Slow working crop

[aliren]

I’m at my wits end , with a crop problem a black rock hen, iv no idea how old she is but I recused her a couple of years ago, I first noticed the problem after about a week, when I fed the hens some greens, since then I watch what she eats, but it would just keep coming back , full watery crop, I seem to be able to control , but over the last 3 weeks , it’s really got bad, she has what they call a (pendulum) crop, so it’s really slow in emptying, iv been snowed in and the hens have been inside there coop, so the corn / mealworms have been put into dishes in the coop, so the black hen had pigged out on the corn, her crop this morning must been at least 2 handfuls big , iv empty as much as I could out, Iv put a crop bra on her and just given her some guardian angle and locked her in a cat carrier inside the coop. Not sure if it’s turn yeasty as she was on medicine for that a week ago,
Iv not allowed her to feed today as there must be still a handful of corn in her crop, which just wouldn’t come up, what do I do next? I’m in a panic about leaving her in a carrier as the weather is so bad, do I give her some pellets withbwarm water on to soften them up , in the morning, after I most probably will have to make her vomit .
Her vomit this morning was like a slush puppy drink, her crop was pretty cold( think she been eating snow, then it was a beige colour filled with corn. This is a picture of her crop last week , she was on medication for 5 days for yeast infection, but this morning it was bigger then this .

 

[aliren]

 

[aliren]

Crop bra I made her

 

[aliren]

Well
I’m still struggling with her crop, she’s on potent brew now, thought it was under control after antibiotics, but this morning just as big as ever, been giving her chick crumb to see if it will help put some weight on her, she stil looks happy digging for worms ect

 

[rebrascora]

Hi
She looks to have quite a wide stance. Have you checked her abdomen for any abnormal swelling. Slow crops can often be a symptom of a constriction lower in the digestive tract and sex links are particularly prone to reproductive issues which can cause a mass to develop in the abdomen, causing a wide stance and pressing on the hind gut, slowing the elimination of waste. Birds will sometimes have soiled butt feathers due to abdominal swelling. If the issue is in the abdomen and not the crop, that might explain why she is having recurring problems.
I'm not sure why you are feeding corn or how much you are feeding but you are not really doing your birds any favours, health wise .... much as they love it. Corn is high in carbs and low in protein. Carbs tend to be easily converted to fat which gets deposited in thick layers inside the abdomen, particularly around the vent but also the internal organs. If she has a slow crop, the corn will be adding to the problem because it is not easily broken down. I would just give her (and all your other chickens) either a warm mash with their pellets or better still fermented feed.

I used to recommend dried meal worms as a healthier treat than corn or scratch but I've recently learned that the vast majority for sale worldwide are produced in China and fed on animal offal and there are concerns about the possible spread of disease and apparently not legal to feed to poultry here in the UK, so that is something else to bear in mind.