Pendulous crop?

[micstrachan]

OMG, I just brought something special out for Ruby... put egg, yogurt and kale through the blender and then cooked it. (Then realized I had probably also cooked out the good bacteria and added a little more yogurt). I went out there and Ruby was not in the little red coop! (not in the tiny building nor the little run). She had escaped into the regular run ! She was so happy out with her friends and was preening up on the outdoor roost. I'll give her a few minutes before I put her back in jail. I also laid a beam down in the space where I think she got out. Jail is up on keystones... I lifted it a few months ago because it spent at least one season down in the wet dirt. She got under that space on the far side, at the wall between the two halves of the run. There is about a 6-8 in gap between the little red coop and the old run wall. Little stinker!

 

[TwoCrows]

OMG, I just brought something special out for Ruby... put egg, yogurt and kale through the blender and then cooked it. (Then realized I had probably also cooked out the good bacteria and added a little more yogurt). I went out there any Ruby was not in the little red coop! (not in the tiny building nor the little run). She had escaped into the regular run ! She was so happy out with her friends and was preening up on the outdoor roost. I'll give her a few minutes before I put her back in jail. I also laid a beam down in the space where I think she got out. Jail is up on keystones... I lifted it a few months ago because it spent at least one season down in the wet dirt. She got under that space on the far side, at the wall between the two halves of the run. There is about a 6-8 in gap between the little red coop and the old run wall. Little stinker!

LOL...little escape artist! She can hang out with her buddies here and there throughout the day, but mostly in jail. LOL Put a buddy in with her, maybe she will stay put.

 

[micstrachan]

Hi Everyone,

This morning Ruby's crop only had a marble-sized pliable nugget, which is sort of back where we started (but it got worse in the middle there, so this is good news). I locked her in jail with apple cider vinegar water while I changed out all the other waters in the main run. Then I gave her a few 0.3mL "sips" of the spicy lemon concoction. Since she HATES being syringed, I let her roam around in the big run with her friends immediately after this treatment and raked out as much bedding and feathers in the little coop as possible. However, being with friends did not last long, as she started eating feathers!!!
Needless to say, I put her back in jail right away. So far, there is only a raw egg in there for her to eat (I don't think she's touched it yet), but she's having a good time digging in the dirt that is now exposed since I raked it out. What else can she eat if I'm keeping her off yeast-feeding foods?
Edited to add: She never ate her chopped kale and chopped chicken breast yesterday, so I ended up giving it to the other hens. Also... should I be adding probiotics to water yet?

So I realized I either needed to remove all the feathers from the run (not really doable) or find a way to make them less appetizing. Last night I wetted down the side of the run that has most of the feathers and this morning mixed it all up with the bedding and dirt underneath. Now there aren't so many tempting downy fluffs all over the place. I will continue to do this so it isn't a feather buffet.

As of right now, I am feeling a bit better about Ruby. It seems her crop issues may stem from the feather eating. I was afraid she might have another illness (I realize she still might, but am enjoying a morning of feeling a little better about the situation). Maybe she did in fact impact her gizzard or somewhere further down, as she had watery poops for weeks. This morning in the mini coop I saw her drop a REAL TURD! It wasn't huge, but it did not come squirting out, either.

I will continue confinement, limited diet and administer yeast busting measures.

I agree with @TwoCrows that Ruby has doughy crop. I ordered Fluconazole and will pick up Miconazole Nitrate, since she refused the ACS water, but I'm not sure if I will administer anything at this time (besides syringing the spicy lemon with ACS mix.) Thoughts? I also finally made the crop bra last night (exactly as described in the article by @azygous), but don't know that I need it at this time. Would there be any harm in trying it out today?

Here's the tough part... with daylight savings, I will not see the birds really during this coming work week, so it will be difficult to assess how Ruby is doing. I may run home at lunch a couple times. Thoughts on that?

Thanks for everything! I'm learning a lot about these crop issues! Fingers crossed that we're on the road to recovery!

 

[micstrachan]

OK, last post before I head out. Since the chickens can’t free range today, and my daughter wants me to take her to the beach, I’m gonna head out for a couple hours. In preparation for being gone, I prepared this special meal for Ruby and put it in her little coop… She immediately went for the scrambled egg! (She had spilled the raw one.)

 

[azygous]

I have to laugh at that food photo. What some of us whip up for our chickens can easily be mistaken for high end restaurant fare. It looks more tasty than anything I fix for myself, anyway.

By all means give her probiotics. I always follow up crop treatment with them. Her gut needs good bacteria to help keep her crop healthy.

Don't forget that at the first sign of Ruby's crop beginning to impact from her feather addiction, you can give her a teaspoon of oil with a little gentle massage to head off trouble.

 

[micstrachan]

I have to laugh at that food photo. What some of us whip up for our chickens can easily be mistaken for high end restaurant fare. It looks more tasty than anything I fix for myself, anyway.

By all means give her probiotics. I always follow up crop treatment with them. Her gut needs good bacteria to help keep her crop healthy.

Don't forget that at the first sign of Ruby's crop beginning to impact from her feather addiction, you can give her a teaspoon of oil with a little gentle massage to head off trouble.

I know, funny, right? Well, when I got home from the beach, she had buried all the food and it didn't seem like she had touched anything except the egg, so I gave what was left to the other hens, who were thrilled. She had also spilled her glass bowl of water (she also has a plastic waterer in there, but she likes to drink out of the glass bowl.) I let her hang out in the run for a bit and watched her like a hawk. She scratched and picked up little, tiny bits of I don't know what, but did not appear to be going for feathers. Yay! Anyway, I refilled her glass bowl, prepared her another meal, and put her back in jail. I hope she eats it. It's eggs, kale and cooked chicken breast through the blender and scrambled with a little yogurt mixed in. She's back in the mini coop and I'll go get the OTC meds.

These are the probiotics I have... how much should I add to a gallon of water?

 

[azygous]

What an ungrateful brat! You go to all that trouble, slaving over a hot stove, and this is how you get thanked. Wait. That's my mother talking when I was ten and refused to eat the food she heaped on my plate.

On the jar of probiotics, the last group where it says how much per pound of weight, those are the proportions I would use. When I give a probiotic, I just sprinkle it over some food I know they'll eat.

 

[micstrachan]

Ok; I'll just do that, I guess. I was hoping to mix it in the water.

How much 2% Clotrimazole cream for a 4 pound bird? I'd like to dose her before bed. She's not quite out of the woods yet and won't drink the copper water. (At least not enough of it... her crop was getting drier and harder.)

Thanks!

 

[azygous]

Clotrimazole is something I've never heard of. Maybe @Eggcessive or @rebrascora or @TwoCrows would know. Or @dawg53 or @oldhenlikesdogs .

 

[Kathy Golla]

You can put pro bios in the wAter, I do.
1/2 scoop to half gallon water. 1 scoop per gallon.
Make fresh daily.