounding, and she is having diarrhea (looks like a blob of clearish liquid with a little bit of poo in it). Anytime she eats or drinks ANYTHING, her crop seems to swell to much larger than a golf ball and she just seems plain miserable. The puking that we have done has provided some temporary relief in those cases, to just remove the VOLUME of material from her crop.

After "we" puke, there doesn't seem to be much IN her crop, but nothing seems to be going through and it swells back up quickly after she eats or drinks anything.

Last night she actually ate some bread soaked in olive oil, and drank some ACV/vitamin water. I didn't give her much to eat, but let her have free access to the water. This morning her crop was about the volume of 2 golf balls (remember, this pullet is only 2 months old, nowhere near fully grown!)

I haven't "helped" her puke today, because I'm really hoping SOMETHING will go in the right direction, but I'm tempted to do it again because I think that full crop and no movement is making her miserable.

Could something else be causing this digestive problem besides the crop itself? Could the crop not working be a symptom of something else? Are the liquidy poos normal in the case of an impacted/sour crop? She seems to keep having them, but I can't imagine where she's getting the liquid from - nothing seems to be going down her. I'm afraid she's getting dehydrated from all the liquid leaving her body, but none coming in. But if dark/solid poos are the sign of dehydration, I guess we aren't there yet - her poo is DEFINITELY NOT SOLID!!!

This morning her feet were cold, so we have been having some "towel cuddle time". I think it helped some, but her crop is still HUGE but it doesn't feel like there's really anything "solid" in it, just swollen from whatever she last ate/drank.

I'll keep posting until I make a decision on what to do - for now I'll "wait and see", and hope some of the olive oil loosens something up. If her crop hasn't gone down at all by this afternoon, we may puke again just to get some relief, plus whatever (if anything) is stuck in there MAY come back up. I'd rather try "puke therapy" than surgery...

Thanks for the suggestions and info - I'll keep you updated.

 

[tulie13]

OH MY GOSH!!!

I just checked her crop and it seems SMALLER!!!

Wish me luck, send up prayers, and pray that I'm right and not deceiving myself, that her crop is actually GOING DOWN!

I'll keep you guys updated - thanks again for all the help, advice, and encouragement!

 

[raroo]

Wonderful, sending healthy crop vibes your way!

 

[4hooves&featheredfriends]

Me too, as I hope noone ever has to go the route I did.