possible impacted crop, help!

[smokeater413]

I have a 10 week old hen who was found this morning on the ground being pecked by the roo. she was not moving around that much, she is not lethargic at this time. her crop was fairly hard but malliable (sp?) . I have seperated her from the flock and given her her own food and water. She is also doing this thing with her beak that resembles a fish out of water, just a slow opening it wide and closing it.

Suggestions or treatments?

 

[smokeater413]

Anyone?

 

[HennysMom]

Have you looked in her throat by chance to see if she has anything stuck in it? Is she gasping for air? Could be gape worm from what I've read, but others will chime in I'm sure that know more on gape worm than I do.

Has she been eating and drinking normally? Poop normal? Does she have access to grit / oyster shell? Grass? What do you have in the coop for bedding?

 

[smokeater413]

Have you looked in her throat by chance to see if she has anything stuck in it?

nothing appears to be stuck in the throat

Is she gasping for air?

I wouldn't call it gasping

Has she been eating and drinking normally?

unknown at this time

Poop normal?

also unknown at this time

Does she have access to grit / oyster shell?

Grit is supplied occasionaly, she has a sandy coop also.

What do you have in the coop for bedding?

pine shavings

 

[HennysMom]

Wow - this is really hard to help or advise if you dont know if your birds been eating, drinking or pooping regularly.

Not gasping - then what would you call it? any bird that has its mouth open, to me - is gasping.

Birds need grit unless you free range constantly. Sand isnt going to provide them enough grit. Are you feeding her any type of grain at all or seeds? You say her crop is hard and possibly impacted, but you dont know if she's eating and if you dont provide enough grit, it can cause issues. She could be full of pine shavings and or sand (from lack of grit and trying to get enough to digest her food properly).

There's just too many unknown variables at this point in time to really assess the situation. I wish I could help you more but we really need to know if she's drinking or eating at the very minimum.

You have her separated now - so try to keep track of how much she eats. Give her water for the next 12 hours and see how she does, keeping track of what she's drinking (yes you must measure it). If she's not drinking, you'll know. If she is - then make a mash out of her crumbles and warm water - try to feet it to her. Remove all bedding and sand (anything she can eat) and try to get her to drink as much as possible. Keep an eye on her poop and let us know what it looks like.

Keep us posted. I'm sure someone else will chime in to add to this..

 

[smokeater413]

she is eating and drinking, since yesterday when i seperated her she has drank about a half a quart of water and her food has been eaten on. this morning she was sitting with her left leg stretched out behind her and her left wing was on the ground. decided to watch her a little longer before I cull.

 

[LynneP]

Okay, this is going to require some work, *if* you believe this to be a crop impaction.
And you should assume it could be comething contagious just in case.

Is she 'bobbing and weaving' as though hiccuping or trying to vomit? You say she is gaping? She can't vomit unfortunately and this is actually a sign of choking.

Is there any blue on the tips of her comb or tips of her toes (lack of oxygen)?
If she can be handled, this will go easier.


You have separated her, which is great.

If she will eat, offer diced tomatoes or applesauce only for a day or so. The reason you do this is to acidify the crop and soften the blockage, assuming it is fibre or something digestible. If you suspect she has swallowed plastic or twine, she is in a heap of trouble.

It also helps to offer olive oil from a dropper, needleless syringe or straw. Nice if she will take it willingly and if not, you may have to get some help and gently press on the sides of her beak back at the hinge until she opens and lay some oil far back in her mouth, letting her beak go quickly so she will swallow and not aspirate the oil. The oil is used to get the mass moving in her drop.

The next part takes some experience, and you will get a lot of it if you feel you wish to proceed. Give the hen no less than an hour to let the acidic food and oil work around in the crop. It involves crop massage and learning how to pinch the crop safely to break up the mass. Again, this is assuming the mass is caused by something which will not cut her on the inside, so you have to assess carefully.

I'll get back to you as soon as you can answer the other questions and here are some other threads. Be very careful how you proceed from this point onwards, because crop problems can have wicked bad outcomes. If I had had a vet nearby who treated chickens I would have taken mine, but I don't. My girl pulled through after a week of effort several times a day. If you feel you have to cull, I understand perfectly.

 

[smokeater413]

the hen didn't look well or any better this morning. she wouldnt stand up or adknowledge (sp?) I was there. I went ahead and culled her. I didn't want to see her suffer any longer. thank you for all of your support and help.

 

[JewellFarm]

So sorry about your chicken, we had one die last month from crop impaction. Just caught it to late after he was already weak.