- Aug 3, 2015
- 6
- 0
- 62
This is a busy forum! Thanks for taking the time to look at this.
It seems like crop issues can be related to a lot of things. I've done some research but still need a little guidance. When it comes to chickens, vets in my area tend to be reluctant, expensive and want to treat "the whole flock" which makes them pretty much unavailable to most people. So I need to try and find over the counter solutions whenever possible.
I have a Barred Rock, about 5 years old. Over the past few weeks she has been making gurgling noises. Occasionally when she bends over, she drools out a couple tablespoons of clear liquid. She shakes her head now and then but not a whole lot. I haven't seen her gaping (beak open wide) though.
A couple times I have checked her full crop at night and it felt full but not too hard. It has always been empty in the morning. I don't smell anything off in her breath. So I don't think she has an impacted or sour crop.
I don't think it's gapeworm but haven't entirely ruled it out. So far I have not been able to get her beak open to look inside. None of our chickens like to be touched, picked up or held.
I do think she might have a somewhat pendulous crop. I'm not sure what the qualifications are. At night, I can get maybe 1 1/2 fingers underneath it -- like a beer belly. But she's a pretty large bird to begin with. I'm not sure if her symptoms fit the diagnosis. I thought the drooling thing was pretty serious but didn't think it was related to pendulous crop.
She continues to eat (maybe a little less than normal), has pretty good energy and lays every couple days, which is typical for her. All our chickens get unlimited feed and free range all the time. So she has access to all kinds of things, good and bad I suppose. I used to give all the birds some scratch, BOSS and other treats in the evening. I've since backed off from that. I also add a bit of probiotic to their food sometimes. And I recently added ACV to their water to up the acidity a bit if nothing else.
Our other older chicken, an Aussie, has started to make similar sounds -- not quite as gurgly. But no other symptoms. Might just be my imagination.
Both older chickens have had been predisposed to get crusty butts for years. Every couple months we have to clean them off. I have no idea what causes that. May be related, I'm not sure.
One other point. We introduced a couple pullets to the flock about 8 weeks ago, after a quarantine. They seemed very healthy then and now.
I hope I covered the bases. Let me know if you have any suggestions. If it is a pendulous crop, the crop bra thing sounds like it would be difficult to manage but we might have to give it a try. If it's something more serious I hope we can address it. Thanks.
It seems like crop issues can be related to a lot of things. I've done some research but still need a little guidance. When it comes to chickens, vets in my area tend to be reluctant, expensive and want to treat "the whole flock" which makes them pretty much unavailable to most people. So I need to try and find over the counter solutions whenever possible.
I have a Barred Rock, about 5 years old. Over the past few weeks she has been making gurgling noises. Occasionally when she bends over, she drools out a couple tablespoons of clear liquid. She shakes her head now and then but not a whole lot. I haven't seen her gaping (beak open wide) though.
A couple times I have checked her full crop at night and it felt full but not too hard. It has always been empty in the morning. I don't smell anything off in her breath. So I don't think she has an impacted or sour crop.
I don't think it's gapeworm but haven't entirely ruled it out. So far I have not been able to get her beak open to look inside. None of our chickens like to be touched, picked up or held.
I do think she might have a somewhat pendulous crop. I'm not sure what the qualifications are. At night, I can get maybe 1 1/2 fingers underneath it -- like a beer belly. But she's a pretty large bird to begin with. I'm not sure if her symptoms fit the diagnosis. I thought the drooling thing was pretty serious but didn't think it was related to pendulous crop.
She continues to eat (maybe a little less than normal), has pretty good energy and lays every couple days, which is typical for her. All our chickens get unlimited feed and free range all the time. So she has access to all kinds of things, good and bad I suppose. I used to give all the birds some scratch, BOSS and other treats in the evening. I've since backed off from that. I also add a bit of probiotic to their food sometimes. And I recently added ACV to their water to up the acidity a bit if nothing else.
Our other older chicken, an Aussie, has started to make similar sounds -- not quite as gurgly. But no other symptoms. Might just be my imagination.
Both older chickens have had been predisposed to get crusty butts for years. Every couple months we have to clean them off. I have no idea what causes that. May be related, I'm not sure.
One other point. We introduced a couple pullets to the flock about 8 weeks ago, after a quarantine. They seemed very healthy then and now.
I hope I covered the bases. Let me know if you have any suggestions. If it is a pendulous crop, the crop bra thing sounds like it would be difficult to manage but we might have to give it a try. If it's something more serious I hope we can address it. Thanks.
