New to being a chicken mama- think we have a problem

[allwound up]

A few weeks ago my ten month old hen started to limp. She also had grown a very large "sac" on her neck. I have (had) three ladies and none of them have this growth- two isa browns and one Easter egger. The two Isa browns I raised myself, got them at about 5 weeks old. So the one with the limp was laying in the coop last week with labored breathing, wouldn't eat or drink. thought she was a goner but miraculously she seemed to get better. Then last evening she was laying in the run on her side breathing very softly, I couldn't reach her and thought it best to let her be. She was dead this morning. I have noticed my second isa limping. Is this coincidence or is this a disease in my coop? We clean it regularly and put the poo in the garden. Once a day (most days) I let the ladies out and about in the yard to eat bugs and worms and plants.
Should I wash their legs? My Easter egger is fine, but doesn't lay eggs!
Thanks,
glad to be on here!!

 

[CayuseRanch]

I am fairly new to chickens and certainly don't know much about diseases. My first thought when you talked about the lump was that her crop was impacted. I have learned on the BYC that you seperate them for the night and remove food and water, if the lump/crop is still full in the am then it isn't digesting. Also, make sure you provide them rocky soil or grit to help break down the food. Other than that I hope that someone comes on and gives you more experienced input.

 

[allwound up]

Thank you so much for your reply, I am embarrassed to say I have never heard of that before, but it sounds like it could have been the problem. I will look into it more. My poor bird. We mix gravel into their feed but she seemed to avoid it and just go for the veggie scraps as far as I could tell! Thanks again.

 

[Miyashi]

Sounds like the one may have had an impacted crop or a tumor in/around her crop. :s
I hope it's just coincidence that your other bird started limping. I can't see how the limp and the crop problem can be related though...so I'm completely lost here....
Sounds like you run a clean house! Wish I had the time to clean mine out that often! Haha
I hope someone comes around with an answer for you.
Sorry for your loss. <3

 

[Anianna]

The impacted crop could explain swelling at the neck. Death from impacted crop would be the result of wasting, in which case, the chicken should have been severely emaciated (really, really skinny) when it died. She may have been weak from lack of nutrition, which may have made her stumble or seem weak when trying to walk. Is this what you meant by limp, that she seemed weak and stumbley? Was she very skinny when she passed?

 

[Judy]

There are some threads linked on the FAQ page about crop problems. You might also consider lice/mites and worms, if you have not wormed them. Worms are in the soil, most everywhere, and lice/mites are carried by wild birds.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=472405

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5770173#p5770173