HI all. I have a chicken who is a little poorly. Here are the signs/symptoms: 1) Large soft crop. No sour smell. Evacuated a lot of the water by tipping her forward. Still soft, but a lot closer to regular size. 2) Dried poopy bottom. I soaked her in a warm bath, washing her bottom and vent. I then put her in soapy warm water to see if I could feel anything in the opening of the vent. I could not. Her area around where the poopy bottom was is redder than usual. Didn't feel like an egg in there. This is from a hen who hasn't laid an egg in about a year (all of our chickens stopped laying then. We've only gotten 4 eggs over the past 15 months). Vent was pretty dry, as if she was a bit dehydrated. 3) Comb is drooped over and a bit dry. 4) She's tired and was dipping her head forward when we saw her in the run, sitting facing the corner. She has perked up a bit with cleaning her and removing some of the water from her crop. 5) She's been ticking and dipping her head to the right. Not often, but it is an atypical behavior (my guess is related to the swollen crop). I was thinking impacted crop from long stringy stuff, but it is not hard or even tough/doughy. Thoughts?
Have you checked her crop just before she gets off the roost to eat in the mornings? Are you giving her any medicine like antibiotic?
Yes to the crop check, no to the antibiotic. Not sure the issue, so I wasn't sure what to do treatment-wise. Her crop was definitely full of water (I'd say about 1 cup or more), plus a few cucumber seeds popped out when I drained it. I keep thinking impacted crop, but not sure since I've never had to deal with it before.
Can you take her to a vet? Provide her with poultry grit (crushed granite) and wet chicken feed only. Keep her hydrated. If she is impacted, then you might try to see if you can get it to soften by giving something like Dulcolax. Crop issues are usually a symptom of an underlying cause like worms, cocci or reproductive issues. If you have a vet that can perform a fecal float test to check for worms and cocci that would be a good idea. Here is a detailed article on crop issues - I recommend that you read it through before you start any course of treatment: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments
We investigated vets today and the closest one that would even consider surgery (which means will even see us, given what we described above) is over an hour away without traffic (which is never the case). I actually read the document tthis morning that you posted today and started her on Dulcolax (she flung the syringed prep straight out of her mouth; we ended up getting the meds down her with some finely chopped scrambled egg). I also have epsom salts in water available for her water to drink. No other foods. I have massaged her crop several times (she loved it and fell asleep each time) and it still remains softish (stiffer today, but not even close to doughy). She burps every so often from it, but it isn't sour smelling (or smelling of anything at all really). I tried tipping her again once and no liquid came out, but there's definitely a lot of fluid in the crop. She has pooped at least twice (maybe 3 times). First round was more white-ish. Second round was mostly greenish watery bits. My hope is that things are moving along... So, we are in a wait-and-see mode right now.
