Silkie with swollen crop (very squishy....not hard)....what do I do?

[arockkid]

I noticed it last night, and while I think she's broody, now maybe she's just uncomfortable.....I checked in the am to see if it was down, and it's not.
It is large and feels very liquidy and I can actually get some to come back up, and what comes up looks like very watered down pellet food...with some grass. I don't know if this is the same concept as impacted crop...and it is NOT smelly. But if there is grass coming out, she's been broody for 2 days so I know she hasn't eaten any grass in that time. She is drinking, but I haven't seen her eat recently (though haven't watched thoroughly) and also haven't noticed if she has pooped...I'm about to bring her in for a little bit to watch and see what's going on, but would like to know what you guys think.
I was able to work out a decent amount from the crop....should I keep doing that and then offer olive oil?
I'm gonna go get her and maybe I can give a bit more info.
Any ideas? I'll post more shortly.

 

[chickenbaguette]

Could be a crop infection, but then I think it would smell...
Are you sure she hasn't just had a big drink? Wouldn't she have eaten grass when she came off the nest to eat? Broody chickens drink a lot in one go when they come off.

 

[mama24]

If she's broody, check her tomorrow morning early and see if it's empty. You might have caught her right after she had her daily broody gorge.

 

[ILOVELEGHORNS]

Still sounds like sour crop to me....
Even though this site is for cockatiels, it also applies to chickens....VERY informative and helpful site
justcockatiels.weebly.com/sour-and-slow-crop-remedies.html

 

[arockkid]

I did check at night, when it was swollen, and then again in the am, and still the same. And I know she didn't eat any grass, because she hadn't gone outside (no one did yesterday.....sooooo cold!) I massaged out as much as possible, and gave her some olive oil...she did poop so I know stuff is making its way through....I put her back in the coop with some grit and feed, and will check on her this am and see how it feels.

She definitely seemed more comfortable after I emptied some stuff out....but maybe that's because she got to hang out in the nice warm house

I try not to jump the gun every time something is strange with them....but this seemed so much larger than just gorging, and I decided to err on the side of caution. Thanks for the replies, and I'll update how she's doing.

 

[top of the hill]

Hi there!

I went through this with my RIR about a month ago. Her crop was very squishy and about the size of a tennis ball. Her breath did not smell at first but then smelled like sour milk a few short days later. Some people will tell you to vomit her by holding her upside down for no more than 10 seconds at a time. I was afraid of asphyxiating her, so I did not. Up to you and what you are comfortable with doing.She did, like your girl, vomit on her own a couple of times.

First I seperated her into a dog crate and with held food for 24 hours. She only had access to acv water. The apple cider vinager (acv) will help to kill the bacteria and yeast forming in her crop. On day two I tried to give her plain yogurt but she would not eat it so instead I had some probiotic capsules in my fridge that I mixed with warm water and dripped on her beak forcing her to drink it. I wanted to get the good bacteria back into her to kill off that yeast. Everyday as often as I could, I would massage her crop pushing back and down so to move the blockage through. on the third day I mixed her crumble with warm water and another probiotic capsule... she devoured it! Her full squishy crop had shrunk down to a golf ball. I continued this for an additional 3 days. massaging, warm mushy food, acv water and am happy to say she is back to normal!

As a side note, I read on BYC that olive oil in sour crop is a bad idea because it actually slows down digestion.

Good luck with your girl!