Multiple Impacted Crops? Help with treatment/cause

[Nutmeg15]

Hi all. One of my Orpington hens, Biscuit, seems to be exhibiting symptoms of what looks to me like an impacted crop. She is rotating her neck in a circular motion, and her crop is absolutely massive and very firm. She and the other flock members do not regularly eat grass (they have a big run but it is mostly just dirt at this time of year) and are given limited treats, usually just scrambled egg and some blueberries or other safe fruits and veggies, so I'm not sure of what could be causing it. She is still laying fairly regularly for wintertime and is eating and drinking as normal.

I have been noticing her acting strangely for a couple of weeks now, but I thought I was just paranoid because one of my other hens just passed away at the end of November. What's scary for me is that my RIR who died seemed to have impacted and sour crop problems that lead to her death. She lost weight very rapidly and had a large mass in her crop. Although I was able to fix the sour crop, the impacted crop refused to leave and she died shortly after. I have been raising chickens for almost four years now but I hadn't had to deal with a crop problem up until that point.

I thought that my RIR's death could have been age-related, because she was over 3 years old and had mostly stopped laying. However, Biscuit is just over 1 year old. Could it be some kind of worm problem? Or something else? I am going to check her crop in the morning to see if it is still large, and if I need to take her to a vet then I am prepared to do so.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you provide granite grit for them to help aid the gizzard in grinding up foods? Chickens sometimes will normally “adjust their crops” when there is food in it. Sometimes we have seen chickens exhibiting a rhythmic rotation of the neck which is more of a neurologic symptom. If you could post a video to You Tube or Vimeo with a link posted here of the neck movements, we could take a look. Many things can cause crop problems, such as worms, long grasses or foods that cannot be digested, and I have seen a few related to reproductive disorders and internal laying. It is always good to get a necropsy by your state vet when you have an unexplained death. Here is a link where to contact yours in the future:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[Nutmeg15]

Do you provide granite grit for them to help aid the gizzard in grinding up foods? Chickens sometimes will normally “adjust their crops” when there is food in it. Sometimes we have seen chickens exhibiting a rhythmic rotation of the neck which is more of a neurologic symptom. If you could post a video to You Tube or Vimeo with a link posted here of the neck movements, we could take a look. Many things can cause crop problems, such as worms, long grasses or foods that cannot be digested, and I have seen a few related to reproductive disorders and internal laying. It is always good to get a necropsy by your state vet when you have an unexplained death. Here is a link where to contact yours in the future:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

They do have access to ground oyster shell, but not granite grit--I can pick some of that up. I'll try to get a video of her tomorrow. I've never seen her move her neck like this before, it's very jerky and it does look like she's trying to adjust or move the crop.

I assumed that an internal problem was the issue with my hen who died, but it's too strange of a coincidence that now another much younger hen is also having crop problems. She doesn't have access to long grasses so I'm wondering if worms, food, or another issue might be the cause.

Thank you for the link as well! I couldn't bring myself to send my hen's body to our vet/a lab last time--now I wish that I had.

 

[Nutmeg15]

More info in case it helps: Both hens went into a molt right before the crop issues started. They were the last two to molt out of everyone in the flock. My RIR hadn't grown all of her feathers back in when she died, but Biscuit is all feathered out and beautiful again. There were a lot of discarded feathers in the coop recently from all the molting but I don't know if they were eating them or if that could cause crop problems.

Just trying to come up with plausible ideas before I start treatment...sigh.

 

[MissChick@dee]

To test if they are emptying their crops pull up all their feed tonight after they’ve perched for the night. In the morning...before...you give them feed feel their crops. To me it’s a bit odd that they all have this problem unless it is a underlying medical problem as @Eggcessive has mentioned.
Have you ever wormed them?
Do they have access to grit at all times?
Is there any long grass they can get into?
Does their breath stink or smell yeasty like bread?
Do you FEED bread?

 

[Nutmeg15]

To test if they are emptying their crops pull up all their feed tonight after they’ve perched for the night. In the morning...before...you give them feed feel their crops. To me it’s a bit odd that they all have this problem unless it is a underlying medical problem as @Eggcessive has mentioned.
Have you ever wormed them?
Do they have access to grit at all times?
Is there any long grass they can get into?
Does their breath stink or smell yeasty like bread?
Do you FEED bread?

I agree, it's strange that two hens have had issues so close in time to one another when I've never had a problem with it before...

I have never wormed them but I read about putting garlic in their water as a natural dewormer. I've only ever treated them for mites.
They have access to ground oyster shells. I'm not sure if that is as effective as stone grit or not.
They do not have access to long grass.
I don't smell anything coming from Biscuit's mouth--her crop is just very, very large and hard.
I don't feed them bread, just healthy treats. And those only come once in a while.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, grit is different than oyster shell, and Tractor Supply now sells smaller bags. I buy a 50 pound bag every few years for $10, and just put a bowl of it around the coop for them to take if they need some. I would get a necropsy next time you lose one, because Mareks disease can cause growths in the digestive system that can block it. It probably would not be a bad idea to worm her with Valbazen or SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer. Be sure snd check her crop first thing in the morning before she has had a chance to eat or drink to see if her crop has gone down. Here is some info on crop problems as well:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...d-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments.67194/

 

[MissChick@dee]

Massaging their crops won’t hurt them at all. Hold them let them calm down and then as if you’re just loving on them really take your time a manipulate the crop. While you’re doing this lean into them and smell the breath. Mine think crop check time is Love time lol.
Once you’ve done that (in the morning after food withdrawal) let us know how it went and what you found. Best wishes

 

[Nutmeg15]

Yes, grit is different than oyster shell, and Tractor Supply now sells smaller bags. I buy a 50 pound bag every few years for $10, and just put a bowl of it around the coop for them to take if they need some. I would get a necropsy next time you lose one, because Mareks disease can cause growths in the digestive system that can block it. It probably would not be a bad idea to worm her with Valbazen or SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer. Be sure snd check her crop first thing in the morning before she has had a chance to eat or drink to see if her crop has gone down. Here is some info on crop problems as well:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...d-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments.67194/

Thank you so much for your help! I'll get a bag of grit tomorrow and give it to the other girls--should I give some to Biscuit as well or just begin treating her (withholding food, giving water, etc.) if her crop is still large tomorrow?

I'll definitely go ahead and get a dewormer just in case that's the issue. Biscuit was vaccinated for Mareks as a chick thankfully. Hopefully she'll pull through since she still looks healthy otherwise!

 

[Eggcessive]

Just put the grit out for her and the others. They will take some if they need it. SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer dosage is 1/4 ml per pound of weight given orally for 5 straight days. Valbazen dosage is 0.08 ml per pound given orally, and again in 10 days.