Repeated crop impaction

[ernie85017]

A month or so ago I did crop surgery on Maxine with the help of the info posted here. I was proud of myself and she was such a good patient!
I put her back out and she started to regain the weight and was doing well.
I noticed she was having watery poops with just a little bit of formed poo in them. It made me think the food was not getting through properly. I watched her crop and now it is impacted again. It's only been a few weeks.
I did the oil and massage and water and massage and tried to get her to vomit. It was too thick and when I was massaging for vomit I felt a harder glob in the middle of the thickened mass. It wouldn't soften and I was afraid to massage any harder.
I have been giving her lots of water and some yogurt, to tide her over until I was off work and could deal with it.
Why would this happen again? I made sure there was not a lot of grass in the pen, as there was a lot of it in her crop when I emptied it during surgery. I don't know what to do. I can't keep cutting her open!
I hope someone has an answer. She's my favorite little girl.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

A month or so ago I did crop surgery on Maxine with the help of the info posted here. I was proud of myself and she was such a good patient!
I put her back out and she started to regain the weight and was doing well.
I noticed she was having watery poops with just a little bit of formed poo in them. It made me think the food was not getting through properly. I watched her crop and now it is impacted again. It's only been a few weeks.
I did the oil and massage and water and massage and tried to get her to vomit. It was too thick and when I was massaging for vomit I felt a harder glob in the middle of the thickened mass. It wouldn't soften and I was afraid to massage any harder.
I have been giving her lots of water and some yogurt, to tide her over until I was off work and could deal with it.
Why would this happen again? I made sure there was not a lot of grass in the pen, as there was a lot of it in her crop when I emptied it during surgery. I don't know what to do. I can't keep cutting her open!
I hope someone has an answer. She's my favorite little girl.

I would determine what she is impacted with this time (meaning, yes, possibly another procedure) and then adjust things accordingly - for example, if you discover it is hay/grass you may need to reconsider what is in your nest boxes (if you have them bedded with long stem materiel). Determining the specific cause of her being impacted is going to be key in prevention of future events.

 

[ernie85017]

I thought I had eliminated the grass problem and that would be it. I can feel a couple whole sunflower seeds in there. There were a few in there last time.
I have wood shavings in the nest boxes, but didn't find any of that in her crop, it was grass and grass stems I had tossed in their pen. Now I wonder if the nice leafy alfalfa hay is what did it. She may have eaten the little tiny stems instead of only the leaves. I didn't find alfalfa stems last time, not even the tiny ones.
Their bedding in the pen is dried leaves.
Would a fungal infection lead to impaction? Is there anything I can give her to help it pass other than water and/or oil and massage the crop?
I hate to cut her open again, but will have to consider it, I guess.

 

[Michael Apple]

I thought I had eliminated the grass problem and that would be it. I can feel a couple whole sunflower seeds in there. There were a few in there last time.
I have wood shavings in the nest boxes, but didn't find any of that in her crop, it was grass and grass stems I had tossed in their pen. Now I wonder if the nice leafy alfalfa hay is what did it. She may have eaten the little tiny stems instead of only the leaves. I didn't find alfalfa stems last time, not even the tiny ones.
Their bedding in the pen is dried leaves.
Would a fungal infection lead to impaction? Is there anything I can give her to help it pass other than water and/or oil and massage the crop?
I hate to cut her open again, but will have to consider it, I guess.

Try a deworming with Albendazole. Deworm once, then again 10 days after. There are a few capillaria sp. of worms which invade the crop and esophagus in chickens, in addition to the gizzard. Withhold feed for 12-24 hours. Feed buttermilk soaked bread or conservative amounts of moistened crumbles or pellets for a day or two. Use poultry vitamin-electrolyte powder in waterers for 1 week, and then 2-3 times a week after that.

 

[ernie85017]

Would I have seen these worms in her crop when I did the surgery? I didn't see anything, just a green smelly mess with some grass stems and sunflower seeds.

 

[chalidobrenz]

just dealt with this.. :/
A vet visit later, we came home with oral Baytril (antibiotic), and Metacam (a pain and inflammation reducer). Vet said sometimes they can pick up a bacterial infection that wreaks havoc on their GI tract. Metacam relaxes the bird and acts against inflammation. Worked! Little girl is healthy and happy.

 

[chalidobrenz]

That's if you can get to a vet!

 

[Michael Apple]

Would I have seen these worms in her crop when I did the surgery? I didn't see anything, just a green smelly mess with some grass stems and sunflower seeds.

Impacted crops can sometimes be related to problems beyond the crop. Capillary worms are very hard to see, and penetrate the mucosa remaining buried there as they mature. If the gizzard isn't functioning normally, the crop can back up, just like the rest of the intestinal tract. Scratch grains require grit, so if birds don't get enough grit in the soil, they need granite grit made available to them. Too much protein will also slow digestion and promote bacterial infections in the intestinal tract, causing enteritis as well as crop problems. I avoid sunflower seeds since they are not an essential, and have very little nutritional value. Grass should be cut to avoid long fibrous stocks. Birds kept in yards where no grass grows, and run out of feed, will gorge themselves on grass at the first chance they are let out to range. If feeders become sparse at some point during the day, I add more feed before letting birds out to range. Realizing those things over the years, practicing a deworming routine with an adequate anthelmintic, and preventing the causes I mentioned has made the difference with my birds.