Recurring impacted crop

[5templetonchicks]

Several weeks ago I brought my14 mos old hen to the vet to help clear her impacted crop. It was so bad that they operated on her crop by cutting a small opening and emptying it. She healed quickly, and resumed all her chickeny ways. She even started laying again, something she had not done for several weeks. I thought she was going to be fine, but now I see that she is impacted again, and feeling very poorly. I can not afford to spend another $400 with another vet visit. Has anybody had experience with this? Should I just have her put to sleep? I’m so unhappy about this, and I just hate to see her suffer. Any help would be hugely appreciated.

 

[Angeline1978]

She is suffering Everytime it happens. If you cull her it doesn't change her suffering. Have you tried different foods? If you have might be time to humanely put her down.

 

[kissezmychicken]

I just paid $430 for my hen on Monday! I get your dilemma. I sure hope mine doesn't do it again. What was yours impacted with? Mine was grass..

 

[kissezmychicken]

If she has her out to sleep, it ends her suffering..but are you sure she's impacted?

 

[5templetonchicks]

I just paid $430 for my hen on Monday! I get your dilemma. I sure hope mine doesn't do it again. What was yours impacted with? Mine was grass..

Yes, mine was impacted with straw and grass. It was so gross. Poor thing. But I’ve been sooo careful not to give my girls anything that might get tangled in their crop. The problem is that since she had the surgery, I’m afraid to massage her crop, for fear of breaking open the barely healed incision.

 

[5templetonchicks]

If she has her out to sleep, it ends her suffering..but are you sure she's impacted?

Pretty sure, and possibly with a sour crop to boot. Her crop is HUGE and soft and squishy.

 

[GTNB]

I have the same problem. One of my chicks, roughly about 11 or 12 months old, developed an impacted crop. I took her off food, only water for 36 hours, and the impacted area went from being soft and squishy to being hard like a tennis ball, and I could feel the gravel inside. Took her to the vet, she had surgery, recovered very quickly, and seemed fine and dandy. Inside her crop the vet found a long (~4 inch) piece of plastic from the feedbag, and a lot of gravel. A month later... it's back. She's inside, has been off food for 24 hours, crop is ball-like, hanging, and full of gravel again. Surgery again??? Any ideas anyone? Thx.

 

[GTNB]

Inside their house they have wood chips, outside in the run it's all sand/gravel. They can go inside and out all day long, at night they're inside only. They also have access to oyster shell and some grit inside.

 

[5templetonchicks]

I have the same problem. One of my chicks, roughly about 11 or 12 months old, developed an impacted crop. I took her off food, only water for 36 hours, and the impacted area went from being soft and squishy to being hard like a tennis ball, and I could feel the gravel inside. Took her to the vet, she had surgery, recovered very quickly, and seemed fine and dandy. Inside her crop the vet found a long (~4 inch) piece of plastic from the feedbag, and a lot of gravel. A month later... it's back. She's inside, has been off food for 24 hours, crop is ball-like, hanging, and full of gravel again. Surgery again??? Any ideas anyone? Thx.

 

[Cayuga momma]

There is a thread on here where a woman does surgery on her chicken who had an impacted crop. She shows pics and explains the process on how to do the surgery yourself.