Sour crop on the mend, now very wobbly! Help please - UPDATE 2/11/11

[gilong]

This is for anyone who is experiencing an enlarged breast crop in thier hens. I too am a newbie, and knew something was wrong with my favorite little frizzle cochin (7 mos. old). She was to herself, not very active, and not eating very well...I first thought egg bound, placed olive oil on her vent and near heat (isolated inside), but still no success. Got to looking her over closely (at first I thought she was just fat in her breast; like I said, I am a newbie - 1st batch of chickens ever)...Realized her crop was the size of a softball and quite hard. I researched on this site and found where someone had performed surgery and removed all the wads of hay, grass and debri from the crop. I begin to call all the local farmers and vets in my area. Found only one vet willing to do it. He had never performed surgery on a chicken but had experience on other birds for various illnesses. I told him the information I found, and he went to work. For a reasonable fee in my opinion - $50.00, He cut her across the crop (1/2") and removed 3 handfuls of hay and junk=8 stitches later and on an antibiotic, she is doing great!! Eating, scratching, drinking and "talking." I know without a doubt that I would have lost her if I could not have had this procedure done. This all transpired and surgery as of Feb. 10, 2011. Since yesterday, I have been distributing large amounts of grit (various sizes) in and around the coop and pen for all my chickens. I wish to thank backyard chickens for their post of the previous persons surgery and success and hope others will benefit from our experiences.

Gigi

 

[FinsUp]

So happy you had such a great outcome! $50 for the surgery doesn't seem bad to me either - I have read it go much higher. Impacted Crop is much harder to deal with yourself - glad you had somewhere to go. Mine had sour crop - easier to deal with yourself. The main difference would be the feel of the crop - hard, impacted - water balloon/full of air, sour (with a definite sour smell).

This is why you will see repetitive posts about the same or similar things. Lots of advice for you to make your own decisions on how to deal with your situation. You will see there is never only 1 way to do things.

By the way Gigi

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks for sharing your experience, So far I haven't had to deal with this issue but it's nice to know others have had good outcomes and also nice that you had a vet near by that was willing to try it and was very reasonable also..